Publisher FAQs

Background Information

What is ERIC?
Who uses ERIC and how do users gain access?
What types of materials are included in ERIC?
Who contributes materials to ERIC?
Why do publishers participate in ERIC?
Do publishers transfer copyright when they participate in ERIC?
Do publishers have to permit full-text display to participate in ERIC?
How are materials selected for inclusion in ERIC?
How are publishers recognized in ERIC?

Getting Started

We’re interested. How do we get started?
What electronic content formats do you accept?
How can we send electronic files?
How quickly can you add our materials to the ERIC Collection?
Why do you prefer having access to the full-text electronic content to create an ERIC record?
What if we don’t have abstracts?
What if we want to display our full-text materials in ERIC?
Our organization does not publish conference proceedings. Can we still have conference papers indexed?
What fees are involved?
How can we let other people know that our materials are in ERIC?

Background Information

1. What is ERIC?
ERIC is a digital collection of education research and information sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. ERIC includes more than 1.2 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials, with hundreds of new records added twice weekly. Each ERIC record contains bibliographic data (title, author, ISSN or ISBN, publisher information, etc.) and an abstract. If made available by the publisher, ERIC includes links to the full text or the publisher’s site.

2. Who uses ERIC and how do users gain access?
ERIC users include researchers, professors, teachers, school administrators, policymakers, librarians, education students, journalists, parents, and the general public, both in the United States and around the world. ERIC users conduct more than 8 million searches each month via the ERIC public Web site at www.eric.ed.gov and the following hosting organizations:

CSA
EBSCO
OCLC
Ovid
ProQuest
Thomson Dialog

Searchers also locate ERIC content through Internet search engines such as Google Scholar, MSN, and Yahoo. Other organizations, including individual universities and statewide networks, may load the ERIC Collection for local searching, but typically limit access to their constituencies.

3. What types of materials are included in ERIC?
ERIC indexes journal articles and non-journal materials (including grey literature) that are directly related to the field of education. Non-journal publications include books, conference papers and proceedings, curriculum materials, literature reviews, policy papers, position papers, research reports, technical reports, training materials, user guides, working papers, and other materials.

4. Who contributes materials to ERIC?
ERIC indexes materials from:

Publishers of education-related journal articles
Publishers of grey literature, including academic institutions, professional associations, government agencies, scholarly organizations, foundations, and commercial publishers
Publishers of books, including commercial publishers, associations, scholarly organizations, and foundations
Individual copyright holders who contribute materials such as conference papers, reports, and dissertations/theses through ERIC’s online submission system

5. Why do publishers participate in ERIC?

To obtain high visibility for their education-related publications. ERIC provides a user-friendly, searchable interface to a vast, global audience for education-related information.
To encourage traffic to their Web sites. Publishers may specify a link to their Web site from the ERIC record. This link may connect users to information about downloading, subscribing to, or purchasing access to the material.
To take advantage of an optional archival function. Users turn to ERIC to find both current and historic publications. If desired, ERIC’s sophisticated embargo options can enable publishers to release older text in ERIC after a publisher-determined period of aging.

6. Do publishers transfer copyright when they participate in ERIC?
No. Publishers retain full copyright.

7. Do publishers have to permit full-text display to participate in ERIC?
No. Publishers may limit the display to bibliographic records only. Publishers specify these terms in their agreement with ERIC.

8. How are materials selected for inclusion in ERIC?
The ERIC Selection Policy guides the selection of materials that have been identified by ERIC staff or proposed by ERIC Content Experts, expert user groups, publishers, or individuals. Following a successful review, the publisher will be invited to establish an agreement authorizing ERIC to index the materials relevant to education. Find sample agreements and more information about the review process here.

9. How are publishers recognized in ERIC?
Every ERIC record includes a field that identifies the publisher. In addition, the journal publisher name is included in the journal description, accessible through the list of journals indexed in ERIC available from www.eric.ed.gov. Publishers may specify an optional link from the bibliographic record to their Web site for more information, subscription, purchase, or pay per view.

Getting Started

10. We’re interested. How do we get started?
The first step is nomination. Send an email to ericpub@csc.com with your name and contact information (both phone and e-mail) and the publisher’s name and Web site. If recommending a journal, please include the journal title and ISSN. Upon completion of a successful review, ERIC will forward an agreement to be reviewed and signed by the authorized publisher representative.

11. What electronic content formats do you accept?
Our preferred format is .pdf, but we also accept .xml and .doc. Contact us at ericpub@csc.com if you have other file format questions.

12. How can we send electronic files?
ERIC's preferred options include allowing transfer from your Web or FTP site or sending electronic files to an ERIC FTP account. We will also accept materials e-mailed as an attachment or mailed on a CD-ROM or DVD. When you complete the agreement, you will indicate the file submission method.

13. How quickly can you add our materials to the ERIC Collection?
ERIC adds current materials to the collection within one month of receipt from the publisher.

14. Why do you prefer having access to the full-text electronic content to create an ERIC record?
Providing full text is optional; however, access to the full text helps ERIC create a complete, descriptive bibliographic record, including a broader and more accurate selection of subject indexing terms chosen from the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors. If full-text content is not made available for this process, ERIC staff members will select subject terms based on the abstract.

15. What if we don’t have abstracts?
Every ERIC record must have an abstract. If you do not have abstracts, ERIC will create them. In this case, you must provide the full-text content so we can create the complete bibliographic record.

16. What if we want to display our full-text materials in ERIC?
Non-journal providers can authorize ERIC to host full text as part of the Agreement, Attachment 1, Part B. Options include displaying the full text immediately or after a publisher-defined embargo. Journal publishers must complete the Addendum to Display Full Text in addition to the Agreement. Options include displaying the full text immediately or after a publisher-defined embargo.

17. Our organization does not publish conference proceedings. Can we still have conference papers indexed?
Yes, if your organization has copyright, the conference papers may be submitted to ERIC along with your other publications. If individual presenters retain copyright, they must submit the full text of their conference papers themselves through the Online Submission system on the ERIC Web site.

18. What fees are involved?
ERIC charges no fees for indexing or maintaining the ERIC Collection and pays no royalties for publisher participation.

19. How can we let other people know that our materials are in ERIC?
We encourage publishers to let their customers or members know that their materials are indexed in ERIC. Some publishers include the notation Indexed in ERIC on their Web sites, with a link to the ERIC Web site, www.eric.ed.gov.

If you have any other questions, please contact the Collection Development Team at ericpub@csc.com.