Pack Your Bags! Travel Books on GVRL

Posted on March 16, 2016

Originally posted in December 2015 by Henrietta Verma of Library Journal

Travel books are popular with those who are actually starting to pack their bags as well as armchair voyagers. Either way, the library’s travel collection has to be kept up to date, and that can be expensive and time consuming. GVRL offers a great alternative: an online selection of travel titles for locations nearby and far-flung, and you’ll never have to weed the shelf. Titles include books for various kinds of travelers, from backpackers to families with children.

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Business Stats You Can Compare Anywhere, Anytime

Posted on March 14, 2016

By Tina Creguer

Jay, a brash, young entrepreneur in the competitive field of mobile gaming app development, is putting the finishing touches on his business plan.  He already has appointments with potential investors, and he’s scurrying to pull together all the information they’ll grill him on.  Foremost on their minds will be viability of this new business and understanding the competitive landscape. He knows who his major competitors are, but needs help finding consistent data that will help him compare market share and descriptions.

There’s good news for Jay, and for anyone searching for comparative business stats.

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Getting to Know the Business of Business

Posted on March 4, 2016

By Tina Creguer

  • Jamie is a new marketing manager for her company. She needs to find detailed information on companies in her field and get up to speed quickly about the competition.
  • Ali is graduating with his MBA with a concentration in finance in seven months. He doesn’t want to wait too long to identify potential employers. He’d like to begin to pinpoint companies in the industries that interest him most.
  • George, a veteran business analyst, has been asked to conduct a full review of a few key competitors’ revenue and forecasted growth for the president to use in an upcoming board meeting.
  • Jorge is a high school student doing a project on Fortune 500 companies in his state. He’d like to find out when the companies were founded, what they make, and where they operate.

In every case, there’s one resource that can connect patrons to the information they seek: Ward’s Business Directory.

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Encyclopedia of Prescription Drugs: a “Comprehensive” and “Very Useful” Resource

Posted on March 2, 2016

Looking for consumer friendly information on the most commonly used prescription drugs? For all your questions regarding prescription drugs, turn to The Gale Encyclopedia of Prescription Drugs. Organized alphabetically and by drug class, this “comprehensive” resource includes in-depth information about each drug, such as classification, purpose, recommended dosage, side effects, and interactions.

In February, Booklist reviewed the Encyclopedia. Read what they had to say!

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The Encyclopedia of Senior Health Deemed an “Essential Resource”

Posted on February 24, 2016

Did you know that families – not health care professionals – provide 80% to 90% of care for the elderly, and about 75% of all care-givers are women. – Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide

 For all your questions regarding senior health, turn to The Gale Encyclopedia of Senior Health: A Guide for Seniors and their Caregivers. Featuring more than 650 entries on a variety of issues related to aging, including diseases, treatment, rehabilitation, preventative lifestyle choices, and community caregiving options. Available in print and eBook.

In February, Booklist reviewed the Encyclopedia. Read what they had to say!

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Built by Association, Part II – Making (Local) Connections, Joining Forces

Posted on February 19, 2016

By Tina Creguer

Lizette is managing director of a non-profit organization focused on preventing prescription drug overdose – a growing health problem sweeping the nation and a particular problem in her county.  They have programs in hand ready to implement, but they lack funding and volunteers to make it happen.  She wonders if there are resources and groups close by with a shared interest that may be interested in joining forces on this topic.  But she’s not sure how to connect with them.

With Gale’s Encyclopedia of Associations: Regional, State and Local (RSL), Lizette can pinpoint valuable information for appropriate state, regional, and local groups from a comprehensive list of nearly 95,000 non-profit organizations in the US.  She can discover not only names and addresses, but get background information such as purpose, activities, conferences, membership dues, and much more.

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With eBooks on GVRL, Librarians Always Have Something Up Their Sleeve

Published February 9, 2016

By Holly Hibner, Adult Services Coordinator, Plymouth (MI) District Library

eBooks on the Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) platform is one-stop shopping for all of your ready reference needs! Patrons will be impressed at the wealth of information that librarians can provide with just a few clicks. Let’s look at a few examples.

Here’s a familiar scenario: a high school student is writing a paper about Bill Gates. He is only allowed one internet source, and is looking for some book sources. What a perfect use of GVRL!  Sure, the database is accessed via the Internet, but the sources themselves are books. Glorious, full-text reference books!

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Evanston Public Library Enhances Patrons’ Experience with Gale’s Vast Online Resources

GVRL eBook Success Story

Posted on November 30, 2015

Lesley Williams is Head of Adult Services at the Evanston Public Library (EPL) in Evanston, Illinois. In the 18 years that she Evanston Public Libraryhas worked there, the library has continually subscribed to products from Gale. Today, as a primary “go to” resource for the library’s broad range of patrons, GVRL eBooks are instrumental in helping EPL fulfill its mission. That mission is to be the heart of the community, promoting the development of independent, self-confident, and literate citizens by providing open access to cultural, intellectual, technological, and informational resources. “GVRL is the only online reference book service that we’ve ever had,” says Lesley.

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Catch a Rising Literary Star

Posted on October 29, 2015

These new authors are creating a buzz

Once upon a time, a young thespian named Will set his quill to paper and wrote a play. The word is, he did pretty well…becoming the most beloved playwright and poet of all time.

A few years later, a sheltered young woman living in the country wrote stories to amuse her family. Ms. Jane Austen also met with great success, we’re told.

Every great author started somewhere – by taking the first step and writing a first work. Today, the literary world is bursting with new talent. And Thorndike can help you bring promising new authors to your power readers – many of whom enjoy reading large print for ease and enhanced comprehension.

Here’s a sampling of first novels by promising new authors now available in large print from Thorndike Press.

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