See You In Beantown!

By Michelle Eickmeyer

In just over three weeks, we’ll once again be coming together to celebrate the role and value of librarians, and librarians and staff. Though the winter meeting is not as widely attended (and is quite a lot of meetings), the excitement of an ALA is difficult to match.

As vendors attending the show, we’re able to hear from you directly what concerns and issues you are trying to overcome and sharing some of the exciting things we have going on at Gale.

And there’s a lot!

Google for Education Partner

Earlier this year, Gale embarked on the strategic decision to become a Google Apps for Education Partner. This enables us to both make content more discoverable (and trackable to you!) AND easier to save/return to later. Tens of thousands of users have saved documents from the Gale resources they access through your library with their Google credentials. Students and teachers are accessing their In Context resources directly through apps in Google Classroom. Students and faculty beginning their research in Google Scholar are being directed to the library’s Academic OneFile. We’re so excited about our partnership with Google, and everything we’re working on next with them! More information can be found here.

Read moreSee You In Beantown!

Content Updates for Kids InfoBits (week ending 12/18/2015)

Posted on December 14, 2015 Kids InfoBits has added new content to its product. The following now appears: Kids InfoBits Presents Astronomy Over 60 update entries have been posted including some of the following topics: Asteroids Constellations Earth Galaxies Hubble Space Telescope Mars Meteors and Meteorites Moon Pluto Space Stations Stars   Kids InfoBits Presents Canada … Read more

Tales for the ‘Every-day Reader’: Winston Churchill and the ‘War in the Indian Highlands’

Posted on December 14, 2015

By: Daniel Pullin, Publishing Assistant, Gale, a part of Cengage Learning

When the name ‘Winston Churchill’ is mentioned, images of a heroic war leader with cigar in mouth and face set in steely determination are usually the first to come to mind. His wartime speeches became iconic in symbolising gung-ho British determination to battle on through endless bloodshed, helping steer Britain through the turmoil of a cataclysmic conflict. Yet, with perhaps less well-known flair, the former Prime Minister proved equally adept on paper.  This is evident in his first published material: a series of war letters commissioned for British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

Between October and December 1897, Churchill wrote and published the eleven letters while accompanying the Malakand Field Force in India. With Gale’s The Telegraph Historical Archive, 1855-2000 now available, these letters are fully-searchable in digital format for the first time. This gave me the perfect opportunity to explore their contents.

Read moreTales for the ‘Every-day Reader’: Winston Churchill and the ‘War in the Indian Highlands’

Upcoming Analytics On Demand Maintenance

Analytics On Demand Public Library

On Wednesday, December 23, Analytics On Demand will be upgraded to the Alteryx 10.1 Gallery. Analytics On Demand will be unavailable from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST for this maintenance, which will result in:

  • Improved performance: Reports run faster.
  • New look and feel: Improved user interface.
  • Mobile accessible: New scrolling workflow works better on tablets.
  • Easy access to collaboration: We have added the Collaboration App to its own district for easy access.
  • 30-day report storage: “App Results” will be renamed “Workflow Results” and reports will be saved to the gallery for a rolling 30 days.

Read moreUpcoming Analytics On Demand Maintenance

Prosper (TX) High School Streamlines Research Lessons with Gale’s In Context and Google Drive

Re-posted December 9, 2015

Located north of Dallas, Prosper ISD is experiencing a population boom. Prosper’s sole high school, Prosper High School, is home to approximately 2200 students and 190 staff members.  Prior to the 2015-2016 school year, I was the only librarian on campus, which proved very challenging when trying to schedule and teach research lessons with multiple teachers at one time. I had to find more efficient ways to teach research skills while still providing in-depth and engaging lessons. That’s where Gale’s In Context and Google Drive comes in!

I was so excited to see the connection between In Context and Google Drive. I had taught myself, and my students, workarounds to save In Context articles to their Google Drive accounts. These workarounds involved a lot of clicks and a lot of practice, which took up a lot of time. While the end result was worth it, I no longer had the luxury of time when I was trying to teach in two (sometimes three!) different classrooms during the same class period.

Read moreProsper (TX) High School Streamlines Research Lessons with Gale’s In Context and Google Drive

A Holiday Present for Our Planet, From Your Class

Posted on December 8, 2015 SANTA IS COMING! As this holiday approaches, why not task your students with creating a present for the planet Earth? Some possible approaches: A critically endangered white rhino just died, leaving only THREE left on our planet. This is alarming! Grab Science In Context and search “Endangered Species” to discover … Read more

Kids InfoBits Exciting New Enhancements

Posted on December 4, 2015

Starting December 11, Kids InfoBits users will see two new exciting enhancements – a mobile responsive design and Google Integration – providing users with even easier access to their Kids InfoBits content. Here is what you’ll see:

Mobile Responsive Design – A new optimized display, intuitive interface, and improved user experience for young learners on any device, desktop or mobile.

Integrated Google Tools – After authentication, users can log in using their Google Account credentials enabling access to Google Apps for Education tools, like Gmail, Drive, Docs, and more, allowing users to easily download and share articles.

Read moreKids InfoBits Exciting New Enhancements

Student Challenge: Who Changed the Course of U.S. History without Uttering a Word?

Posted on December 4, 2015

Good question, isn’t it?  Where can students go to find the answer?

Biography In Context for starters, where you’ll find a feature this month on the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks. Her quiet defiance of sitting in a “whites-only” section of a bus on December 1, 1955, galvanized support for the Civil Rights Movement, sparking Freedom Rides, boycotts, and sit-ins. Transport students back in time to visit this tumultuous era in our nation’s history – students can read about Parks and her work, hear her speak in a video, and look at her statue that President Obama unveiled in the Capitol.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, and Student Resources In Context covers that legal precedent as well as recent challenges to it. While on the topic, Women’s Suffrage hit the big screen recently, and the fascinating stories behind that movement can be found in US History In Context. Read Susan B. Anthony’s “Speech on the Right of Women’s Suffrage,” from 1873, when she was arrested for the having the audacity to vote!  Look at photos of suffrage parades, read the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, as well as other primary sources from Carrie Chapman Catt, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others.

Read moreStudent Challenge: Who Changed the Course of U.S. History without Uttering a Word?

Libraries at Work: Improving Job Prospects through Library-Accessed Online Learning

RosemaryPosted 12/5/2015

By Rosemary Long, Product Manager, Partner Products, Gale

Today’s libraries provide valuable help to their community members as the job landscape continues to shift. With advancing technology, access to computers and career development resources make the public library the perfect place for upgrading professional skills and mastering new capabilities. This may be the reason more than 30 million people reported using library computers for employment or career information in one twelve-month period during the last economic downturn.1

Read moreLibraries at Work: Improving Job Prospects through Library-Accessed Online Learning

Strategic Planning Takes a Leap Forward with Data Analytics

Analytics On Demand

Posted 12/3/2015

By Jackie Sullivan and Sarah Withers

Mastering data analytics for public library administrators and their board of trustees is a critical success factor for planning and community engagement. The South Carolina State Library wanted to optimize the strategic planning resources that public libraries currently have available including collection strategy, materials investment, outreach, and programming to drive more value to the communities they serve.

Read moreStrategic Planning Takes a Leap Forward with Data Analytics