Cuts and restrictions in key databases
The turbulent political situation in the USA is affecting some of the databases the library has access to. Currently, ERIC is facing cuts. There are also concerns that PubMed may be restricted.
ERIC is managed and funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which is part of the US Department of Education. Earlier this spring, the Department of Education faced significant cuts, and for a short time, it looked like ERIC would be forced to shut down. However, recently, IES announced that the database has a renewed contract with approximately 50% of its original budget. The significantly reduced budget will affect ERIC's future content, but it is still unclear how.
Alternative to ERIC
The library subscribes to the Education Database from ProQuest, which partially overlaps with the content in ERIC. If it turns out that the content in ERIC will be significantly reduced, it may be necessary to investigate the need for other databases.
About PubMed
There are also concerns about how the Trump administration's cuts and political agenda are affecting Pubmed's content. The database is operated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM), which have also faced severe cuts.
Karolinska Institute University Library has had PubMed downloaded locally since 1995. They are monitoring the issue and have not yet seen more publications being removed than usual. There are also no signs that content has been modified regarding the presence of specific MeSH terms or keywords. Read Karolinska Institutet University Library’s statement here.
The JU Library is monitoring what happens with ERIC and PubMed and will update as soon as we know more.