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Student & Instructor Perceptions on Libraries and Research

September 1, 2015June 16, 2015

By Jennifer Albers-Smith

When it comes to student and instructor perceptions about academic libraries and research, some interesting insights are revealed – as well as lot of questions.

In spring 2015, Gale’s parent company, Cengage Learning, issued its Engagement Insights survey to some 3,000 students and nearly 700 professors, gathering feedback on different topics including how both audiences valued the library, how they often they took advantage of its resources and more.

Product Update: Gale’s In Context

June 1, 2015

Posted on June 1, 2015

Take a look at the latest content recently added to some of your favorite In Context databases:

Biography in Context launched 11 new people portals including:

Trevor Noah, the successor to Jon Stewart as host of “The Daily Show”
Juliette Gordon Low (1860-1927), founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA
Tony Robbins, self-help guru and motivational speaker

Topic Finder: The Perfect Tool for Both New and Experienced Researchers

August 17, 2015April 20, 2015

By Dale Prentiss

Ruth Diggory is head librarian for ATA College, a medical career school in Kentucky and Florida that serves a broad demographic of students. As such, she needed to offer her students tools that can assist them in their research needs, regardless of their level of experience. Recently, Ruth has discovered that Gale’s Topic Finder tool is the perfect resource for her diverse needs.

Complement Your May Programing with Product-Related Posts

April 26, 2015April 9, 2015

By Gale Customer Care

It’s always fun to find and share obscure holidays. You never really know what you could be celebrating before you do a little research. And what better place to research than the library!

We encourage you to have a little fun with some lesser known holidays in month of May and give a sneak peek of eResources while you’re at it.

We’ve got equal parts National Geographic Virtual Library and Artemis Literary Sources to post on social media or share in your newsletter. Please feel free to pick and choose and use the images and copy provided below… or use it as inspiration. Show your followers what you have to offer in your digital collections and tell them how to access.

May 1: Mother Goose Day

GVRL Pleases Patrons, Young and Old, in Santa Clara County Library District

April 29, 2015March 30, 2015

Lora Cokolat is a Collection Development and Reading Librarian for the Santa Clara County Library District, working in the District’s Services and Support Center in

Campbell, California. Lora purchases e-books, DVDs, book club kits, and e-magazines to support patrons who use the district’s seven libraries and two bookmobiles. Part of the District’s mission is to provide diverse resources on a wide variety of subjects and viewpoints, and to help people use those resources — a task right up the alley of GVRL eBooks.

“We are committed to offering a variety of subject areas, topics, and viewpoints,” says Lora. “Providing electronic versions of reference sources can be more cost effective than print copies at multiple locations.”

Librarians Overcome Distance and Tradition with GVRL eBooks

March 12, 2015March 9, 2015

Terry Beck, the Information Services Manager for Sno-Isle Libraries north of Seattle, knows firsthand how to deal with logistical nightmares. Beck is responsible for serving approximately 697,000 people in two counties across 21 community libraries. To complicate matters further, Beck lacks a central or main library location from which to work and was quickly running out of room for reference materials.

“We don’t have one great big place,” Beck bemoaned. “We knew we needed to grow our reference collection but we had no room for additional print materials.”

In Other News: Groundhog Day

February 17, 2015February 6, 2015

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

This week, I heard recount of trying to explain to someone in Mexico, who was off Monday for a federal holiday, that our “holiday” on Monday was not quite the same thing. Yeah. No. From the outside looking in, this must seem one of the most ridiculous things we Americans have done yet. (I’ll let you in on something, as an American, I wouldn’t have much to argue with you about that.) On the first Monday of February, a rodent predicts the weather. It’s covered by the news. Punxsutawney [punk-suh–taw-nee] Phil, the most major of the rodent forecasters, rules from a rather comfy perch in Pennsylvania. There are other groundhogs, including this one in Wisconsin who bit the mayor (who is fine, so it’s ok to laugh at it). The principle is simple: if the ground hog does not see its shadow, spring will come early. If it does, winter continues for six more weeks. Practically, its a lot more ‘show’ than that. I also find it interesting that you never hear reports of a groundhog forecast in the south or west — is Groundhog Day a northern/eastern observance only? (Any comments on that welcome!)

Librarians Bridge Access and Availability Gaps with Technology

December 31, 2014

Part of any librarian’s job is to provide access to information people may not immediately know they need, exists, or is accessible. Amy Calhoun, Virtual Branch Coordinator at the Sacramento Public Library, understands this challenge as well as anyone. It’s why she and her colleague Laurie Willis, an Electronic Resources Librarian at the San Jose Public Library, both set out to find a solution designed to ensure people would have access to information when and where it was needed.

“It just made sense to expand our offerings,” Calhoun said. Expanding her library’s science related content and making sure the information was current quickly became a priority.

Educators Embrace Technology to Verify Digital Resource Quality

February 26, 2018December 31, 2014

Lauren Stokes, the Virtual Library Manager at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, often envisions customers in their bedtime pajamas. “I want them to be nice and comfortable,” Stokes joked. Stokes has good reason to picture users in this manner. It’s her job to ensure the 1.2 million people served by the 25 libraries in her county not only have access to but are using the district’s investment of digital resources.

To accomplish her goal, Stokes first had to convince educators and customers the library’s digital offerings were of the same quality as its print collection. “It just didn’t seem to click that it’s the same content whether you’re looking at it online or on a piece of paper,” Stokes said.

Aurora Public Library Encourages Staff and Patrons to “Think Gale”

December 31, 2014December 29, 2014

Public libraries play an important role in their communities, and they take their roles seriously. Case in point: Aurora Public Library (Aurora) in Illinois, which is dedicated to “supporting lifelong learning and access to information, knowledge, and ideas.” That’s no small task. Fortunately, GVRL eBooks are front and center in helping Aurora achieve its goals — offering patrons easy, quick access to informational resources covering the spectrum of subject areas, even when they’re not at the library.

Reference Specialist Sue Kovacs runs two reference desks at the Aurora’s main branch, where she’s responsible for buying all reference materials and keeping them updated and relevant. When Sue began working at the library in 2009, she saw that community dynamics were changing. “Most people didn’t want to have to come downtown to look at a reference collection. I evaluated our Gale products as well as the available alternatives.