Customize Gale eBooks on GVRL for Your Needs

Every GVRL customer has a unique eBook collection of hand-selected titles, and we recognize the importance of aligning that collection to your library’s goals and initiatives.  That’s why, we’ve added customization options for admin users of Gale eBooks on GVRL. What Does This Mean? It means that your collection will be supported by a superior … Read more

Fake News

By Traci Cothran

So a man reads a story about Hillary Clinton running a child sex ring out of the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop, and he decides to take action—taking a rifle into the restaurant and firing it before he is stopped, fortunately without harming anyone.  This really happened, but the problem is the child sex ring story wasn’t true, and thus “Pizzagate” was born.

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Gale Directory Library

By Holly Hibner I work in a medium-sized public library in Michigan, and our business reference collection has been named an official “Business Resource Center” by the Michigan Small Business Development Center. We provide business materials in a variety of formats to help business people and entrepreneurs to be successful. Our Business Resource Center includes most … Read more

Winter in Michigan—It Could Be Worse!

By Debra Kirby What do winter in Michigan, the Detroit Zoo, and the “greatest survival story of all time” have in common?  Answer: The Shackleton Endurance Exhibit that runs through the end of the year at the Detroit Zoo, one of my favorite local hang outs—with or without kids in tow. I visited the exhibit … Read more

There’s a New Teacher in Town

Miss Humblebee’s Academy is an early literacy program for 3‑6 year olds (and their parents) to prepare for success in kindergarten and beyond. With hundreds of fun, interactive lessons in Math, Science and Social Studies, Language and Literacy, Art, and Music, the curriculum increases in difficulty as the user progresses through the program.

Miss Humblebee’s Academy assess cognitive skills at regular intervals for measurable improvement toward kindergarten readiness and offers a developmental observation checklist allowing parents to review and record social and emotional growth as an additional condition of preparedness. Libraries can also access aggregate data to see how young learners progress.

Sounds too good to be true? Read a review:

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Science Videos Added to Research and Science In Context

Recently, Gale partnered with Visual Learning Systems, an educational science publisher whose mission is to provide high quality, visual-based content that instructs, challenges, and inspires young learners. Nearly 900 high-quality educational videos on concepts essential to STEM learning have been added to Gale’s Research In Context and Science In Context. Approximately 750 videos, including videos on topics frequently studied in … Read more

Public Libraries can be a Health Lifeline for People Most at Risk

Originally posted in Reuters Health by Madeline Kennedy, November 2016 Public libraries can provide vital support for people at high risk for health problems such as new immigrants and people dealing with homelessness, mental illness and substance use, say U.S. researchers. Their analysis of Philadelphia libraries and how communities use them concludes that libraries can … Read more

Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History: “A Treasure Trove”

History is not just a list of dates and events. But history taught well is vibrant, relevant, and engaging. And nothing brings history to life like primary sources that give students a close-up look at history as it unfolded.

Gale and Smithsonian have partnered to deliver an online resource that includes unique and seminal primary sources, including documents, maps, historical objects, and other materials from the museums and archives from the collections of the Smithsonian and from Gale’s leading digital collections: Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History.

Designed for use by both teachers and librarians, this resource from Gale supports core and Advanced Placement U.S. history programs. Primary source images are hand-curated by scholars at the Smithsonian – experts who have a unique knowledge of U.S. history as seen through the Smithsonian’s valuable collections and shaped for the school curriculum by an advisory board of teachers.

See how a reviewer feels about the collection of Primary Sources.

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Philosophy: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies “Inspires Curiosity”

Looking to support researchers’ knowledge in philosophy? Philosophy: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies, a valuable primer in the study of philosophy, provides the philosophical information students need. By employing literature, film, art, history, and other disciplines, the twenty-seven thematic chapters identify areas of critical thought and practice in the philosophical study.

Read the review:

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Literary Reflections on Thanksgiving

Readers who seek insight into the meaning of Thanksgiving can find a generous serving of literary criticism on the topic in the digital pages of Literature Criticism Online. Perhaps unsurprisingly, authors have found in the holiday a fruitful setting for explorations of family dysfunction and ruminations on the American national character. 

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