Smart Research Starts Here |
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Reference/Database services |
| Headquarters | 201 South Street, 4th Floor Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Key people | Chief Executive Officer: Mike Sweet President: John G. Dove Vice President of Product Development and Innovation : Terry Zysk Vice President of Operations: Jill Rosa Vice President of Worldwide Sales: Carol Helton |
| Products | Credo General Reference Credo Publisher Collections |
| Website | corp.CredoReference.com |
Credo Reference (formerly xrefer) is a company offering online reference content by subscription.
Founded in 1999, Credo Reference provides full-text online versions of nearly 1200 published reference works from more than 70 publishers in every major subject,[1] including general and subject dictionaries and encyclopedias.[2] The company's customers are libraries, which may tailor the site's content and interface to suit their patrons' needs. In a May 2011 interview, CEO Mike Sweet stated that Credo Reference aimed to "…satisfy both what librarians want in terms of complexity and what users need in terms of simplicity."[1]
In 2010, a review of general reference sources by Library Journal focused on Credo Reference and three similar services, posing the question “…whether we should begin to expect more from a reference ebook collection than a faithful reproduction of a printed text.”[3] The review noted Credo Reference’s recent improvements, which included integration with social media sites and online research tools. It also noted the customization options that allow a librarian to highlight important local resources, and internal linking within the site from one reference work to another.
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The company was founded as Xrefer in 1999. Xrefer initially provided free access to several dozen reference works.[4] The "xrefer plus" subscription service was launched in 2002, offering an expanded collection of reference materials and a customizable interface. The free "xrefer showcase" site was discontinued in June 2003.[5][6][7] The name Credo Reference was adopted in 2007; the company also moved its England office from London to Oxford in that year.
Subscriptions are available to academic, government, public and company libraries. Access to Credo Reference is free to end-users provided their library is a subscriber. Credo Reference offers multiple packages, allowing librarians to select which titles they wish to include.
"Credo General Reference" is the company's core offering. It is complemented by "Publisher Collections" and "Subject Collections"; these permit librarians to choose the content most relevant to their patrons. "Credo Topic Pages" compile contextual information on a given topic; this product was developed in response to a 2009 study which revealed that students often lack sufficient context to process the vast quantities of information available online.[8]