50-Year-Old Flashbulb Memory

By Debra Kirby

Flashbulb memory is a term first coined in 1977 by psychologists to describe the vivid, detailed and lasting memories triggered by experiencing or hearing news of traumatic events. Most people have a list of “flashbulb memories” that, depending on their age and location, might include the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; the JFK, Bobby Kennedy, and MLK assassinations; the Challenger explosion; and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. People often say they can remember in sharp detail where they were, what they were doing, and sometimes even what they were wearing when news of the event broke.

One of the events on my flashbulb list occurred on January 27, 1967 when astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward Higgins White and Roger Chaffee perished in the launch pad fire at Cape Canaveral.

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The Highlander Center Raid

By Traci Cothran

When a new publication is released here at Gale, I like to take a peek at what colleagues have been working on. So today I opened up the new American Civil Liberties Union Papers, 1912-1990and WOW! What a treasure trove of history it holds!

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Are Your Students College Ready?

Did you know? Nearly 3/4 of college freshmen lack research skills. 1 Too many students start college underprepared, but Gale can help them cultivate the skills they need before they graduate—and they agree. Listen to what 12th-graders participating in a Project Tomorrow® study reported as the top benefits of Gale resources: Download the infographic to learn more about … Read more

Gale Gets Ready to Toast the New Year

This year was nothing short of a wild ride. As 2016 comes to a close and we lay our sights on what we want to accomplish in 2017, we took a few minutes to chat with product and marketing leaders at Gale for their thoughts, hopes and predictions for the coming year.

Overall, they predict academic libraries will be taking on more visible roles when it comes affordability and advancing digital scholarship (aka digital humanities). An exceptional year in politics globally may lead to more calls for diversity-based content and will likely present new opportunities for public libraries to support Americans and American workers when it comes to information and media literacy as well as education and workforce training. As the digital transition in K-12 moves full speed ahead, personalized learning environments and flexibility will be key especially as ESSA legislation is implemented.

More from our experts here….

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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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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

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

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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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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