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Changes in the ERIC-database: What now?

Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a database containing education research and information, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. In March, a significant reduction in the number of indexed journals and information sources in ERIC was announced.

To ansatte i arbeid ved Universitetsbibliotekets tidsskriftkontor.
The journal office at the University of Bergen Library in the summer of 1961. At that time, all journals were published in print and made available to borrowers on the library's shelves. Much has changed since then!
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Unknown. The Special Collections at the University of Bergen Library.

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Published: 25.05.2025

The initial announcement in March was followed by unclear and somewhat conflicting information. The latest official information from IES was published on April 28th. With this, the University Library will summarize the situation based on what we know to date and provide the affected academic communities at UiB with an overview of alternative resources for updated research in the field of education. 

Based on the official announcement, we can conclude that 

  • the operation of ERIC will continue, albeit in a refined scope 

  • existing content will not be removed as a result of cost-cutting measures 

Unfortunately, the situation is unclear, and we know little for certain beyond this. However, this news story will be updated as more official information becomes available. 

We do not have updated official information confirming that the scope of indexed journals ERIC will be reduced. However, the matter appears unsettled, and requires us to gather an overview and alternative sources to ensure that our academic communities continue to have good access to updated scientific information in the field of education. The University Library is now working closely with our suppliers to find other quality sources, and this is what we can currently offer: 

  • Through our agreement with the supplier EBSCO, we will shortly be able to provide 85% coverage of ERIC's currently indexed journals via the database Education Abstracts. EBSCO is working on licensing rights for the remaining 15% to achieve its goal of 100% coverage. Education Abstracts will be available in the course of May 2025.

  • The University Library has also secured a trial access to British Education Index until June 15th through the same supplier. 

  • Through our agreement with ProQuest, we have the resource ProQuest Education Collection. In addition to ERIC, it also includes the Education Database, which indexes approximately 900 journals (see title list here). We also know that ProQuest is considering initiatives to further expand their journal coverage within the field of education to ensure the continuity of the service. 

For questions regarding this matter, you can contact the University Library's subject contact for pedagogy, Kathrine.Cohen@uib.no, or head of the University Library's acquisitions department, William.Mangeroy@uib.no