June 2014 | Page 3 of 4 | Gale Blog: Library & Educator News

In Other News: The World Cup

June 23, 2014June 13, 2014

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!

Soccer. Football. The beautiful game. Ready or not, here comes the World Cup! (For the sake of sanity and simplification in this post,”soccer” refers to the game with the round ball while “football” refers to game with the oblong one.)

For most of the world, the most exciting month has just begun and Brazil is the place to be. For years, soccer has been a second-class sport among Americans. While there are always die-hard exceptions, soccer has struggled to gain a serious following. Which doesn’t make any sense at all.

The Changing Student Demographic

September 1, 2015June 12, 2014

By Jennifer Albers-Smith

Student demographics are changing–foreign, traditional, non-traditional, online. The way people access learning and research is changing. The Parthenon Group surveyed 3,200 students. Only 24% of those students were considered traditional. There is no doubt that the world has changed drastically in the last decade. Here at Gale, we know that your library plays a critical role in preparing your students, making them more successful in their courses, and helping them meet faculty expectations.

Secret Search Tips Revealed by a GVRL Expert

February 26, 2018June 11, 2014

By Nicole Rakozy

As the weather heats up and as school lets out, many of us are thinking of outdoor activities and summer projects. For me, summer fever has introduced idealistic visions of cultivating a vegetable garden with my one-year old daughter, but unfortunately I know very little about growing plants. In full disclosure: Some of my potted companions did not survive their winter stay at Casa de Rakozy. And despite my understanding that gardening with a toddler is likely to have more to do with stopping her from eating dirt rather than tilling it, I decided to give it a shot.

My first step was to do some research to answer basic questions like: What tools will I need? Where is the best spot to put a garden? Which plants are easiest to grow? I began by skimming one of the many gardening and horticulture e-books available to me in Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL).

Is Your Library Essential Enough?

April 3, 2019June 10, 2014

By Brian Risse

This article, “Being Essential Is Not Enough,” is a compelling commentary on the environment in which today’s libraries must function. Though written from an Academic Library perspective, when you read it with public libraries in mind, it still rings 100% true. And as the author, Rick Anderson states, “it’s a hard truth.”

Remove Confusion Around “Removes”

May 23, 2018June 10, 2014

By Michael Tepper

What if your Aunt Rose walks up to you and says, “I understand you’re into genealogy, so explain to me in plain English the difference between second cousins and first cousins twice removed.” Could you do it? If you cannot, if you’re a little confused about the “removes,” consider the following excerpt from Jackie Smith Arnold’s little book, Kinship:It’s All Relative.

Accommodate Your Community Members’ Career Goals

June 10, 2014June 9, 2014

goal-getter professional development resources for public libraries

Keisha is busy. In addition to being a mom, volunteering at the school, and working full time as a customer service representative, she’s looking for opportunities to advance her skills and move into a better job. A few co-workers have moved into management, but she’s been told she doesn’t have the background needed to be promoted. With school-aged kids and a 40-hour work week, Keisha’s schedule doesn’t accommodate traditional classes.

You’ve probably met Keisha – or a goal-getter just like her – in your library. To meet her needs, you can connect her with dozens of resources that can help her sharpen professional skills and pursue new opportunities for herself…and her family. All directly from your library website. Online learning programs, eBooks, and other resources are available 24/7 to answer questions and help members of your community expand their professional horizons (and earning opportunities).

In Other News: D-Day

June 12, 2014June 6, 2014

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

True story: I saw “Saving Private Ryan” in the theater twice because the fist time I couldn’t bear to watch the 27 minute opening scene — reputedly known for being one of the most accurate (read: horrifying) recreations of nearly 10,000 men injured or killed on a beach. (I also passed out while holding my breath during the final scene of “Black Hawk Down”; my fear and knowing the truth behind the real-life version of what happened next getting the better of me. But that is neither here nor there.)

Book vs. Movie: Which Will Win?

February 26, 2018June 6, 2014

By Bethany Dotson

A lot of this summer’s expected blockbusters are also available in large print from Thorndike Press, including the one that’s predicted to be The. Next. Big. Thing. If you haven’t seen the new The Fault in Our Stars trailer, you have been missing out (and probably haven’t checked Facebook or Twitter in a few days). And if you don’t tear up even just a little bit at the trailer, you might not be human. Watch out for that.

Which brings me to the point of my post—not being human, of course, but all of the amazing (and potentially not so amazing) movies that are coming to theaters this year featuring the best of books from nonfiction (The Monuments Men) to the newest crazes in dystopian fantasy (Dark Places, Gone Girl) to two—count ‘em, two—Gillian Flynn classics.

Summer Reading Now and Then

February 26, 2018June 5, 2014

By Debra Kirby

With summer fast approaching and news related to educational standards, common core, and the increasing need for students to focus on reading skills to meet the demands of the 21st century, educators and parents will be looking for ways to keep student skill levels high over the long break. A summer reading list is one way to meet that goal. Helping spark a child’s interest in reading and keep them reading through the summer, and hopefully for life, often hinges on finding the right book – one that will draw them in and introduce them to the wider world waiting to be discovered.

With that background, being part of the editorial teams responsible for the Books and Authors and the What Do I Read Next? (print and ebook) series of products has been especially gratifying, but somewhat frustrating too. Editors who work on this series make ample use of these resources to create their own personalized reading lists. For example, last summer, I used the targeted search features of Books and Authors to find what I felt would be the perfect book to take on vacation to Mackinac Island. By searching on “Romantic Suspense,” “Island” and “New England,” I was able to find the perfect light summer reading.

A Publishing Executive’s Perspective on the Value of Older Titles

September 25, 2014June 3, 2014

By Frank Menchaca

Library collections are developed with a keen eye towards selection criteria like quality, currency, and relevancy. These are logical considerations for any budget, but especially in today’s landscape, where libraries of all types and sizes are being tasked to make an increasingly greater impact, often with fewer financial resources.

When consulting with our library partners, we discover that oftentimes, currency implies relevancy and older titles, though tried and true, are quickly dismissed.

In the spirit of the old adage, “make new friends, but keep the old,” we’ve asked Frank Menchaca to share his personal perspective on the value of offering a collection which includes these older, but not outdated, research eBooks. Frank is the Senior Vice President of Global Product Management for the Gale, National Geographic Learning, and Professional groups at Cengage Learning.