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.

Libraries Mean More than Business

We know libraries mean business. But in a lot of ways, the public library means more than just business. When it comes to career advice, personal fulfillment, health, and even parenting, you are an indispensable resource to your patrons. That’s why we’ve recently partnered with The American Management Association (AMACOM) to provide coverage on subjects … Read more

Exploring Central Park by Foot and by Mouse

| By Debra Kirby |

After spending five days in New York City, much of it in and around Central Park, I decided to give my tired feet a rest and engage in some online exploration in honor of National Parks and Recreation Month, which has been celebrated in the United States during the month of July since 1985.

I already knew that Central Park was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Detroit’s Belle Isle Park—where I spent many childhood weekends, picnicking with my family and wading through the mucky sand of the beaches of the Detroit River. But there was so much more to discover, so I jumped into U.S. History In Context and learned:

Read moreExploring Central Park by Foot and by Mouse

American Civil Liberties Union Papers, 1912–1990, from the Mind of an Archivist

Enable your users to immerse in civil rights history like never before with our new archive American Civil Liberties Union Papers, 1912–1990, part of the Making of Modern Law collection. Drawing from the records of the ACLU, it focuses on civil rights, race, gender, and issues relating to the U.S. Supreme Court—topics highly relevant to … Read more

“Teach Like a PIRATE” and More Best Seller PD eBooks Now Available on GVRL

New York Times best-selling title, “Teach Like a PIRATE”, and other Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. professional development tiles have been added to Gale eBooks on GVRL. Ignite passion for the profession, dramatically increase student engagement, boost creativity, and transform the lives of educators with this 21-title collection. Explore 21 must-have titles, in one comprehensive collection, … Read more

New Content Recently Added to National Geographic Virtual Library

The content below has been recently added and can be located in the product using Basic or Advanced Search forms. To view a list of all the content included in the National Geographic collections and for complete coverage information, please visit our Database Titles List. Stay tuned for updates on new content! National Geographic: People, Animals, … Read more

Register Today! Driving Decisions with Data Webinar

Is Your Library Measuring Up? How can you ensure your library’s goals and initiatives support households in your community? It can be tricky, but with Analytics On Demand, you can add value to your library’s existing data and unlock key insights about your community. Join us, and American Libraries, July 24th for a free episode … Read more

U.S. Declassified Documents Online Appeals to Scholars

U.S. Declassified Documents Online‘s greatest value lies in the wealth of facts and insights that it provides in connection with the political, economic, and social conditions of the United States and other countries. A significant resource for researchers in almost every discipline, this collection makes it possible for researchers to easily and quickly access and review … Read more

Highlights of BookExpo

BookExpo Buzz Titles

We attended BookExpo last month at the Javits Center in New York. The largest annual trade book fair in the United States, BookExpo brings together publishers, booksellers, authors, and librarians. It’s an exciting place to be, with thousands of other book people and huge banners hanging from the rafters displaying upcoming buzz books. It was a great chance to meet publishers and some of our authors to learn about titles to watch for in the coming year ―  and hear from librarians about what their patrons of all ages are looking for, and how we can serve them better. Panels of authors and industry insiders discussed trends, upcoming titles and programming, and tried to predict the next big genre. Here is a list of some Book Expo buzz titles that we’re publishing in large print.

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Gale and Book Aid International: A Shared Mission for Empowerment

| By Jessica Edwards |

Although I spend most of my time working for the Gale International Marketing team, I’m also a Publisher Ambassador for the charity Book Aid International. After touring the Cengage warehouse last year and learning about operational processes, including the scrapping of books, I was inspired to research ways of extending the lives of books marked for pulping. I consequently came across Book Aid International, a long-established charity who ship new books from UK publishers out to sub-Saharan Africa, and was immediately impressed with the value and scale of their work.

The charity not only accepts book donations, but establishes librarian training programmes and funds refurbishments at partner libraries in sub-Saharan Africa and the occupied Palestinian territories. Some of these libraries are in communities with a very limited access to books such as refugee camps, prisons, and slums, others are in hospitals or universities where resources are extremely dated. Book Aid International works with some of the largest UK publishers, and all the books shipped abroad are new. In 2016, they sent over a million books. They also work with local publishers to source books in local languages.

It can be hard to appreciate quite how desperate the need is, but a few particularly powerful stories go some way towards demonstrating. The Menelik II Referral Hospital in Ethiopia is a hospital with no internet connection, and therefore no online resources. Thus, the library is vital for medical staff to access the up-to-date information they require. Nearly all the books in the hospital library are provided by Book Aid International. Samuel’s story in the video below is also a powerful indication of how the work of Book Aid International helps individuals pull themselves out of poverty. The video also outlines the charity’s many achievements over the last year.

Read moreGale and Book Aid International: A Shared Mission for Empowerment

Gale Courses Classroom Goes Mobile

With the June 14 session, 7 additional foreign language courses have been added to Gale Courses. To date, 235 courses have launched on the new platform. Students who enroll in these classes will experience an enhanced classroom interface which includes: Mobile responsive design Modern, intuitive features More options to engage with content The new platform will roll out … Read more