Academic

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

By Scott Steward The topic I want to discuss is Usage, but since usage is such a broad topic, I will break it up into two posts. In Part I, I will be focusing on some usage basics; what metrics Gale reports and how they are counted. The next blog, Part II, I will focus on … Read more

The ACLU’s role in Brown v. Board of Education

During Black History Month, we remember monumental events that have profoundly changed the United States and impacted the lives of many Americans. One key event in American history is the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. In this Supreme Court case, public schools were ordered desegregated in a unanimous verdict. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) played an important role in Brown v. Board of Education, ensuring that “separate but equal” would no longer apply to educational facilities. Though public education was not fully desegregated by the decision, it began a series of legal victories for the burgeoning civil rights movement and defined constitutional support for racial equality.

Read moreThe ACLU’s role in Brown v. Board of Education

A Literary Un-Valentine’s Day

Every Valentine’s Day we are bombarded with idealized images of true love and passion, and for the unlucky in love, the holiday can be difficult to stomach. In the spirit of demonstrating that matters could be worse, we offer two literary anti-love-scenes, taken from the digital pages of Literature Criticism Online. Consider the plight of … Read more

Gender: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies: Highly Recommended

Support researchers in the study of gender with Gender: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies. By employing literature, film, art, history, and other disciplines, Gender fosters critical thought in gender and sexuality. Highlighting queer, women’s, and men’s studies, Gender: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies provides researchers with a highly recommended resource in the study of gender.

Take a peak at what a reviewer had to say:

Read more Gender: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies: Highly Recommended

7 Primary Source Documents Related to Immigration and the ACLU

Since its inception the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has taken part in some of the most contentious legal battles in American history. The ACLU has once again become a central figure in a contentious legal battle following their objections to the recent Executive Order restricting immigration from 7 countries. The ACLU has a long history of fighting restrictions on immigration they deem in violation of civil liberties. The documents below found in the American Civil Liberties Union Papers, 1912-1990 are several examples of the ACLU’s past involvement in issues surrounding immigration.

Read more7 Primary Source Documents Related to Immigration and the ACLU

Bridging the Gap Between Quantitative and Qualitative Research in Digital Newspaper Archives

by Thomas Smits on DIGITAL HUMANITIES NOW Since the early 2000s, humanities 3.0, as Rens Bod has called it, was posited as being able to discover new patterns, mostly over long periods of time, that were overlooked by traditional qualitative approaches. A study by a team of academics led by Professor Nello Christianini of the University of … Read more

Alternative Facts, Fake News, and Digital Literacy

By Traci Cothran

There was a time when we didn’t need to define what a fact was – or rather, we all understood that it meant the same thing. It was a fact – it was the truth; the rest was fiction or opinion. There were clear, credible sources, and there were those that weren’t. Now students, teachers, and librarians (as well as the rest of the American populous) must grapple with distinguishing fact, fake news, and “alternative facts” on a near-constant basis. While the Internet gives us a plethora of easy-to-access information, it’s up to us to discern what is factual and what is not.

To do that, we need to start asking hard questions of everything we read and hear – such as:

  • Where did that Facebook “news” post originate?
  • Is this news or a “newsvertisement?”
  • Are these statistics or this sound bite taken out of context to distort their meaning?
  • Who penned this article? Do they have a specific agenda that influences their writing?
  • Who created this website and how are they getting paid for their content?
  • When you reverse-search the image used in the article, do you find different source content?

Read moreAlternative Facts, Fake News, and Digital Literacy

Robert Smalls: From Slave to Senator

During Black History Month, we honor African Americans who made significant contributions to American society and impacted the course of American history. One such figure is Robert Smalls, who was born a slave in South Carolina, made a dramatic escape from slavery, and was later elected to Congress. With primary sources, Smalls’ remarkable life, achievements, and impact can be considered and understood through contemporary accounts.

Read moreRobert Smalls: From Slave to Senator

Philosophy: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies: Highly Recommended in All Libraries

Looking for a way to stimulate philosophical discussions without lengthy excerpts? The search stops here with Philosophy: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies. By using film, literature, art, case studies, and other disciplines to provide an innovative approach to introducing philosophy, this resource will be your one-stop source for all things philosophy.

See what a professor said in CHOICE, February, 2017:

Read morePhilosophy: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies: Highly Recommended in All Libraries

More Enhancements to Gale eBooks on GVRL

Last month, Gale eBooks on GVRL underwent quite a few improvements. From visual and accessibility enhancements to options for homepage customization (read the full blog), our goal is to continuously update the platform based on our users’ needs. Below are three, additional enhancements users can expect to find in product: Search within custom collections. Previously users … Read more