Tara Blair, Author at Gale Blog: Library & Educator News | K12, Academic & Public

Cold Enough For You?

May 25, 2016January 11, 2016

By Mary Kelly and Holly Hibner
Posted on January 11, 2016

Winter is one of my favorite seasons to do reader advisory. Yes, you read that correctly. Bad weather, especially snow and ice, are good for reader advisory. I can sell any book or video when the weather is bad. Weather is my go-to subject for ice breakers. This, at least, gets the conversation started and can lead a librarian right toward the patron’s information need. For those of us in the northern parts of the Midwest, we share with our patrons the long suffering experience of long, grey winters, and all the problems that can bring. Even if you love winter, by February things are looking pretty sad. Winter, where I live, can sometimes stretch right into May. It’s not the cold temperatures; it is the seemingly endless days of dark and grey. By late January, most of my customers coming into the library look like they are on a casting call for The Walking Dead, and misery loves company.

Product Updates for Primary Source Newspapers

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016

The annual update for several primary source newspaper archives are now available: The Economist Historical Archive, 1843-2012 The Times Digital Archive, 1785-2010 The Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive, 1902-2011 Adding tens of thousands of new pages, new, more contemporary results will begin to show immediately in your searches. The additional materials are now available within each archive, … Read more

In Response to the Recent American Libraries article on Digital Humanities

January 5, 2016

Gale recently partnered with American Libraries magazine to co-produce a survey of librarians and faculty about digital humanities, which was covered in Jan/Feb issue of American Libraries (here). As part of our contract with American Libraries, Gale had no editorial control of the resulting coverage, including any communication between the magazine and writers at any … Read more

Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library: Editor’s highlights

May 25, 2016January 5, 2016

by Ellie Hawkes

One of the best things about being Product Editor on the Early Arabic Printed Books project is being exposed to works that I have never encountered before. Having worked on rare book digitization projects many times in the past, it’s a real treat to

How to Get and Hold Student’s Attention

January 4, 2016December 18, 2015

Posted on December 18, 2015

By Megan McCarthy

We’ve all heard the saying, “information is power.” That being said, sometimes too much information makes you feel powerless. Take for example, my experience making lasagna. I needed a good recipe for lasagna one night. So, I googled “great lasagna recipes.” I got 247 great lasagna recipe posts. Completely overwhelmed by the amount of information, I quickly closed my computer and ordered pizza. The lasagna would have to wait for another night.

The same is true in the classroom. Students and teachers can be completely overwhelmed by the amount of information available today. Finding the right balance for success can be tricky. If teachers overload their students, they are likely to shut down. If they pick the wrong subject matter or use the wrong content, students can lose interest. That’s why CLiC (Classroom in Context) is such a valuable tool in the classroom.

ECCO the World, and Why…

December 18, 2015

Published on December 18, 2015

Gale’s Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) recently celebrated its 14th anniversary on December 4^th and it got me to thinking. Most commonly, the conversations surrounding the 18th century point to the major stories or developments of the American Revolution, French Revolution, and Industrial Revolution. For example, the industrialization of the world and manufacturing of powered, special-purpose machinery, factories, and mass production. Others might think about the American Revolution’s Boston Tea Party or the Battle of Bunker Hill, for instance. But what about the moments that lead up to these events?

Product Updates for Literature Resources

December 17, 2015

Posted on December 17, 2015

On December 21st, Literature Resources Center, LitFinder, and MLA International Bibliography will fully transition to a mobile-responsive interface, with enhanced features. The outstanding content remains the same, as well as the ways you search. Here are the exciting changes coming to your library:

Google Drive Integration: After authentication, users can seamlessly login with their Google Apps for Education account to access tools like Google Drive and Docs Learn more
New Look and Feel: Modern design with high-quality and easy-to-use toolset
Mobile Responsive Design: Optimized for all screen sizes, regardless of device
Improved Navigation: Content featured in prime locations with toolbars and filters on the right
Enhanced Accessibility: High-contrast banners and improved tool buttons make web content easier to locate

No Action Required: If your library has yet to upgrade to the new experience, an automatic migration will take place on December 21^st. If your library took advantage of an early migration, we hope you are enjoying your new experience!

New Titles Added to the InfoTrac Collections in November 2015

December 18, 2015December 16, 2015

Posted on December 16, 2015

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

Best Cities for Successful Aging (Milken Institute)
2013 Global Opportunity Index: Attracting Foreign Investment (Milken Institute)
Archaeology International (Ubiquity Press Ltd.) 2048-4194 Peer-reviewed
Capital Markets in Developing Countries: The State of Play (Milken Institute)
Checkup Time: Chronic Disease and Wellness in America (Milken Institute)
CNN Wire (Spanish) (CNN Newsource Sales, Inc.)
Corrosion Reviews (Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG) 0334-6005 Peer-reviewed

See You In Beantown!

January 11, 2016December 15, 2015

By Michelle Eickmeyer

In just over three weeks, we’ll once again be coming together to celebrate the role and value of librarians, and librarians and staff. Though the winter meeting is not as widely attended (and is quite a lot of meetings), the excitement of an ALA is difficult to match.

As vendors attending the show, we’re able to hear from you directly what concerns and issues you are trying to overcome and sharing some of the exciting things we have going on at Gale.

And there’s a lot!

Earlier this year, Gale embarked on the strategic decision to become a Google Apps for Education Partner. This enables us to both make content more discoverable (and trackable to you!) AND easier to save/return to later. Tens of thousands of users have saved documents from the Gale resources they access through your library with their Google credentials. Students and teachers are accessing their In Context resources directly through apps in Google Classroom. Students and faculty beginning their research in Google Scholar are being directed to the library’s Academic OneFile. We’re so excited about our partnership with Google, and everything we’re working on next with them! More information can be found here.

Content Updates for Kids InfoBits (week ending 12/18/2015)

June 13, 2017December 14, 2015

Posted on December 14, 2015 Kids InfoBits has added new content to its product. The following now appears: Kids InfoBits Presents Astronomy Over 60 update entries have been posted including some of the following topics: Asteroids Constellations Earth Galaxies Hubble Space Telescope Mars Meteors and Meteorites Moon Pluto Space Stations Stars Kids InfoBits Presents Canada … Read more