Looking for some fun summer workshops? Get crafty! Check out these “13 Bookish Crafts Perfect to Make this Summer.” Personally, I love the jewelry most, but how amazing would it be to hang a chandelier made from book pages in your library?
Behind the Screen: At the Dibner Library
By Jennifer Albers-Smith
I’ve been to the Smithsonian a couple times before, and I’ve always thought of it as just a museum (and a glorious one at that) – giant covered wagon, old-fashioned cars, sewing machines, etc. I had absolutely no idea what lay behind the exhibits until my recent trip to do some filming for our latest Behind the Screen video at the National Museum of American History.
We lugged our film equipment through the side entrance and took a long walk through a dimly-lit maze to get to a wooden door – the entrance to the Dibner Library. I had never noticed the sign for the Dibner Library before. It’s right off the main entrance to the museum, and open to the public, but it’s tucked away, and most visitors have no idea it exists… What’s inside is an absolute treasure trove.
Be the Place Where Teens Independently Explore Interests and Concerns
Alexis has a lot of questions about things like peer pressure, alcohol, and relationships, but she’s too embarrassed to ask her parents, friends, or teachers. Be the safe place Alexis can go to get good information without having to ask.
Alexis is just one of the teens in your community who are looking for information about their interests and concerns. Adolescents often want to explore topics independently – not ready or too shy to have a conversation with those that can guide them to resources.
Read moreBe the Place Where Teens Independently Explore Interests and Concerns
New Titles Added to the InfoTrac Collections in June 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 2014
“Amazing… Highly Recommended… A Boon to Students.” Library Journal Likes Liberty Magazine Historical Archive.
By Melissa Rayner
And the good news just keeps on coming! In this month’s issue, Library Journal concluded:
“The day-to-day details of middle-class living that are indexed here are amazing. The database is highly recommended for public, academic, and special libraries everywhere. This file will be a boon to students and frontline librarians for the ads alone.”
Want to know more?
In Other News: The World Cup
A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.
By Michelle Eickmeyer
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!
Soccer. Football. The beautiful game. Ready or not, here comes the World Cup! (For the sake of sanity and simplification in this post,”soccer” refers to the game with the round ball while “football” refers to game with the oblong one.)
For most of the world, the most exciting month has just begun and Brazil is the place to be. For years, soccer has been a second-class sport among Americans. While there are always die-hard exceptions, soccer has struggled to gain a serious following. Which doesn’t make any sense at all.
The Changing Student Demographic
By Jennifer Albers-Smith
Student demographics are changing–foreign, traditional, non-traditional, online. The way people access learning and research is changing. The Parthenon Group surveyed 3,200 students. Only 24% of those students were considered traditional. There is no doubt that the world has changed drastically in the last decade. Here at Gale, we know that your library plays a critical role in preparing your students, making them more successful in their courses, and helping them meet faculty expectations.
Secret Search Tips Revealed by a GVRL Expert
By Nicole Rakozy
As the weather heats up and as school lets out, many of us are thinking of outdoor activities and summer projects. For me, summer fever has introduced idealistic visions of cultivating a vegetable garden with my one-year old daughter, but unfortunately I know very little about growing plants. In full disclosure: Some of my potted companions did not survive their winter stay at Casa de Rakozy. And despite my understanding that gardening with a toddler is likely to have more to do with stopping her from eating dirt rather than tilling it, I decided to give it a shot.
My first step was to do some research to answer basic questions like: What tools will I need? Where is the best spot to put a garden? Which plants are easiest to grow? I began by skimming one of the many gardening and horticulture e-books available to me in Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL).
Is Your Library Essential Enough?
By Brian Risse
This article, “Being Essential Is Not Enough,” is a compelling commentary on the environment in which today’s libraries must function. Though written from an Academic Library perspective, when you read it with public libraries in mind, it still rings 100% true. And as the author, Rick Anderson states, “it’s a hard truth.”
Remove Confusion Around “Removes”
By Michael Tepper
What if your Aunt Rose walks up to you and says, “I understand you’re into genealogy, so explain to me in plain English the difference between second cousins and first cousins twice removed.” Could you do it? If you cannot, if you’re a little confused about the “removes,” consider the following excerpt from Jackie Smith Arnold’s little book, Kinship:It’s All Relative.