Currents

Saving AskERIC

Volume 4 / Issue 2 / Winter 2004

Funding for AskERIC, an online educational database search service, has been cut by the U.S. Department of Education and will be discontinued on December 19, 2003. The service connects parents, educators, and citizens with experts who can reference articles and resources available in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) clearinghouses. The Department of Education claims that AskERIC will no longer be necessary after the 16 subject-specific clearinghouses have been collapsed into one database.

A consortium at Syracuse University that created AskERIC will continue to make resources available through a new Web site, the Educator’s Reference Desk. The site will provide lesson plans, resource guides, an archive of frequently asked questions and answers, and new services as well. Or you can search the ERIC database of credible, useful resources yourself at www.eric.ed.gov.