Schools

Irish Short Fiction: A Saint Patrick’s Day Review

| By Eric Bargeron, Layman Poupard Publishing |

This Saint Patrick’s day, readers of Literature Criticism Online can distinguish themselves from the masses by eschewing green beer and shamrock kitsch, and contemplating instead the many contributions of Ireland to the world of literature. As critic Terence Brown notes in Short Story Criticism, volume 226, “it is scarcely a disputable fact of literary history that Irish prose fiction writers have been drawn to the short story form and have indeed excelled in it.” That volume, which is devoted entirely to Irish writers, includes a lengthy entry on James Joyce. His stories, all of which are contained in the collection Dubliners, are widely considered to be among the best in the English language. Joyce himself was fairly convinced of the importance of the book, even before its publication, as Morris Beja writes in his essay “One Good Look at Themselves”:

During their dispute over the problems in bringing out an edition of Dubliners, James Joyce wrote the publisher Grant Richards that ‘I seriously believe that you will retard the course of civilization in Ireland by preventing the Irish people from having one good look at themselves in my nicely polished looking-glass.’

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One Shining Moment in Space and Time

| By Debra Kirby |

While a history major in college, one of my classes was a one-on-one tutorial on the history of science.  During one session my patient professor was able to explain Einstein’s special relativity theory so that I was truly able to understand it—for one bright shining moment. I could almost feel my brain working! It was beautiful! Sorry to say, I was never again able to recapture that moment in quite the same way, despite later taking a “Physics for Poets” class and going through quite the hero worship phase, which included reading every book on Einstein I was able to purchase or borrow. I even hung a poster of him in my bedroom. Because my history focus was on World War II, I found Einstein biographies especially fascinating, since much of his life was intertwined with and influenced by that war.  In honor of Einstein’s birthday today, March 14, I recently visited Gale’s Science In Context to reacquaint myself with the great physicist. Here are just a few of the interesting facts I found:

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Teaching Research Made Easy with Gale

| By Lori Warren | Located in Chattanooga, the STEM School opened in the Summer of 2012 on the Chattanooga State Community College Campus. The high school’s name stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. All students enrolled: receive an iPad, participate in Project Based Learning Units, and pursue a STEM focused curriculum. As their … Read more

Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, 2nd Edition: One of the Best Reference Titles of 2016

Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, 2nd ed., has been named to Library Journal‘s “Best Reference Titles of 2016” list. Released annually and “compiled by a group of Library Journal’s top reference reviewers and editors” the list serves as “a roundup of the best databases reviewed in Library Journal this past year.” The resoundingly positive review published earlier … Read more

Canada oh Canada – Neighbor to the North, East, South (depending)

Canada has been in the United States news more than usual recently, with the visit of Justin Trudeau in early February, the proposed resumption of construction on the Keystone Pipeline, and news that some immigrants residing in the United States are now fleeing to Canada. In many parts of the United States, Canada may not … Read more

Human Diseases and Conditions, an “Easy Read”

Searching for a resource to support researchers seeking authoritative health information? The search stops here with Human Diseases and Conditions! Offering in-depth coverage of all areas of health and disease, Human Diseases and Conditions offers current and accurate information on approximately 450 diseases and conditions. The topics covered include infectious diseases, many cancers, chronic and acute physical and psychological conditions, newly emerging and reemerging diseases, public health issues, and issues of interest to the young adult audience (eating disorders, sports injuries, growth, and puberty). Behavioral health is covered as thoroughly as physical health.

Want more? Read a review from Barbara Bibel, a Reference Librarian at Oakland Public Library:

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Library Media Specialist Points Fellow Librarians to Opposing Viewpoints In Context

Originally posted on School Library Journal, February 15, 2017 Fake news is everywhere, and many Americans in this digital age struggle to sort fact from fiction. As the concern for fake news and what to to with it grows, students and researchers are turning to the library for reliable, authoritative tools to aid proper research. … Read more

Raise Your Hand If You Want to Know More About Usage, Part II

By Scott Steward

Welcome back to the Gale Technical Solutions blog series!

This is part two in a two part series.

In my last issue (usage part l), I focused on Gale’s definition of the usage metrics we report and how they are counted.  If you haven’t read it yet, you can find it here: http://blog.gale.com/raise-your-hand-if-you-want-to-know-more-about-usage/.

For this issue, I will be continuing my discussion about usage, focusing on the factors that affect usage such as discovery services, LMS, openURL and direct links.

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New Professional Development Collections from Solution Tree

Gale recently partnered with Solution Tree, a premier provider of professional development resources, that strives to increase student achievement and ensure that every child in every school gets the world-class education he or she deserves. Thanks to this partnership, instructors and administrators can better enhance their professional development eBook collection to further meet strategic goals. … Read more

Using Gale for College and High School Instruction

By Lori Warren Another plus for using Gale databases for library and research instruction is the integration of Google and Microsoft Tools. The STEM school on our campus uses the Google tools and our college students and faculty use the Microsoft tools.  As our high school students move into college classes, they transition naturally to … Read more