See what’s new with some of your favorite In Context databases. With new articles, videos and learning portals, students and classrooms will have even more information to access and use in their research projects and daily classroom learning,
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A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.
By Michelle Eickmeyer
Saving and improving lives is expensive work. And without donations, most of it would not be possible. This week, the Federal Trade Commission charged four “charities” and their administrators for out-right stealing nearly $200 million. Two charities have already been dissolved. Reprehensible behavior. But if you want to give, how do you know with whom to spend your money? One solution is Charity Watch, an independent organization that can help you understand where and how a donation might be spent. There are a number of other resources and websites; that is just one.
In 2013, Americans gave $335.17 billion to charity. Of that, $240.6 billion was given by individuals (Source). I’ve been especially interested in final numbers of donations for 2014 for a number of reasons. First, my cousin’s 2-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia. (Did you know that the National Institute of Cancer dedicates only 4% of its funding to pediatric cancer research (Source ) Why did cancer have to touch my family to learn that?) Second, the ice bucket challenge (and Mike Rowe). Here’s my previous post on it! In 2014, the ice bucket challenge raised $220 Million for the ALS Association (Source). That’s about 700% more than the year before (Source). Did more people give in 2014, or did people give more, or did they just give differently? The new numbers, expected next month, will tell.
Who currently gives (or doesn’t), and how much, when, and why are sometimes surprising. Low- and middle-income people give a higher percentage of their income than their high-income counterparts. Residents of large cities are less likely to give. When you compare the level of giving across states and the District, of the 20 most generous, only two voted democrat in the last election (Source). All sorts of assumptions will not be made on why that is the way it is.
By Melissa Rayner
Is it May 21st yet? Good, we still have time to figure out how we’ll celebrate the greatest arbitrary holiday of them all, National Be a Millionaire Day.
So you may think that being a millionaire is all gold swimming pools and palatial country estates…
Read moreToday’s Your Day! It’s National Be a Millionaire Day!
By Anne Nagrant and Vanessa Craig
Summer and reading go hand in hand. From books for the beach to bestselling paperbacks, adults take advantage of longer days and vacation time. Children are encouraged to read for fun and to combat the “summer slide.” Public library summer reading programs provide fun motivation for both adults and young people to read, read, read.
A look at a current news item through the lens of different Gale electronic resources.
By Michelle Eickmeyer
This week, the world lost a prolific and highly-esteemed musician, B.B. King. For non-jazz fans, B.B. (born Riley B King) was probably the only jazz musician whose name was recognizable (perhaps second to Louis Armstrong). Infamous for his black Gibson guitar, Lucille, B.B. was synonymous prized instrument. Though he consistently carried “Lucille” throughout his career, there were, in fact, many of ‘her’ along the way. Unlike his peers, B.B. named each of the guitars he carried Lucille as a reminder to make good choices and avoid risks. In fact, B.B. nearly died trying to rescue the first Lucille from a bar fire in Kansas, which was ignited during a fight. Over a woman. Named Lucille.
In the end, it was diabetes that ended his reign as King of the Blues. Having worked and shared the stage with many extraordinary artists, including U2 and Mick Jagger, BB’s influence on music is undisputed.
I would also like to note that earlier this month, jazz percussionist Jerome Cooper died at 68. Sad times for jazz fans.
We at Gale have just furthered our digital preservation partnership with Portico, the leading service in the field. To help explain how this free service will help you get even more out of your favorite Gale resources, we’ve prepared the following FAQ. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any additional questions. Happy preserving!
Q: What is Portico and what services do they provide?
A: Portico (www.portico.org) is a trusted, not-for-profit digital preservation service and is among the largest community-supported digital archives in the world. Working with libraries and publishers, Portico preserves e-journals, e-books, and other digital scholarly content to ensure researchers and students will have access to these resources in the future. Portico is a service of ITHAKA (www.ithaka.org), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping the academic community use digital technologies to preserve the scholarly record and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways.
Chilton Automotive Systems announces the release of full service information for:
Read moreNew Additions to ChiltonLibrary from Ford and Chrysler
Gale is continually updating and adding new content to our Kids InfoBits product, to be sure your young students are accessing timely, authoritative and useful information that feeds their interest and makes daily classroom learning fun and informative. New content that’s been added during May includes:
Biography in Context
By Melissa Rayner
May 12 is National Limerick Day–as to which nation’s “national”, that’s anybody’s guess, but let’s all celebrate regardless!
A-a-a-ahem, there once was a man from Nantucket, who–Hey, wait a second. Despite their recent popularity as such, not all limericks are dirty. They can be trendy and cutting-edge like these two. [1]
Read moreIt’s National Limerick Day! Guess how we’re celebrating