This resource, funded by the U.S. Department of Education and produced by the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), is the largest database of materials for education in world. It contains more than one million records going back to 1966. More than 100,000 non-journal documents (issued 1993-2004), are available in full-text at no cost. Beginning with 2004, the coverage of the database changed. A new contractor was selected to manage the database and new content began to be added in summer 2005. ERIC staff no longer produce the abstracts; these are supplied by journal publishers which have entered into agreements with the ERIC producer. Learn more about the changes that occurred in ERIC that occurred in 2004-2005. The previously published print counterparts to the ERIC database were Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) for the periodical coverage and Resources In Education (RIE) for the documents; both ceased in print in 2001.
The University of Chicago Library has two subscription packages
that include access to the ERIC database (on the FirstSearch
interface, and on the EBSCO interface). We recommend the
EBSCO version.
Freely available search interfaces are also available from the Educational Resources Information Center of the U.S. Department of Education and from SearchERIC.org, a privately owned and operated server. However, it is recommended that you use our subscription version as it has enhanced content.
The ERIC database contains two different types of records:
If you locate a journal article in ERIC, click on the Find It! icon in the record to determine if the journal available from the University of Chicago Library. If full-text access is available, Find It! will link you to the correct source. If a journal is not available electronically, you can search the Library Catalog for the print holdings. Articles not available from the U of C Library can be requested via Interlibrary Loan Services.
Beginning October 1, 2004, the new ERIC database will include free-of-charge full-text non-journal ERIC documents (1993-2003) authorized for electronic distribution. Older documents, and those not authorized for electronic distribution, are available in the Library in microfiche in Room 305, which is located near the Microform Collection on the 3rd floor of the Regenstein Library.
Not every single item referenced in the ERIC document section is available in full-text. These include such titles as commercially produced books which must be obtained from the library or purchased from a publisher. The ERIC record has an "availability" field that indicates whether or not the item was distributed by EDRS. The record also includes a publication "level" that indicates permissions for distribution in different formats. These are:
If you need help accessing ERIC microfiche, or an online document, please feel free to contact Rebecca Starkey (M-F 9-5) or use the Ask a Librarian service.
