An ongoing look at partner publishers available through GVRL
By Geoff Schwartz
Since 2001, Cengage Learning PTR has been publishing how-to books on the most popular fields and hobbies in the media technology realm and beyond.
The History of Transcontinental Travel: The Unknown Horizon
By Ryan Price
John Gast was a painter based in Brooklyn when he was commissioned to paint this picture for George Crofutt, a publisher of a popular series of western travel guides. The images Gast put to canvas represent a historical timeline of transportation technologies up until 1872 when the painting was completed. The Indian travois, the covered wagons, Pony Express, overland stage and the three railroad lines are not only progressively pushing one another forward (from East to West) but also driving the indigenous inhabitants — buffalo, bear and Native Americans — almost literally off of the painting. In the wake of this expansion are the tall ships in the Atlantic. Meanwhile, Columbia (a personification of the United States) guides the way, holding a schoolbook in one hand while stringing telegraph wire with the other. The imagery is a vivid and dynamic telling of not only the history of westward expansion but the future of it as well.
Read moreThe History of Transcontinental Travel: The Unknown Horizon
New Titles Added to the InfoTrac Collections in June and July 2014
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.
Read moreNew Titles Added to the InfoTrac Collections in June and July 2014
Product Updates: New In Context content for 08/18/14
Gale is continually updating and adding new content to our In Context products, ensuring that they offer timely, authoritative, useful information. The items below were added or updated during the week of August 18th, 2014.
Read moreProduct Updates: New In Context content for 08/18/14
Take a Ride Back in Time with Smithsonian
By Jennifer Albers-Smith
How great is Amazon Prime? While I appreciate the expedited shipping, far and above, my favorite thing about it is all the opportunities to watch full TV series, both new and old.
Sure, it’s no secret I’m a big fan of Downton Abbey or that I love period dramas. So when Amazon Prime recommended the BBC production Lark Rise to Candleford, I jumped on the opportunity to fall in love with a new show. The series features four seasons of absolute greatness, and I love it. It takes place in the late 1800s and follows the story of how a postmistress (yes, mistress, not master) takes the small town of Candleford by storm.
Sounds like slogging…
Did you know…blogging is a great way to help students learn how to communicate effectively, respect others opinions, and engage others in the conversation.
Product Updates: New In Context content for 08/04/14
Gale is continually updating and adding new content to our In Context products, ensuring that they offer timely, authoritative, useful information. The items below were added or updated during the week of August 4, 2014.
Read moreProduct Updates: New In Context content for 08/04/14
In Other News: Ebola
A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.
By Michelle Eickmeyer
Ebola. Just the word sounds scary. A surge in an extremely deadly, contagious virus, with no medical cure or approved treatment plan is killing hundreds of people in western Africa. Two American volunteers in the area are now suffering from the disease, raising new questions about the possibility and practicality of evacuation. With more than 700 deaths, the world is currently experiencing the largest Ebola outbreak on record.
Here are five titles that look at Ebola from different perspectives:
When a Question Reveals a Collection
Ms. Valentine, do you have a book on the Greek alphabet?
Why, yes. Yes I do.
It’s Camp Read a lot time, and I can hear children at the picnic table, their voices raised to that particular shrillness that usually means an argument is about to boil over. There’s activity over at the fishing pond, too – but I don’t have a line of direct sight to the lines to see if anyone is swinging them…ah, no swinging yet. But I have, I estimate, about forty seconds to help you find a book on the Greek alphabet. After that, who knows what will happen with the fishing lines and the picnic argument.
You walk over to the foreign language collection in the 400s, perhaps the shelf I am prouder of than any other in this collection of 14,000 items. I built it from nothing, almost. We needed materials for our ESL students.
The International Language of Ice Cream
By Anne Marie Houppert
Who likes ice cream?
According to over 100 years of National Geographic magazines, it seems everyone does!
The first reference in National Geographic magazine occurred in a February 1911 article on the building of the Panama Canal, which describes the Herculean task of provisioning an army of workers: “…plants were established and turn out each day about 90 tons of ice, 14,000 loaves of bread, 2,400 rolls, 250 gallons of ice cream, 1,000 pounds of roasted coffee, and 7,500 pieces of laundry.”
Photos taken of ice cream stands in the early 20th century include places as varied as Italy, Constantinople, and Rio de Janeiro.