New Vendor Trials

The OhioNet eResources Team’s process for vetting new content providers has taken many shapes over the years, all with the goal of providing valuable resources at an affordable cost. The newest iteration of this process firmly centers the needs of member libraries and their communities, putting the decision power in the hands of our members. Our approach is simple:

1. Trial period. A content provider seeking to work with OhioNet will enable a 45 – 60 day trial of their resource(s) for members, as well as provide a short demo recording to be viewed at your convenience. Access information and pricing estimates will be provided via the New Vendor Trials page in ConsortiaManager. If your library does not currently purchase electronic resources from OhioNet, please email us for information.
2. Member feedback. During the trial, you will have the opportunity to review the product via a short, 4-question survey. Our survey goal is to ascertain member interest in purchasing the resource(s) on trial.
3. Decision. Based on the results of the survey and the data collected during the trial, OhioNet will sign an agreement with the new content provider.

OhioNet is always open to member suggestions or reviews of new content providers and resources! Send your thoughts and recommendations to the eResources Team at [email protected]. 

Active Trials

News-O-Matic

About News-O-Matic:

News-O-Matic engages students with interactive daily nonfiction articles focused on current events, ELA, science, social studies, SEL, and media literacy. News-O-Matic creates its own original content, vetted by a child psychologist to ensure safe and age-appropriate content. The News-O-Matic database includes 10,000+ multimedia-rich leveled articles for elementary & middle school at 3 Lexile levels and in 5 languages: English, Spanish, French, Mandarin and Arabic. “Read to me” audio support and comprehension assessment questions are available for every article. 

BiblioBoard

BiblioBoard’s Community Engagement tools help empower local creatives and enable libraries to execute and succeed with remote community services during these changing times. Here is a quick overview of what they offer:

For Authors
https://indieauthorproject.com/
The Indie Author Project (IAP) allows authors to upload their work in a few short minutes for inclusion in your library catalog. All books submitted to IAP are vetted by editorial review boards, including Library Journal, and the best-of-the-best are chosen for inclusion in their nationwide collection (IAP Select)! These IAP Select books also have the opportunity to be made available on Overdrive, Cloud Library, and Axis 360 in an unlimited, simultaneous use collection with royalties being paid directly to the authors! For authors that are just getting started or need help creating files, the Pressbooks Public tool gives them the ability to create their own ePub, PDF, and Mobi files at no cost.

Musicians/Artists/Other Creatives
Enable musicians, artists, and other creatives to upload their multi-media content into the library to help expand their discovery and reach. Here are a few examples of how a few Ohio libraries are utilizing this tool:

• Athens County Playlist – https://myacpl.librariesshare.com/athensmusic/
• Twinsburg Can Cook – https://twinsburg.librariesshare.com/twinsburgcancook/

Local History
Create your own digital archives to be discovered by your community. Local history, genealogy, town images, newspapers, etc. All these projects and more can be curated into digital collections that live on forever and are easily discoverable in your catalog. 

• Avon Lake Local History project – https://openaccess.biblioboard.com/module/avon-lake-public-library