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SAVE ERIC

April 18, 2003

 

Dear Colleagues and Friends of the ERIC Clearinghouses,  

We need your help in saving ERIC.   

The current ERIC contract ends on December 31, 2003.  On April 10, the
Department of Education released a draft statement of work for the ERIC system
for the next contract period.  The proposed changes to the system are
devastating.   

As proposed, the ERIC system will be reduced from 16 subject-specific
Clearinghouses to one central automated Clearinghouse. There will be no subject
specific Clearinghouse web sites, no on-site content experts to answer
questions or perform searches, no ERIC Digests, no bibliographies, and,
possibly, no New Directions for Community Colleges, or ASHE ERIC Reports. 
Furthermore, additions to the database will be made by a group of clerks from a
pre-approved list of journals, conferences, association, and organizations.
Thus, expert monitoring of the quality of research acquired for the database
will be eliminated and important contributions from many colleges and
independent scholars will no longer be part of the database.   

By law, the Department is required to allow for public comment on this draft
statement of work.  There is no guarantee that an outpouring of support will
change the proposed statement of work, but without these efforts, it is clear
that ERIC will be significantly impaired.  If you wish to offer support for the
valuable services that ERIC has provided to education scholars and
practitioners since 1966, please send your comments to the following people
before May 9 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time:    


(1) Your U.S. senators and elected representatives (contact information
available at http://www.vote-smart.org/). 

(2) Copy each letter to Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, Rod.Paige@ed.gov;
Fax number: 202-401-0596,

(3) Copy each letter to Jeff Halstead (the contract specialist collecting
official responses to the draft statement): Jeff.C.Halsted@ed.gov Fax number:
202-708-9817  


Please feel free to use the template available at http://www.saveeric.org/
letter.htm, or to create your own letter.  Apparently, faxes of letters written
on your institutional letterhead are most effective, but e-mails are also
welcome.  If you send e-mail, please make sure that you include your full
physical mailing address at the bottom of the letter or the message may be
discarded.  

We are very grateful for your assistance and hope that with a strong show of
support by the public and our representatives, the Department of Education will
reconsider this proposed restructuring.  Professors, please encourage your
graduate students to send letters, as well.

 

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