The thousands of dollars that actor Jon Hamm will raise at a St. Louis County Library event next week will fund scholarships for an adult online high school in St. Louis. The St. Louis County Library and St. Louis Public Library are following the lead of more than 100 major public libraries—including Kansas City, Los Angeles and … Read more
| By Debra Kirby |
What does the release of the movie Dunkirk this weekend have to do with seeing my oldest daughter off to college? See below for the answer.
In the meantime, why not check out a few Gale eBooks on GVRL to bone up on this history changing event?
This brief overview is a good start:
Early August, users of Gale eBooks on GVRL can benefit from several platform and search improvements. Our product team is always considering ways to improve the user’s experience, and after reviewing feedback from customers, we’ve made updates to Gale eBooks on GVRL that will greatly benefit users of all types. Take a look at some … Read more
A new look and additional functionality are coming to the popular resource that provides small business owners and researchers with actionable demographic, company and residential data. Beginning this fall, users will experience a new, mobile responsive, easy-to-browse interface for DemograhicsNow and DemographicsNow: Business & People Library Edition. The new DemographicsNow and DemographicsNow: Business & People … Read more
Are your patrons seeking authoritative health information? Offering in-depth coverage of all areas of health and disease, Human Diseases and Conditions, 3rd ed. offers current and accurate information on approximately 450 diseases and conditions. This edition includes nearly 75 new and 360 completely reviewed and revised articles. In addition, the comprehensiveness of 425 photos, informative … Read more
| By Nicole Albrecht | Any social studies or history teacher knows what the month of September brings: many national holidays that fall during the school year and are required by their administration to cover in their lessons. One of the most popular of these national holidays is Constitution Day, which is September 17th and … Read more
| By Mark Mikula |
History is a dynamic field of study. New discoveries and ongoing research often provide opportunities to learn new facts about the people and events that have shaped our world. One of American history’s long-standing mysteries regards the fate of the storied aviator Amelia Earhart, whose plane went missing in 1937 during her attempt to circumnavigate the world with navigator Fred Noonan. Various theories regarding her disappearance have been put forward, but a few years ago, a photograph was discovered in the National Archives that is being analyzed to determine whether its subjects include both Earhart and Noonan on one of the Marshall Islands. If their likenesses can be confirmed, it will add credence to speculation that Earhart and Noonan survived after their plane went down.
The photo was found by an enthusiastic former government employee who was investigating the aviator’s disappearance. Its discovery demonstrates that careful examination of physical evidence can result in a more complete picture of the world we inhabit regardless of one’s level of experience.
Having difficulty supporting patrons’ grasp of religion and nonbelief? The Macmillan Interdisciplinary Handbooks: Religion Series provides readers with a deeper understanding of religion and alternatives to religion with 10 volumes using film, literature, art, and other lenses for an innovative approach to introducing the field.
Ready to support the study of religion in your university or library? Start with a few reviews published in the American Reference Books Annual, spring 2017 edition:
“Due to its breadth of coverage and the depth of research upon which it is based, this is an important addition to the literature of both religion and nonbelief. Thus, it is an essential purchase for any library that seeks to acquire materials related to the study of religion, for academic libraries that support religion majors, and for all seminary libraries.”
—Gregory A. Crawford
“This volume is a very strong entry into the series. Questions and information on religious experience and how gender, desire, and embodiment are interpreted, celebrated, abhorred, and justified are well represented in this compendium of scholarly works. This book will be well suited for researchers and scholars of history, sociology, theology, and global studies. Highly recommended.”
—Janis Minshull
Read moreThe Macmillan Interdisciplinary Handbooks: Religion Series Receives Phenomenal Reviews
| By Jessica Edwards |
Although I spend most of my time working for the Gale International Marketing team, I’m also a Publisher Ambassador for the charity Book Aid International. After touring the Cengage warehouse last year and learning about operational processes, including the scrapping of books, I was inspired to research ways of extending the lives of books marked for pulping. I consequently came across Book Aid International, a long-established charity who ship new books from UK publishers out to sub-Saharan Africa, and was immediately impressed with the value and scale of their work.
The charity not only accepts book donations, but establishes librarian training programmes and funds refurbishments at partner libraries in sub-Saharan Africa and the occupied Palestinian territories. Some of these libraries are in communities with a very limited access to books such as refugee camps, prisons, and slums, others are in hospitals or universities where resources are extremely dated. Book Aid International works with some of the largest UK publishers, and all the books shipped abroad are new. In 2016, they sent over a million books. They also work with local publishers to source books in local languages.
It can be hard to appreciate quite how desperate the need is, but a few particularly powerful stories go some way towards demonstrating. The Menelik II Referral Hospital in Ethiopia is a hospital with no internet connection, and therefore no online resources. Thus, the library is vital for medical staff to access the up-to-date information they require. Nearly all the books in the hospital library are provided by Book Aid International. Samuel’s story in the video below is also a powerful indication of how the work of Book Aid International helps individuals pull themselves out of poverty. The video also outlines the charity’s many achievements over the last year.
Read moreGale and Book Aid International: A Shared Mission for Empowerment
| By Mary Kelly | When I use the term databases while helping students and non-specialists at the reference desk, there is always a moment when a patron unfamiliar with the availability and scope of modern primary source databases, looks a bit wary at my enthusiasm for these electronic collections. Of course, serious researchers understand … Read more