Credo Reference Launches Literati for Public Libraries, Signs the State of Virginia

BOSTON and OXFORD, England, Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- While a growing number of public libraries are investing in digital resources to meet the non-fiction needs of patrons, providing the technologies and tools to help patrons understand, discover and use these authoritative materials can be challenging:  libraries may not have the budget or bandwidth to promote their availability and value or provide adequate training on a variety of different platforms.

Credo Reference (www.credoreference.com/corp) aims to help solve this problem with Literati Public.  The new solution combines core reference titles, technologies that increase discovery across all digital content platforms and customized training and marketing services and tools developed by on-staff librarians.

"We are extremely excited to provide Literati to all public libraries in the commonwealth, as it solves some very pressing issues," said Sandra G. Treadway, Librarian of Virginia. "Not only can we now affordably offer core reference materials that provide an essential starting point for learners, we can also integrate resources that we have acquired from third parties, extending their value and increasing usage.   Perhaps most importantly,  we can leverage Credo's team of on-staff librarians to develop customized materials and programs that facilitate information literacy."

"We believe that communities and the world at large would be better places if more decisions and ideas were inspired by knowledge," said Mike Sweet, Credo Reference CEO.  "By helping libraries cost-effectively acquire and disseminate authoritative materials, and helping patrons understand the value of library resources in the Google age and effectively use those resources, we believe we can have a tremendous impact on digital and information literacy, which will ultimately improve people's lives."

An extension of the award winning Credo Reference platform, Literati Public delivers on three key components:

Content

Literati Public includes a base subscription to over 2.6 million full-text entries in relevant subjects such as health, history, literature, languages, technology, science and more, from trusted publishers such as Dorling Kindersley, ME Sharpe, Grey House Publishing, SAGE Reference, Barron's, Wiley, Elsevier, Gale Cengage and many others.  The nearly 500 full-text titles have been thoughtfully selected to best meet the needs of public libraries. The collection will continue to grow as new titles are added and existing titles are updated to new editions, all added seamlessly for subscribing libraries.

Libraries can supplement the base collection with Publisher and Subject Collections, creating the solution best matched to the needs of their library. On-demand custom and COUNTER-compliant usage statistics  help libraries to make smart decisions around collection development.

Technology

Literati's customizable Topic Pages integrate core reference works with a library's existing resources on specific subjects, extending their value and providing a rich research experience for patrons.  Literati is packaged with a growing selection of nearly 10,000 topic pages – created by on-staff librarians – valued at over $3.5 million.

Literati integrates with many discovery services including Summon, Primo Central, EDS, Encore and OCLC's worldCat.

Services

Literati's multi-faceted services support libraries in key areas including user guidance, library promotion and marketing, training and assessment and student services. Libraries and their patrons will benefit from homework help, interactive videos and tutorials, promotional materials, social media assistance and much more.

Literati Public and Literati by Credo for academic libraries are available today. More information can be found at www.credoreference.com/corp.

Credo Reference is Library Journal's "Best Overall" Reference 2012 and has been offering completely customizable, "best-in-class" reference collections for libraries since 2002. Credo's General Reference service empowers librarians and effortlessly delivers authoritative answers to millions of researchers worldwide. Literati by Credo offers tools and services to improve Digital and Information Literacy. Both platforms allow content expansion through highly acclaimed Publisher and Subject collections.  Find more http://corp.credoreference.com.

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CONTACT:  Mary Kay Jezzini, +1-212-352-1404, [email protected]

SOURCE Credo Reference