Academic

Hello, Hair! My Thoughts on the Return of Downton Abbey

By Jennifer Albers-Smith

***Warning: May contain spoilers for Season 5 of Downton Abbey***

Downton is back. And I’m so relieved. Nothing brightens up a cold January night (here in Michigan) more than a brightly colored and eventful Downton Abbey episode. And Sunday’s premier certainly didn’t disappoint. I spent a few days over Christmas vacation sick with the stomach flu, and I relived all of the Downton moments watching seasons 1-4 from my couch. I was ready for Sunday.

The clothing and hairstyles were fresh in my mind, so the first thing I noticed in Season 5’s premier were the new hairstyles. I wrote this post last year gushing over the clothes; now it’s time to focus on the hairstyles. Even Jimmy had a new ‘do. And poor Molesley…he has a good heart, but he’s hard to take seriously with his new “blue” hue.

Read moreHello, Hair! My Thoughts on the Return of Downton Abbey

Gale Artemis: Literary Sources and Literature Criticism Online Update

Presents came early for some of your favorite literature resources. As of December 18, the ability to browse the entire volume from ‘About this Publication’ page for all Literature Criticism Online (LCO) series in Gale Artemis: Literary Sources and LCO has been added. The default “Search within publication” will now be within the particular volume instead of the entire series. This change will yield better, more focused results.

After clicking the What’s Inside link, you can find your library’s databses within LCO to locate specific volumes:

Read moreGale Artemis: Literary Sources and Literature Criticism Online Update

In Other News: Boxing Day

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

As an American, I have zero knowledge of what Boxing Day is in practice. To be honest, I thought it had something to do with the sport of boxing. I know there are soccer matches held on Boxing Day, why couldn’t it have had something to do with boxing? But it turns out, no. It’s actually to do with packages. Two kinds of packages – and some of the best kinds — gifts and left-overs. Boxing Day is an extension of Christmas. Interestingly, modern Boxing Day is a bit of “Christmas [or Hanukkah, I’d presume] with the family you chose, eating all of the delicious food remaining from family holiday celebrations.

I love this, and believe America must adopt it at once!

Read moreIn Other News: Boxing Day

Cuba: Learning from the Past

By Bethany Dotson

Last week, President Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba announced moves to normalize diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba following more than a year of secret talks in Canada and at the Vatican (Read more here, here, and here). The 54-year-old embargo on trade and diplomatic relations stems back to Cold War hostilities.

Read moreCuba: Learning from the Past

In Other News: The Top Searched Terms of 2014

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL. 

By Michelle Eickmeyer

Well, it’s that time of year again! Ugly sweaters, potentially awkward work/social events (not mine – mine was hilarious) and year end lists! So let’s take a break from the news and take a look at ourselves — and what “you” have been up to this year. We’re going to take a look at the top search terms within GVRL!

Read moreIn Other News: The Top Searched Terms of 2014

Social Change and Civil Rights in Modern America

If you live in a major city like Los Angeles, New York, or as I do in Detroit, you are witness to outcries and protests in response to the recent grand jury decisions in Missouri and New York. Disturbing images of angry protesters facing off with police officers, too often along racial lines, affect us all in different but profound ways. Young people, now so connected to the world, are inundated with news stories, videos, and commentary – often politically biased – on social media and the web. The events cry out to be put in historical context, and our job as adults is do so, and thus help younger generations better understand our seemingly chaotic times.

Read moreSocial Change and Civil Rights in Modern America

New Parenthetical Citation Tool Now Available in GVRL

At Gale we are always working to improve our products and make them more useful for our customers. Along those lines, we’re happy to announce the addition of a new Parenthetical Citation tool to GVRL. Designed to work in concert with our popular Highlights & Notes tool, it adds the ability to automatically produce a citation for highlighted text in a GVRL eBook.

Read moreNew Parenthetical Citation Tool Now Available in GVRL

In Other News: The Royals

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.  By Michelle Eickmeyer Lorde was right; we will never be Royals. (At least not most of us, at any rate.) Of all the British things we Americans like, the Royal family is top of the list. Particularly, we are … Read more