Gale is continually updating and adding new content to our In Context products, ensuring that they offer timely, authoritative, useful information. The items below were added or updated during the week of January 26, 2015.
Read moreProduct Updates: New In Context content for 01/26/2015
By Dan Alpert, Program Director: Equity/Diversity and Professional Learning, SAGE Publications
Each year, scathing critiques of public education flood our newspapers and social media. It may be an old story, but public school K-12 educators are at a critical point in time this school year. We are deep into the massive project of implementing rigorous new standards for college and career readiness. Despite the passage of 60 years since Brown v. Board of Education, 50 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and despite significant shifts in our nation’s demographics, we’ve made little progress closing sizable achievement gaps between our privileged and marginalized student populations. And the inauguration of new high-stakes assessments, the brainchildren of two interstate consortia – PARCC and Smarter Balanced — will undoubtedly launch a fresh, new wave of dire predictions.
Read moreTo Change the Way Students Learn, We Must Change Professional Development
This series of blogs will summarize and highlight important portions of our recent white paper, The New York City DOE/CUNY Library Collaborative: Bridging the Gap Between High School and College, which you can view here.
Read moreBridging the Gap Between High School & College: Part 11
As part of an effort to streamline support of Gale products, support for Gale Courses will transition to Gale Technical Support on February 2, 2015. This folds all product support into a single primary help contact available 24/7.
A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.
By Michelle Eickmeyer
That the marches which fueled the Civil Rights Movement occurred 50 years ago is unbelievable. How can it be 50 years already… and how can it only have been 50 years? Present history will tell us that race relations in the United States are far from equal and the conversation rages on regarding fair treatment and assumptions.
A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.
By Michelle Eickmeyer
This week, you get a bonus post. I had nearly finished a post on Martin Luther King Jr when news broke late last night of King Abdullah’s death. Its available, nearly finished, here. Stay tuned for what will surely be an upcoming post on Yemen.
By Tina Creguer
Okay, so maybe the Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy has a point: there’s no place like home. But, for many people, there’s nothing more invigorating than being on the open road and exploring new places.
According to the U.S. Travel Association, Americans took 2.1 billion person-trips* in 2013 for both leisure and business. That’s a whole lot of travel! 78% of those trips were for leisure purposes; 22% for business. The association also reports that trip planning sources have shifted over the last several years, with social media and mobile devices being used more often.
With members of your community looking to electronic resources to support their travel planning, what resources do you provide to support their need for adventure and exploration?
Read moreWanderlust Lives! Where in the World Will Your Patrons Go?
By Kristina Massari
New Analytics On Demand Apps Improve Outreach and Provide Insights to Multi-Branch Systems
Public libraries face challenges demonstrating their value to the communities and stakeholders they serve – just 22% of Americans say they know most or all of the services provided by their public library. To help libraries overcome these barriers, Gale, part of Cengage Learning, has added three new applications to Analytics On Demand, the first affordable big data analytics solution for public libraries. The new apps, Marketing Action (for Patrons and Non-Patrons) and Branch Insights, help libraries deploy targeted direct marketing programs to current and prospective library users, as well as better understand how existing patrons are interacting with individual branches across a system.
Read morePublic Libraries Get a Boost with Targeted Marketing and Data Analysis
This series of blogs will summarize and highlight important portions of our recent white paper, The New York City DOE/CUNY Library Collaborative: Bridging the Gap Between High School and College, which you can view here.
Read moreBridging the Gap Between High School & College: Part 10
By Tina Creguer
Achieving personal and professional excellence doesn’t “just happen” for most people. Success typically results from persistence and guidance. For some, turning to a life coach is useful – receiving personal assistance with decision-making and skills acquisition. But with rates averaging $100 to $300 per hour, that service is out of reach for most young adults.
But hiring a professional isn’t the only path. With new resources from Gale, those eager for coaching can find help at the library. (In fact, at YOUR library!)
Read moreLife Coach, Anyone? Self-Guided, Online Support for Better Living