October 29, 2007
NewsBank Announcement
As you know, the South Dakota State Library currently provides a variety of electronic databases for its customers. One of those databases, NewsBank America's Newspapers, recently has been up for review. The database, which costs about $72,000 per year, allows users to search for archived material from the publications included in the database and retrieve those materials at no cost. Unfortunately, the NewsBank database includes only two of the 11 daily newspapers in South Dakota. Further, many libraries continue to subscribe to the print versions of these newspapers, and therefore, the database can be a duplication of services. Because of these reasons, the subscription to the NewsBank America's Newspapers database will not be renewed and service will cease on December 1, 2007.

Like any business, state agencies need to balance the goal of serving the public with the goal of being fiscally responsible. Any comments or concerns can be e-mailed to Dorothy Liegl, State Librarian, at dorothy.liegl@state.sd.us.

The South Dakota State Library continues to provide a number of electronic databases, free of charge, that we hope the library community, and your patrons, will continue to access.


Thank you.


Rick Melmer
Secretary
South Dakota Department of Education