Public Archives | Page 82 of 145 | Gale Blog: Library & Educator News

How to Participate in National Library Legislative Day from Home

September 24, 2018April 21, 2017

| Originally published by District Dispatch | As library supporters from across the United States prepare to go to Washington, D.C. to participate in National Library Legislative Day, don’t forget that you can participate from home! All week long (May 1-5th), we’re asking library supporters to email, call, and tweet their Members of Congress about federal library … Read more

Daughters Who Make the First Ladies Proud

April 19, 2017April 19, 2017

| By Debra Kirby |

Mother’s Day is less than a month away. Talking with a colleague and fellow mother recently, we both made the observation that the occasion has become less about honoring our own mothers (who are no longer with us), but about our daughters. Neither of us can recall when that focus changed for us, but we both agreed that we are happy to be mothers of beautiful, accomplished, caring daughters and that we survived the often challenging and sometimes turbulent teen years.

This conversation was fresh in my mind when I volunteered to review and update the overview article for Chelsea Clinton in Gale’s Biography In Context, which naturally led to thoughts of how much more challenging it would be to raise a daughter amidst the often unrelenting coverage of the presidential family. Former First Ladies Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama all successfully raised daughters under these conditions. Here are just a few examples that would make any mother proud:

In 2009, outgoing twin first daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush wrote a charming letter to the incoming Obama girls, Sasha and Malia, with heartfelt advice about living in the White House fishbowl. Eight years later, they wrote a second letter about adjusting to a post-White House life. [Read the article]
Chelsea Clinton’s touching speech introducing her mother as the Democratic Presidential candidate at the DNC last summer is high on my list of favorite first daughter examples, but there are many more such moments and accomplishments from which to choose, including her advocacy work on behalf of the Clinton Foundation and other organizations and causes, and of course becoming a parent herself! [View all of the Chelsea Clinton resources available through Biography In Context]

Running Like a Girl

April 17, 2017

| By Debra Kirby |

Anyone remember when phrases like “You run like a girl!” were considered insults? Not anymore! I love when power is claimed by turning what is meant to be a negative into a positive. Two recent events are inspiring me right now:

My 9-year-old granddaughter has joined her school’s Girls on the Run program, which will culminate in a 5K Run (“Not a race, Nana” says Grace) in June.
Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon 50 years ago, ran it again this year – at the age of 70!

Digging in to Earth Day

April 19, 2017April 17, 2017

| By Debra Kirby |

On April 22, Earth Day will be observed by more than a billion people in nearly 200 countries, making it the world’s largest civic observance. The first Earth Day was held in 1970, a year I remember well. I had recently moved to a smaller high school where the student body was less diverse and more conservative. When I found out that my new school had no plans to mark the important occasion, I gathered a few like-minded friends and, with a sense of righteous indignation, we marched out to the parking lot to pick up trash! Not the most impactful way to celebrate the first ever Earth Day, but the effort apparently helped cement my reputation as a “rebel egg head,” as I learned years later when I was introduced as such to more than one former classmate’s spouse at our 20^th high school reunion.

Many years later I can’t recall much about that day or even, now I think of it, the history behind Earth Day. But having access to Gale’s rich database content, I recently set out to educate myself. Here’s what I found:

The concept for Earth Day began with United States Senator Gaylord Nelson, a Wisconsin Democrat, who in 1969 proposed a series of environmental teach-ins on college campuses across the nation. Hoping to satisfy a course requirement at Harvard by organizing a teach-in there, law student Denis Hayes flew to Washington, DC, to interview Nelson, who persuaded Hayes to drop out of Harvard and organize the nationwide series of events. (Science In Context)

New Curriculum Correlations in Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History

April 11, 2017

Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History now connects literary concepts to primary sources located in the product. Detailed curriculum correlations align the primary source to national social science and literary standards for easy-to-see application across subjects. Primary source materials greatly enrich learning for high school students by helping them develop critical thinking skills, pursue independent … Read more

You Empower Us! What Empowers You? Let Us Know During National Library Week and You Could…

April 9, 2017

Win a free T-shirt! Be featured on our social media pages! Most importantly, let everyone know what empowers you. All of this and more happens when Gale kicks off National Library Week 2017! To celebrate, we want to spark a conversation where librarians from coast to coast share what they’re empowered by. As a librarian, you … Read more

National Autism Awareness Month

April 19, 2017April 7, 2017

| By Traci Cothran |

Sesame Street’s first new puppet in a decade debuts this month; her name is Julia, she’s a cutie-pie, and she has Autism. To say this is a huge moment for the Autism community is a gross understatement, as kids on the spectrum struggle every day to find acceptance and friendship, and Sesame Street is now providing a way for young children to grow up understanding this disorder better and accepting kids who have it. Like many others parents of children on the spectrum, I was thrilled (and a little choked up) watching the “60 Minutes” segment about Julia and all the research and thoughtfulness Sesame Street put into the creation of this character.

And, as a parent, I’m always trying to keep current on new trends, therapies, and research on Autism. It can be overwhelming, as it seems there’s less defined about Autism than is known. This is where I love our Gale resources. We have fantastic information on the topic in our eBooks on GVRL, including:

• Autism, 1st Edition
Series Name: Introducing Issues with Opposing Viewpoints
Lauri S. Scherer
Greenhaven Publishing

Product Update: New Titles to InfoTrac

April 6, 2017

New Titles Added to the InfoTrac Collections in March 2017 The titles below have been recently added and can be located in the product using Basic or Advanced Search forms. Titles can be found via Browse Publications within two weeks. For complete coverage information please see the product title lists. Academic OneFile Collections: A Journal … Read more

A Remarkable Review for Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History

March 24, 2017

History is not just a list of dates and events. But history taught well is vibrant, relevant, and engaging. And nothing brings history to life like primary sources that give students a close-up look at history as it unfolded.

Gale and Smithsonian have partnered to deliver an online resource that includes unique and seminal primary sources, including documents, maps, historical objects, and other materials from the museums and archives from the collections of the Smithsonian and from Gale’s leading digital collections: Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History.

Designed for use by both teachers and librarians, this resource from Gale supports core and Advanced Placement U.S. history programs. Primary source images are hand-curated by scholars at the Smithsonian – experts who have a unique knowledge of U.S. history as seen through the Smithsonian’s valuable collections and shaped for the school curriculum by an advisory board of teachers.

See how a reviewer feels about the collection of Primary Sources: