To: Board of Supervisors
From: Alison McKee, County Librarian
Report Title: Purchase Order with NewsBank Inc. for online newspaper subscriptions (Access World News Research Collection, including the Contra Costa News Collection and the East Bay Times Collection, Black Life in America, and Hispanic Life in America) through December 31, 2028
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent to execute, on behalf of the County Librarian, a purchase order with NewsBank Inc., subject to NewsBank Inc.’s License Agreement for Subscriptions & Perpetual License Sales, in an amount not to exceed $200,563 for the renewal of online newspaper subscriptions (Access World News Research Collection, including the Contra Costa News Collection and the East Bay Times Collection, Black Life in America, and Hispanic Life in America) for the period January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2028.
FISCAL IMPACT:
100% Library Fund.
BACKGROUND:
Library Department has and continues to use NewsBank Inc. to provide patrons with access to a database of online newspapers. NewsBank Inc. provides the Access World News Research Collection and includes the Contra Costa News Collection, East Bay Times Collection, Black Life in America, and Hispanic Life in America. NewsBank Inc. covers full-text access to several years of archival content from the Contra Costa Times, making this resource invaluable to genealogists and other researchers within the Library’s service area. NewsBank Inc. is the sole source provider in the public library market for the full-text electronic edition of the Contra Costa Times, 1995-2016, and the East Bay Times, April 2016-present. Most of NewsBank Inc.'s information sources are unavailable elsewhere.
The terms and conditions include limitation of liability and indemnification language reviewed by County Counsel.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If the Purchase Order is not approved, the Contra Costa County Library’s patrons will not have access to this database of newspapers, including local newspapers.