 |
|
 |
|
Content Comparison by CCL-EAR Committee
Link to the full text of our evaluation for more details.
Content Comparison by CCL-EAR Committee
The content of Films on Demand is broad and is relevant for community college use. A very useful feature of the database is the 90,000 clips that can be searched and embedded into courseware. The videos are closed-captioned and the user support services are above average.
Intelecom has several of the same great features as Films on Demand and VAST including embedding and mobile options but their content is not as broad or as commercial as the other two databases. Although they have recently expanded their partnerships with other producers, their strength still remains in their in-house produced video clips. Their videos are designed to support specific curriculum.
VAST has more videos than Films on Demand and Intelecom but instructors might find the quality of these videos to be lacking in terms of video quality. This database would be used primarily by faculty and it would be important when considering this database to review video content for institution’s need. There is a lack of closed captioned materials in VAST but there is the ability to see side by side keyword-transcripts when the video is not in the full screen mode.
Download the full text of our evaluation for more details.
Review by CCL-EAR Committee
VAST, Academic Video Online is Alexander Street’s largest subscription streaming video collection. Launched in 2011, VAST’s collection includes academic videos from more than 20 academic disciplines. Included in the subscription are over 16,000 videos. VAST’s video content derives from well known producers and distributors.
Few videos are closed captioned, although many of the videos contain keyword-transcripts which run alongside the videos. Other features of the VAST database include: options to create and share customized video clips, synchronized transcripts, embedding codes for content management systems and mobile access and viewing options.
Download the full text of our review for more details.
Committee’s Overall Assessment:
Committee’s Standard Evaluation Chart:
Review by CCL-EAR Committee
Ovid, is a subsidiary of publisher WK Health which is itself a subsidiary of multinational publisher Wolters Kluwer. Ovid is also the publisher of Lippincott Williams and Wilkins journals. Three packages are currently being offered to the Community College League: An extended journal package of 44 titles; a core book package of 55 titles; an extended book package of 144 titles (the core package plus an additional 89 titles).
The journal package contains current and retrospective, full text holdings of 43 North American nursing journals as well as the backfile of one journal that ceased publication in 2009. These journals are free of embargo and current to the most recently published issue. Journal content accumulates.
Download the full text of our evaluation for more details.
Committee’s Overall Assessment:
Committee’s Standard Evaluation Chart:
Review by CCL-EAR Committee
Springer eBooks purchase model is unique compared to many other eBook vendors as it includes no digital rights management (DRM), unlimited usage, concurrent users, perpetual access/ownership, and electronic ILL allowance. Springer is a global publishing company known for its peer-reviewed journals, books, and more recently, its e-Books. Springer eBooks advertises itself as the “largest collection of STM [science, technology, and math] books online.”
The Springer eBook collection covers disciplines in science and engineering disciplines as well as social sciences and humanities. The collection also includes books published in foreign languages, including Dutch, French, German, and Italian. The name of the collection, Springer eBook, is a misnomer because in addition to books, book series and textbooks, the collection includes journals and major reference works.
Reviewers recommend Springer’s eBook collection with its open-eBook model and quality publications in the sciences as well as other disciplines. It would be ideal if Springer can put together a package where the research level is geared toward community college students. The new SpringerLink platform slated for January 2013 release is an improvement from the previous platform.
Download the full text of our evaluation for more details.
Committee’s Overall Assessment:
Committee’s Standard Evaluation Chart:
Review by CCL-EAR Committee
Bowker’s Books in Print called BooksInPrint 2.5 (BIP 2.5) provides users with an efficient way to cross-search and retrieve bibliographic, publisher, and market information about books published in the United States in a variety of formats.
As with previous versions of the online program, BIP 2.5 offers subscribers comprehensive bibliographic information on currently published, out-of-print, and forthcoming books, e-book, audio, and video titles covering all levels, varieties, and interests (including scholarly, adult, juvenile, popular, reprint and out of print titles). It includes full-text book reviews, from over 40 well-known and reliable sources, including Booklist, CHOICE, Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal and School Library Journal.
The search interface for BIP 2.5 utilizes a single-search box that is intuitive for users and will not require an excessive amount of training. The default keyword search is “All” and other field specific search parameters include: subject, title, author, publisher, and series title. The search field supports Boolean operators and ISBN.
Download the full text of our review for more details.
Committee’s Overall Assessment:
Preview by CCL-EAR Committee
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, is an advertising-free reference database that contains data and evaluative information on natural ingredients used in health-related therapies and the commercially-available products that contain them. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbals, supplements, and other ingredients intended for health-related applications. Produced by Therapeutic Research Faculty, publishers of Pharmacist’s Letter, Pharmacy Technician’s Letter, and IDENT-A-DRUG Reference, NMCD is available in two versions, the Professional Version (previewed here), which is geared toward healthcare practitioners, students, and related professionals, and the Consumer Version for lay people.
The language used is clear, concise, and easily understood by practitioners and students in fields that would use this information. The database’s editors and other experts provide additional commentary. The price of the Professional Version makes it an affordable tool for institutions needing this information. Although the lower-cost Consumer Version is a good alternative for general reference, the absence of cited literature and certain evaluative tools make it less useful for academic purposes.
Download the full text of our preview evaluation for more details.
Review by CCL-EAR Committee
INTELECOM Online Resources Network is a streaming video collection that provides unlimited 24/7 access to more than 3,500 closed captioned video clips covering topics in Adult Education, Business, Oceanography, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Political Science, Sociology, Health and Environmental Sciences. The video content can be embedded into course management systems such as Blackboard and can be accessed by faculty and students easily online. help library staff and users identify and keep track of full-text, electronic serial content across multiple producers and aggregators.
Most clips are 3-5 minutes but the clip length does vary from under 1 minute to around 30 minutes. Videos can be streamed to a desktop computer or mobile devices. All clips are delivered via streaming video in both .flv and H.264/MP4 formats for iOS compatibility. There is not a lot of “stand alone” value to these clips for student research. Faculty, on the other hand, can use these short clips to address specific points in their course content. This database is more of a media services or distance learning resource than a research database.
Download the full text of our review for more details.
Committee’s Overall Assessment:
Preview by CCL-EAR Committee
Both EBSCO and ProQuest (ebrary) are offering subscription ebook collections. Recently the CCL-EAR committee evaluated the collections. Note: some of the EBSCO titles may overlap with the previous netlibrary collections offered through the consortium.
Since this review was completed, EBSCO has put together a smaller ebook package specifically for community colleges. The CCL-EAR Committee will review this package at the beginning of the fall semester and post its findings. Both the community college package and the larger, academic package will be offered through the consortium (pricing to be determined).
Download the full text of our preview evaluation for more details.
If you have any experience with this product, please leave a comment and rate it’s appropriateness for use in a community college environment.
Preview by CCL-EAR Committee
EasyBib,was created in 2001 by two high school students frustrated by the process of managing their bibliographic citations, so the company’s identification with its end user is right on target. By marketing itself as a tool that “prevents plagiarism and promotes information literacy,” EasyBib has successfully generated positive interest.
While EasyBib contains some very useful information it is not a searchable database per se; EasyBib is primarily an online research project management tool. It contains the following components:
•Research
•Notebook
•Bibliography
•Citation guide
•Educator’s blog
Download the full text of our preview evaluation for more details.