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

December 9, 2015

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.

A Holiday Present for Our Planet, From Your Class

December 8, 2015

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

December 14, 2015December 4, 2015

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.

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

January 5, 2016December 4, 2015

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 50^th 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.

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

December 3, 2015

Posted 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

Strategic Planning Takes a Leap Forward with Data Analytics

December 3, 2015

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.

Entrepreneurs Lack the Resources Necessary to Start Successful Businesses

January 5, 2016December 2, 2015

Librarians can find themselves in difficult positions when budding entrepreneurs, in search of answers that may determine the fate of their businesses, rush into the library. Steven Assarian, a business librarian at Grand Rapids Public Library, remembers well the day he found himself in such a situation. “An entrepreneur obviously interested in serving tourists came in and asked very specifically whether a particular town was a resort town,” Assarian recalled.

Not only is it Assarian’s job to provide consultation for entrepreneurs in need of business plans, but he’s also responsible for teaching business research techniques to classes of between 10-20 people. The ability to locate and use relevant information during the formation of a startup is a determining factor in whether the business will succeed. The pressure on librarians like Assarian to link entrepreneurs with current and rich data can be great.

“Usually these are people who really need help,” Assarian said. “They just don’t know what’s available or where to begin the process.”

Christmas Fiction: A New Trend?

January 5, 2016December 1, 2015

Posted on December 1, 2015

By Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly

It seems like there are more fiction authors than ever who are publishing Christmas titles. Many can be categorized as “women’s fiction,” but there are a number of Christmas crime books as well. Why is it so popular (and lucrative) to write a Christmas novel? Is this a new trend or simply a tradition?

Christmas novels have been around since roughly Charles Dickens’ time. Sir Walter Scott wrote the Christmas poem “Christmas in the Olden Time” (1904) and William Sandys’ Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833) are examples of Christmas titles that pre-date Dickens, but A Christmas Carol by Dickens was among the first Christmas titles in the form of what we consider a “novel” today. Dickens felt that the best way to educate people about poverty and social injustice was through an emotional, touching Christmas story, rather than through political pamphlets. He wanted people to be kind and generous toward one another, and used “the spirit of Christmas” to make his point (1).

Evanston Public Library Enhances Patrons’ Experience with Gale’s Vast Online Resources

November 30, 2015November 30, 2015

Posted on November 30, 2015

Lesley Williams is Head of Adult Services at the Evanston Public Library (EPL) in Evanston, Illinois. In the 18 years that she has worked there, the library has continually subscribed to products from Gale. Today, as a primary “go to” resource for the library’s broad range of patrons, GVRL eBooks are instrumental in helping EPL fulfill its mission. That mission is to be the heart of the community, promoting the development of independent, self-confident, and literate citizens by providing open access to cultural, intellectual, technological, and informational resources. “GVRL is the only online reference book service that we’ve ever had,” says Lesley.

The Hunger Games, Classroom Lessons

January 5, 2016November 20, 2015

Posted on November 20, 2015

By Traci J. Cothran

Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 has finally hit the big screen, enthralling young minds with the drama, action and adventures of Katniss Everdeen. Nestled in with all the unfavorable odds and pageantry are real issues that students can explore – while flexing their critical thinking skills – under this pop culture umbrella.

Global Warming and Climate Change. In The Hunger Games, the US has collapsed following a devastating series of drought, fire and storms, resulting in a fight for the remaining limited resources. The resulting society, Panem, rose in its wake. Science In Context provides factual overviews as well as in-depth articles on global warming, air pollution, and their lasting effects.