Illinois State Library E-Resource Program

In 2023, the Illinois Office of the Secretary of State included $5 million in their budget for an e-resource package that will be available without charge to all Illinois communities.

The program will be administered by the Illinois State Library (ISL). ISL is a department of the Office of the Secretary of State.

This project started in 2019, when RAILS conducted a survey of libraries. Based on the enthusiastic response, RAILS developed a proposal for statewide access to online resources for all Illinois libraries.

Updates

September 2024

ISL announced that they would be holding online training sessions to answer common questions about the statewide e-resource package. Attendees will learn how to get links, set up an EBSCO Connect account, access training videos, and more. See the schedule.

August 2024

ISL shared more information about how school libraries can participate.

July 2024

ISL shared more information about how libraries can participate.

June 2024

ISL finalized its contract with EBSCO and announced the full list of included resources.

February 2024

The Illinois Secretary of State released a request for proposal for the e-resource package that will be available without charge to all Illinois communities. That document is available from BidBuy, the State of Illinois' eProcurement platform.

January 2024

At the January 2024 RAILS Board of Directors meeting, ISL Assistant Director Karen Egan spoke about the program. In a message to the AISLE email list following this meeting, Egan also clarified a few points for libraries:

Please continue to renew your databases until you hear more from the State Library. The State Library is recommending NOT to make changes to your local database packages until this is in place to ensure no lapse in resources for your students.
The initial statewide database package is expected to be an initial 3-year contract with 7 annual renewals for a total of 10 years This shows the commitment to sustainability.

November 2023

At the November 2023 RAILS Member Update, ISL Director Greg McCormick spoke about the progress of the e-resource package.

Trainings

The Illinois State Library hosted this presentation on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 for library workers to learn more about setting up and using the EBSCO databases provided in the Statewide Database Package.

RAILS will keep members informed of the latest developments with the ISL E-Resource Program via this web page.