Credo Reference or Credo (formerly Xrefer) is an American company that offers online reference content by subscription and partners with libraries to develop information-literacy programs or produce library marketing plans and materials.[1] Founded in 1999, Credo Reference provides full-text online versions of over 3,500 published reference works from more than 100 publishers in a variety of major subjects.[2] These include general and subject dictionaries as well as encyclopedias.[3] The company's customers are libraries, library systems, k-12 schools, and universities, which subscribe to the service for their patrons' use.[4]
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Reference/database and educational services |
| Headquarters | 50 Milk Street, 16th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
Key people | Chief Executive Officer: Mike Sweet |
| Products | Credo General Reference (Academic, Public, School) Essential Subject Collections Credo Add-on perpetual eBooks InfoLit Modules Credo Instruct Credo View |
| Parent | Infobase Publishing |
| Website | corp |
In 2010, a review of general reference sources by Library Journal focused on Credo Reference and three similar services.[5] The review noted Credo Reference's internal linking within the site from one reference work to another.
History
editThe company was founded as Xrefer in 1999. Xrefer initially provided free access to several dozen reference works.[6] In 2002, Béla Hatvany, founder of Computer Library Services (CLSI) and Silverplatter, invested in Xrefer and funded the company's transition to becoming an online reference database product for libraries.[2][7] The company established an office in Boston, MA USA, which would later become its headquarters.[8] The name Credo Reference was adopted in June 2007; the company also moved its England office from London to Oxford in that year.
In 2018, Credo Reference was acquired by Infobase Publishing.[9]
References
edit- ^ Swoger, Bonnie. eReviews: Literati by Credo Archived 2018-07-10 at the Wayback Machine. Library Journal. 2012-05-15. Accessed: 2014-11-10.
- ^ a b Brynko, Barbara. Sweet: The Rise of Credo Reference. Information Today. 2011-06-16. Accessed: 2011-06-16. (Archived by WebCite at )
- ^ Jack O'Gorman (2008). Reference sources for small and medium-sized libraries (7th ed.). p. 11. ISBN 978-0-8389-0943-0.
- ^ Sheret, L. (2013). Literati by Credo. The Charleston Advisor, 14(3), 20-25. (http://mds.marshall.edu/lib_faculty/33/). Accessed: 2014-12-02
- ^ Golderman, Gail; Connolly, Bruce. eReviews: General Reference Sources and Short Takes. LibraryJournal.com. 2011-06-15. Accessed: 2011-06-15. (Archived by WebCite® at )
- ^ Xrefer's front page as of August 17, 2000, via archive.org.
- ^ Murphy, John (April 2009). "Reference tool helps organise scholarly resources". Research Information.
- ^ Witte, S., & Cargill, M. (2008). Selected Reference Works, 2007–081. College & Research Libraries, 69(5), 459-475. http://crl.acrl.org/content/69/5/459.short
- ^ "Infobase Announces Acquisition of Credo Reference Limited | Infobase". Retrieved 2020-10-19.
Further reading
edit- Golderman, Gail; Connolly, Bruce. "eReviews: General Reference Sources and Short Takes", Library Journal.com, Oct 15, 2010.