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Public Libraries Help Solve California’s Dropout Problem

Today, nearly 40 million adults lack their high school diploma. Your library can play a key role in re-engaging adults into the education system, with Career Online High School, part of the world’s first accredited private online school district. Along with academic coaches, certified teachers, and technical support staff, your library can help these students realize … Read more

Local Libraries Expand Offerings with Gale Courses

Gale Courses supports libraries as educational institutions and gives community members easy access to lifelong learning opportunities including professional development, technology, and personal enrichment courses. Tied to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ fastest-growing occupations, Gale Courses covers a variety of career topics, positioning the library to drive local economic development and meet demand for the top workplace skills. Gale Courses provides more than 365, six-week long online programs taught by college instructors who are experts in their field.

See how Lemont Public Library is using Gale Courses to foster positive change in their community with a Chicago Tribune newsletter!

To support continuing education in your community with Gale Courses, request a trial today!

Read moreLocal Libraries Expand Offerings with Gale Courses

Giving Thanks for National Teachers’ Day

| By Debra Kirby |

National Teachers’ Day, which is observed in the United States on the first Tuesday of the first full week in May, is a great time to reflect on all the ways teachers have enriched our lives. Engaged teachers go beyond teaching their students the subject matter related to their classes—they also teach such skills as critical thinking, communication, organization, teamwork, and—in some cases—act as role models in ways that benefit their students into adulthood.

I was very fortunate to have just such a teacher: Mrs. Erma Colding, the science teacher at Harms Elementary in Detroit. Her class was the favorite of many students, and not just because it was filled with plants and animals. She was kind, engaging, encouraging, passionate about learning, and made science fun! Most of this I recognized at the time, but it was many years before I realized she had also been a role model for grace, dignity, and courage. I kept in touch with Mrs. Colding throughout my life, but only learned after her death that she was also a civil rights activist and a recipient of the prestigious NAACP Freedom and Justice Award.

Read moreGiving Thanks for National Teachers’ Day

Create an Immersive Experience with Gale Interactive

Gale Interactive: Human Anatomy and Chemistry have been positively reviewed recently by Magan Szwarek, a director of Reference Services. A lover of audiobooks and a dedicated readers’ advisor, Magan serves on the Steering Committee of the Adult Reading Round Table and is enthusiastic about re-imaging what public libraries can offer the communities they serve. This impressive review, published … Read more

Not Studying for an Exam is a Crime…

| By Traci Cothran |

Two University of Kentucky students were arrested last week and charged with third-degree burglary for allegedly breaking into a professor’s office in the dead of night to steal an exam. The pair told police they entered the office via ceiling air ducts, and their teacher caught them upon returning to the office from a food break around 2 am.

While this does conjure up some cool images from Mission: Impossible, let’s not forget that these students now not only face a failing test grade, but college disciplinary action as well as legal proceedings . . . not to mention having to explain their actions to their parents.  And I have to wonder, dear reader, wouldn’t it have been just as easy (and less perilous) to study for the final?

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Unearth the Story Behind Hulu’s Riveting New Series, The Handmaid’s Tale

| By Traci Cothran | The Handmaid’s Tale is a new TV series on Hulu, and it’s getting a lot of attention. The Guardian calls it a “timely adaptation [that] scares with dystopian dread.”  USA Today dubs it “a wake-up call for women.”  James Poniewozik from The New York Times says, “It is unflinching, vital and … Read more

Not One, but Three Remarkable Reviews for Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions

Looking for a way to support researchers’ knowledge of religious groups in North America? Look no further! Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions provides students and the general public alike with coverage of more than 2,300 North American religious groups in the U.S. and Canada. With the culmination of more than forty years of research, you won’t be surprised by what reviewers had to say:

Read moreNot One, but Three Remarkable Reviews for Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions

Long Beach Public Library Receives Nation’s Highest Honor for Community Service

| Originally posted on Long Beach Post, April 12th, 2017 | Long Beach Public Library is among 30 selected for the 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries for service to the community, the Institute of Museum of Library Services (IMLS) announced. “The Long Beach Public … Read more