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For only 45¢ per student in state funding, INFOhio has
provided to every school in Ohio a Core Collection of 18 Electronic Resources that
includes seven online encyclopedias from
World Book Corporation; more
than 6,000 magazines and newspapers from EBSCO Publishing, most in full text; a comprehensive biography database;
and more --
resources selected and reviewed by educators working in the field. |
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Without state funding that enables INFOhio to negotiate a collective
contract for all Ohio schools, these resources would cost individual districts
$45 dollars per student, if individual schools purchased only a fraction
of these resources. |
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INFOhio provides for equity of access and helps eliminate the haves and
have-nots of the Digital Divide. |
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INFOhio is a state program that delivers resources to Ohio's educators,
students and parents. |
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INFOhio's Core Collection of Electronic Resources provides students with valid sources of
information resulting in efficient, effective searches, as opposed to finding information
by "surfing the net." INFOhio's resources are age-appropriate and
curriculum-related. |
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INFOhio Core Collection of Electronic Resources provides
teachers with research tools for project and classroom planning, and the
Collection now provides hundreds of video segments from the Ohio
Association of Area Media Centers and other agencies that can be
downloaded or streamed without charge. |
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INFOhio's Core Collection of Electronic Resources help students learn how to use the types of
tools they will use in college and the job market; they support the development of
lifelong information literacy. |
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INFOhio provides equitable access to information regardless of
school size, location or fiscal resources. The same resources are available from Lake
Erie to the Ohio River, in urban, suburban and rural buildings. |
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Without continued funding, these resources will disappear from our schools
-- leaving students empty handed. |
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INFOhio's Core Collection of Electronic Resources are available from any Internet-connected
computer in the school library, classroom and computer lab. INFOhio also provides use
from home for students, their parents and teachers who have access to the Internet after
school hours. |
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Statewide, use of INFOhio's Core Collection of Electronic Resources proves the need for the
Core Collection by the number of resources made available to Ohio's students and
educators.
July 2004 through June 2005: 13,570,985 searches and articles downloaded
July 2005 through June 2006: 22,734,207 searches and articles downloaded
July 2006 through June 2007: 23,315,079 searches and
articles downloaded
July 2007 through June 2008:
23,468,869 searches and
articles downloaded
July 2008 through November 2008 (partial year): 10,901,218 searches and
articles downloaded |
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Public library (OPLIN) resources are not licensed for in-school use, and
schools need their own resources that suit curriculum needs rather than the needs of the
general public. |
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The students/teachers/librarians/administrators/parents of [Insert school
district name] encourage you to approve INFOhio's Electronic Resource
budget and, if at all possible, expand funding so that even more age-appropriate,
curriculum-related resources can be made available equitably to all Ohio
students and teachers. |
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INFOhio is more than its Electronic Resources. Other components include: |
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Library
Automation - INFOhio has automated almost 2,500 Ohio K-12 schools, providing online
catalogs of school library resources searchable from any Internet-connected computer (CAT and CAT Jr.) and a circulation management system for
check in/out, overdues, inventory and reports. |
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Media Resources - INFOhio has automated more
than 40 special collections serving Ohio K-12 schools, providing Web-based booking for
materials that support instruction. |
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Curriculum Resources Catalog
- INFOhio's "union catalog" of bibliographic records from Ohio schools and
special collections provides almost 1.5 million records, many enhanced to reflect Ohio
curricular objectives. All Ohio schools and agencies are welcome to use the CRC to obtain
bibliographic records for their holdings. |
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Instructional Development - INFOhio provides resources and training to better use our
Core Collection of Electronic Resources, the World Wide Web and other instructional materials schools
acquire. Ohio educators are informed about INFOhio and partner
Professional
Development Opportunities with a convenient collection of
sessions and related materials. |
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How does INFOhio provide services statewide? |
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INFOhio provides its electronic
resources, standardized library automation software and other
services using the existing school telecommunications
infrastructure of the Ohio Education Computer Network (OECN) and
the 23 Information Technology Centers. |
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INFOhio is funded with state, regional
and local dollars. State funds for operation, approximately $1
per student, are allocated through line 426 of the OECN's
section of the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) budget. |
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INFOhio's Core Collection of Electronic
Resources is purchased centrally as part of Libraries Connect
Ohio, a consortium that includes INFOhio, OhioLINK, OPLIN and
the State Library of Ohio. |
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The Management Council of the OECN
provides oversight through a contractual agreement with the ODE. |
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