TexShare Resources Update for 2023

-via Mike Fernandez, Head of Systems and Access-

The SRSU Library is a member of the statewide resource-sharing consortium known as TexShare, which is administered by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC). TexShare provides member libraries with a number of services, including access to the TexShare Databases Program, a collection of electronic resources licensed for the exclusive use of Texas libraries and their patrons. These resources are provided to us at a greatly reduced cost. Rather than paying for individual subscriptions to each database, we pay a membership fee to gain access to these resources.

Every five years, TSLAC is required to undergo a process where it solicits and reviews proposals from electronic resource vendors for new contracts. This process began earlier in the year and recently concluded this August. As a result of the negotiations, TSLAC will not renew the majority of its contracts with the vendor EBSCO. Instead, they have issued larger contracts to the vendors ProQuest and Cengage Learning (Gale).

The majority of electronic resources the SRSU Library subscribes to through EBSCO are provided by TexShare. TSLAC has provided a one-year continuation of current EBSCO resources set to expire on August 31, 2023. We now have access to the new content provided by Cengage Learning (Gale) and ProQuest. You can view these resources through our Databases A-Z list on the library’s homepage (library.sulross.edu) or by checking the TexShare Databases Guide. The vast majority of these resources are also discoverable when conducting research using QuickSearch. In the coming weeks, we will be reaching out to academic departments with specific recommendations for your areas.

Database Highlights

Highlights of our recently acquired content include Academic Video Online, a robust collection of video content, Gale’s OneFile collections, and ProQuest’s SciTech Premium Collection.