[November 13, 2009] - The Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services and Providence Public Library are pleased to announce a new agreement for funding the Statewide Reference Resource Center at Providence Public Library in Fiscal Year 2010. This year's contract continues statewide licenses for select databases, providing unimpeded access to electronic resources for all Rhode Island residents.

The 2010 Contract continues subscriptions to four online services that are available via AskRI.org, the online portal for the Statewide Reference Resource Center. All four services are providing added features in 2010:

• Tutor.com, which powers Homework Help RI, has added services for adults, including the Career Resource Center for job-seekers. This service includes one-on-one assistance with resume preparation and test preparation, including GED and Citizenship tests. Standardized test preparation is also now available for all students.
• World Book added Digital Libraries (Living Green, Early Peoples, Inventions & Discoveries) and Hispanica Saber this summer. Dramatic Learning was added in November and provides modularized units of readers theatre for classrooms and libraries. World Book continues to serve differentiated learners with Discover and has added translation and read-aloud features to all English language World Book encyclopedias.
• EBSCO, in collaboration with Ocean State Libraries (OSL), is now providing access to Biography Collection, Literary Resource Center and Points of View to OSL cardholders; access to NoveListPlus continues. While these resources are not available under AskRI, they represent the added benefits now available to AskRI partners due to the cooperative license agreement developed with EBSCO, SRRC, OLIS, HELIN and OSL. Patrons can access these new resources by inputting their OSL library barcode instead of a zip code.
  Geographic access to EBSCO should be rolled out in March 2010.
• HeritageQuest has rolled out a simplified authentication scheme; users will no longer be required to enter a library bar code to access HeritageQuest resources, but will now have access with a zip code. Geographic authentication is in the works.

Under the 2010 contract, the Statewide Reference Resource Center will continue to provide online (email and chat) reference services for all Rhode Island residents via AskRI, along with traditional in-person and telephone reference services. Sunday hours will also continue: the Statewide Reference Resource Center at the Central Library will be open Sunday afternoons from 1:00 to 5:00 pm September through May (except Easter Sunday).

Providence Public Library will continue to serve as the Statewide Reference Resource Center for Rhode Island libraries by responding to reference questions via telephone, fax, email, and interlibrary loan (ILL) Subject Requests. Staff of the Providence Public Library, including development and public relations staff, are available to Rhode Island libraries for consultation. Professional development classes and workshops taught by Providence Public Library staff will continue to be offered to Rhode Island librarians through the Office of Library and Information Services Continuing Education program. Classes include computer software training, web design workshops, reference workshops, and programs for children's services librarians.

The Statewide Reference Center at Providence Public Library is open six days a week: Monday 1:00 - 9:00 pm, Tuesday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm, Thursday 1:00 - 9:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 12:30 - 5:30 pm, and Sunday 1:00 - 5:00 pm (through May 16, except Easter Sunday, April 4).

Telephone reference and chat service are available: Monday 8:30 am - 8:30 pm, Tuesday 8:30 am - 6:00 pm, Wednesday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Thursday 8:30 am - 8:30 pm, Friday and Saturday 8:30 am - 5:30 pm, and Sunday 1:00 - 5:00 pm (through May 16, except Easter Sunday, April 4). To access online Statewide Reference Resource Center Services, visit AskRI.org.

Providence Public Library serves as the Statewide Reference Resource Center with state funding provided via the Office of Library and Information Services. The goal of the program is to provide quality reference services to all LORI member libraries and to all residents of Rhode Island. State funding for the SRRC in FY2010 is $1,012,378. View the 2010 contract.