Coming to public library partners in December 2026
More of your Infobase subscriptions move to one platform in December, and each one includes built-in tools that help students develop information literacy skills as they research.
In December, Infobase will upgrade Bloom’s Literature, Feature Films For Education, Just For Kids, Health Reference Center, History Center, Issues & Controversies, Science Center, and World News Digest to the new platform. If your library already offers Credo Reference, Credo Source or Access Video On Demand, your patrons know the platform, and these products move to the same place. The content your patrons use today stays the same, and you can preview the new experience today.
Preview access and dates for each product are in the Public Library FAQ →
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This one-minute overview follows a student research session on the new platform, from the first search to a finished citation.
People choose sources by how easy those sources are to reach. Researchers drawing on two multi-year, federally funded user studies found that convenience influenced source choices at every stage of research, and younger participants showed the pattern most strongly.
The habits people form early tend to last. In a national survey of more than 8,000 college students, most reused the same research routines from one assignment to the next, and many traced those routines to high school. The students who come to your library for homework help are building the habits they will keep.
Infobase designed its new platform so that curated reference and video content is the easiest place for patrons to start. When the credible source is also the convenient one, patrons of every age are more likely to build research habits that last.
Patrons reach every upgraded Infobase subscription your library offers from the same access point.
After a search, patrons can switch between subscriptions with one click to compare results. For example, a patron researching the Dust Bowl can review results in the History Center, then switch to Access Video On Demand to see the same search in video. The result is transformative and changes individual subscriptions into one powerful learning ecosystem.
Reference desk staffing and program schedules limit how many patrons a librarian can help one-on-one. Infobase built research supports into its platform so every patron gets a version of library guidance, whether they visit in person or log in from home.
Starting research is the step students find hardest. In the Project Information Literacy survey, 84% of college students said they often got stuck at the beginning of a research assignment. Infobase has uniquely designed tools and features to directly combat research challenges:
Mind Map shows patrons how a topic connects to related subtopics, so they explore the broader subject before they narrow their research.
Topic Assistant helps patrons develop a research topic that is complex, feasible, focused, and fascinating. Those four criteria match the goals of a reference interview, so students work through the questions a school librarian would ask before they start searching.
Research tips and citation tools appear alongside the content, so patrons practice research skills as they work.
A patron who learns Mind Map in History Center can use it the next time they open Science Center, because each upgraded subscription uses the same research supports.
By summer 2027, every Infobase streaming video collection and subject research database will be on the Infobase platform. Each collection benefits from the same tools.
See the full product list →
Infobase redesigned each product with a group of trusted partner librarians. The work started from the research tasks their patrons complete every day. Those known use cases shaped the layout and tools in each product.
Infobase evaluated each product on its own. Layout and tools stay consistent across subscriptions wherever consistency helps patrons move between products. Each product’s experience also reflects its own users and use cases, so a student analyzing a novel in Bloom’s Literature and a patron watching a documentary in Access Video On Demand each work in an interface suited to the task.
Infobase aligned the platform with WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards, so students who use assistive technology can work with every upgraded subscription.
By summer 2027, every Infobase streaming video collection and subject research database will be on the new Infobase platform.
Each collection you add includes the same research supports and the same interface, and patrons reach it from the same place as your other Infobase subscriptions. A library that offers Access Video On Demand and Health Reference Center, for example, gives patrons health videos and reference articles on the same topic, one click apart.
See the full product list →
The Infobase Loyalty Program helps partners add collections over time.
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October: Preview the new experience for your upgrading products.
Mid-November: Join a public library webinar covering the December changes and platform basics.
Late December: Your upgrading products move to the new platform.
