Tara Blair

Tara Blair is a Digital Marketing Specialist for Gale, a Cengage Company. In her spare time, she is a total crime junkie and spends her days listening to podcasts—especially those of the unsolved.

Working Like a Dog

By Tara Blair 

This work week was unlike any other. I eagerly awaited Thursday—yes, I said Thursday—for a day that otherwise only existed in my dreams. It was the day that Gale celebrated Take Your Dog To Work Day (TYDTWD), where staff members were invited to bring their best friend to the office. As I walked into Gale with my employee badge and my Australian Cattle Dog, I couldn’t help but think, “does this day offer any substantial benefits, or is it just pure amusement?”

After a small amount of research, I found that a doggone good time isn’t the only reward to sharing a cubicle with your four-legged companion.

Sit, stay….and read about all the perks of TYDTWD and check out some photos from Gale’s dog day.

Read moreWorking Like a Dog

Lasell Library Uses GVRL to Enhance Student Research

Jill Shoemaker, a librarian at Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts, where over 1,700 students have come to expect quick search results cShoemakeromparative to Google, but with relevancy and accuracy. Lasell Library uses Gale eBooks on GVRL as a “one-stop shop” to provide students “exactly what they’re looking for.” What they are looking for is easy to use access to digital research materials that meet academic standards. “I would definitely recommend GVRL,” says Shoemaker, “the books are excellent, the professors really like it, and it’s wonderful for the students—who love it!”

Challenge

  •  Information literacy librarian struggles to ensure honors students have access to and use digital research materials that meet academic standards.
  • Convince students who constantly compare digital learning tools to Google and the open web to use trusted reference sources.

Solution 

Read moreLasell Library Uses GVRL to Enhance Student Research

Gale Donates Art Before Leaving ALA

By Tara Blair The American Library Association Conference is complete and so is the ‪#‎MyLibraryPic mosaic! Attendees posed for their photos at the Gale booth to be a part of the art. Staff used iPads to take the pics, which were immediately printed and given to the photographee for placement on the canvas using specific coordinates. As time went on, and hundreds of photos … Read more

iSchool to make strong showing at Digital Humanities 2016

Several iSchool representatives will speak at Digital Humanities 2016, the annual conference of the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations. The event will be held in Krakow, Poland on July 11-17. Presentations by iSchool faculty, staff, and students include: “Mining Texts with the Extracted Features Dataset” Presented by Postdoctoral Research Associate Peter Organisciak and Professor J. … Read more

Time to Hit the Trail

By Candy Jones-Guerin

Did you know that there are National Parks in 27 states? July is National Parks and Recreation Month and we think it’s the perfect time to hit the road and explore our great country. First let’s take a look at National Geographic’s quick list of the 10 most visited National Parks:

1. Great Smokey Mountains
2. Grand Canyon
3. Rocky Mountain
4. Yosemite
5. Yellowstone
6. Zion
7. Olympic
8. Grand Teton
9. Acadia
10. Glacier

Read moreTime to Hit the Trail

Global Issues In Context Product Update

Updated May 24, 2016

Original Posting March 31, 2016

Global Issues In Context has been updated to reflect the standard user interface found in all the other Gale In Context products. Customers will be migrated to the new version of the product August 5, 2016.

During the continued soft launch – running through the month of July – here’s what you’ll find:

  • Spotlight stories will track current events.
  • New and updated portals will be called-out (flagged) so they are easy to find.
  • Google integration tools like Google sign-in, download to Google Drive, and Classroom Share capabilities.
  • A mobile optimized interface for ease of use on any device.
  • Additional features familiar to users such as, Highlights and Notes and additional language translation options.

Read moreGlobal Issues In Context Product Update

New Titles Added to the InfoTrac Collections in June 2016

The titles below have been recently added and can be located in the product using Basic or Advanced Search forms. Titles can be found via Browse Publications within two weeks. For complete coverage information please see the product title lists.   Academic OneFile  American Journal of Theology & Philosophy (University of Illinois Press) 0194-3448 Peer-reviewed … Read more

Gale Encyclopedias: “Comprehensive” and “Well Written” Titles

Research matters. How you research matters, too. With Gale encyclopedias, on the GVRL platform, researchers gain access to a search-optimized platform that gives users simultaneous access to a hassle-free eBook experience—anytime, anywhere, from any device. These “detailed” and “comprehensive” resources engage users in the most-studied subjects ranging from health and medicine to science and disorders and much, much more.

Read what a few of our patrons had to say!

Read moreGale Encyclopedias: “Comprehensive” and “Well Written” Titles

Testing and Education Reference Center Updates

Posted June 29th, 2016.

Gale is pleased to announce upcoming enhancements to Testing & Education Reference Center (TERC) in the coming months. This invaluable education and career database will receive interface updates to the online courses (summer), practice tests (fall), and have a responsive design by year end.

Users will experience:

  • Intuitive navigation
  • Standardized terminology
  • Popular web iconography
  • Improved readability
  • Uniform design across the platform

Read moreTesting and Education Reference Center Updates

Digital Humanities Summer Institute

The Digital Humanities Summer Institute (DHSI), was hosted by the University of Victoria campus in Saanich and Oak Bay within Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The Digital Humanities Summer Institute provides an ideal environment for discussing and learning about new computing technologies and how they are influencing teaching, research, dissemination, creation, and preservation in different disciplines, via a community-based approach. … Read more