The Ever-changing State of Literary Criticism

Posted on February 18, 2016

By Larry Trudeau

I was recently reviewing an entry on Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations for an upcoming volume of Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism (NCLC), and was surprised—delighted, really—to see that we were including two reviews of the novel from 1861, the year it was published in book form.

Read moreThe Ever-changing State of Literary Criticism

Sending Birthday Wishes to the “Father of our Country”

Posted on February 18, 2016

Did you know that according to the then-used Julian calendar, George Washington’s birthday was actually February 11, 1731?  It wasn’t until Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar that his birthday was moved 11 days later to February 22.

The “Father of our Country” was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States (1789-1797) and during that time shaped the course of our country. From the Revolutionary War to the Constitution, George Washington made his mark on history.

Take some time this month to browse Gale’s titles about the life and times of this great American figure and while you are there, let us know how you implement these resources in your classroom!

American Eras: Primary Sources: Development of a Nation (1783-1815), 1st Edition
February 2015
This volume in the student-friendly American Eras: Primary Sources series documents the dramatic period when the federal government and the U.S. Constitution were established. This volume features personal letters, memoirs, laws, sermons, speeches, works of literature, and many other primary source types. Together these sources show the diversity of the American experience.

Read moreSending Birthday Wishes to the “Father of our Country”

Women Unite!

Posted on February 17, 2016

I love learning about history, and there’s nothing like having the entire month of March devoted to the often overlooked contributions of women.I take my middle-school daughter to historic sites (sometimes with her feet dragging), and it’s great when she connects to historic figures to further understand what she reads about in books.  Here are some notable women we’ve “met” in our travels:

  • A Deborah Sampson re-enactor was our tour guide along Boston’s Freedom Trail. She related her fascinating story – dressing as a man to fight in the Revolutionary War – as we toured some of the sites of the American Revolution.  Years later, she fought for – and eventually received – a soldier’s pension.

Read moreWomen Unite!

Built by Association – Making Connections, Joining Forces

Posted on February 12, 2016

By Tina Creguer

Pop quiz. Are these organizations real or made up?

  • 1904 World’s Fair Association
  • Medieval Academy of America
  • National Clogging Organization
  • National Space Club
  • American Association of Independent Music (A2IM)

Read moreBuilt by Association – Making Connections, Joining Forces

Update Your Collection with the Latest Editions of Two Best-Selling Directories

Posted on February 10, 2016 The Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media, 152nd Edition is now available. Valuable to researchers seeking descriptions, contact information and advertising rates on print/online media worldwide, this directory now covers 53,000 listings. These include newspapers, magazines, journals, radio and TV stations and cable stations and systems. Publishing this month, the Encyclopedia of Associations–International Organizations, … Read more

Tending the Academic Garden with CLiC

Posted on February 9, 2016

By Megan McCarthy

I love to garden, and over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at it. However, that wasn’t always the case. When I first started, every spring I’d run to Lowes, and pick out all the blooming plants I thought looked pretty. I’d bring them home, and plant them in my yard. Then, every year, I would watch in horror as they would wither and die. What was I doing wrong?  Well, as it turned out, almost everything. I finally consulted with a gardening expert, and found that plants had to be grown according to their needs. Some needed shade, some sun. Some needed dry soil, and others needed water. Most liked to be planted when they weren’t in bloom, probably the reason I was killing so many. I learned some important lessons, but the most valuable lesson I learned was, when you are in trouble, ask an expert.

Read moreTending the Academic Garden with CLiC

2016 OAT Award Winning: Associated Press Collections Online

Published on February

Associated Press Collections Online, by Gale, part of Cengage Learning, was recently announced for inclusion in Choice’s annual Outstanding Academic Title list!  The Associated Press Collections Online resource will be recognized in the January 2016 issue of Choice Magazine, a publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries. This is an accomplishment Gale takes great pride in, as this year’s Outstanding Academic Title list includes 606 books and electronic resources chosen by the Choice editorial staff from among some 6,500 titles reviewed last year.  Of the titles selected, a mere 20 are electronic with one being the Associated Press Collections Online resource!  Titles are selected for their excellence in scholarship and presentation, the significance of their contribution, and their value as important – often the first – treatment of their subject.

Read more2016 OAT Award Winning: Associated Press Collections Online

New LGBTQ Digital Archive Collection Just Released–Trial Now

Posted February 8, 2016

by Jessica Bomarito, Acquisitions Editor, Gale

Gale Digital Collections

Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940

With material drawn from hundreds of institutions and organizations, including both major international activist organizations and local, grassroots groups, the documents in the Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940 present important aspects of LGBTQ life in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond. The archive illuminates the experiences not just of the LGBTQ community as a whole, but of individuals of different races, ethnicities, ages, religions, political orientations, and geographical locations that constitute this community. Historical records of political and social organizations founded by LGBTQ individuals are featured, as well as publications by and for lesbians and gays, and extensive coverage of governmental responses to the AIDS crisis. The archive also contains personal correspondence and interviews with numerous LGBTQ individuals, among others. The archive includes gay and lesbian newspapers from more than 35 countries, reports, policy statements, and other documents related to gay rights and health, including the worldwide impact of AIDS, materials tracing LGBTQ activism in Britain from 1950 through 1980, and more.

Read moreNew LGBTQ Digital Archive Collection Just Released–Trial Now

Libraries Introduce Hot New Fashion Accessories: Cap and Gown

Posted February 8, 2016

By Kim Martin

“Pomp and Circumstance” has come to public libraries.

The library, always the province of learning and enlightenment, has kicked things up a notch.  In addition to providing information, access to knowledge, community resources, personal development programming, and (of course) story time for kids, a group of progressive libraries around the country are now actively providing a path for adults to achieve a high school diploma.  And it’s working.

Read moreLibraries Introduce Hot New Fashion Accessories: Cap and Gown

Celebrate the Chinese New Year with Gale Primary Sources

Posted on February 8, 2015

By Masaki Morisawa

CNY1

“… the blessed Chinese New Year has come round, the Post Office has ceased to function, the office boy has burned his fingers lighting fire crackers and the door between my office and the Depot is locked; the doorkeeper has gone home with the key ….”

So writes John Darroch, a British missionary, in the March 1933 issue of The Chinese Recorder, one of the seventeen English-language journals published in or about China that will be included in the upcoming digital collection China from Empire to Republic: Missionary, Sinology, and Literary Periodicals 1817-1947.

Read moreCelebrate the Chinese New Year with Gale Primary Sources