The complete awesomeness of this just rocks my world! Gale has created an iPhone App allowing students to access your Gale databases. There's also one for public libraries. Talk about reaching students where they live!!
I've downloaded it, and it's easy to use. Just make sure students load the school version, and not the public library version. Just call up the App store, type Gale in the search, and the two apps pop up in the first 4-5 results. Then search for your school by state, type in your database password and you're good to go!
You can get more info here. You can also bet that if Gale's doing it, others won't be far behind.
Showing posts with label databases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label databases. Show all posts
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, November 16, 2008
I Thought This Issue Was Settled?
Silly me. I didn't realize we were still arguing over authority control (Think: Sears) vs. folksonomies and social tagging. Yet this morning I've been mulling over the comments at two different conferences, held within days of each other.
Last week I attended CASL, the Connecticut Librarians State conference. I've already mentioned Kathy Schrock was there, giving an interesting presentation. An off-hand remark she make caught my attention, but I didn't think too much of it until after hearing part of the discussion I love-blogged yesterday. Her comment? (roughly paraphrased) I hate Wikipedia to the depth of my bones. Followed shortly by a humorous remark, "We're all librarians here, and I assume we'd like to see the web organized according to Sears."
Everyone (in our world!) knows that Kathy has long been on the forefront of all things library and technology related. So these comments surprised me, to say the least. More on that later.
Here's part two of this discussion: In the most fascinating part of the Just In Case or Just In Time discussion yesterday (and OF COURSE the section right after my battery died!) Chris and Joyce gave an impassioned call to deconstruct (dare I say destroy?) the OPAC, break databases and MARC records out of their respective boxes and allow users to mix and mash and tag and recreate information in personally meaningful ways.
This is the world David Weinberger discusses in his marvelous Everything Is Miscellaneous (If you haven't read that, it's really part of your library duties!) and is where education and the library profession MUST head if we are to remain relevant to the 21st Century learner.
Hence my surprise at Kathy's comments. I respect her as much as anyone, but that authority-controlled attitude, whether Wikipedia vs. Britannica or Sears vs. social tagging overlooks the obvious: We need both. And we only have to look at Amazon for a perfect example of where we need to head.
While Amazon uses a subject tree and places books in traditional categories, it allows users to tag them in ways they deem appropriate. A search I just ran on Civil War (I'm reading Team of Rivals at the moment), turned up not only the usual keywords and subjects, but also "Pritzker Military Library podcast," which may be a good resource for our school's Civil War unit.
I see user recommendations alongside the professional reviews, what other books users have purchased on similar topics....I would LOVE it if my OPAC did all that, and how much more motivated would my students be to actually USE the OPAC if they could use it as a social tool as well as a research tool?
Along similar lines, Joyce called for e-publishers to break the databases out of their state collections (iConn, AccessPA) or ProQuest/Gale/InfoTract boxes. We need widgets, and lots of them, so that students can add them to their Facebook accounts, I can put individual resources directly into pathfinders and wikis, rather than mere links. These things need RSS feeds, comment boxes and tools for sharing among groups.
If their promos are accurate, the new Gale Global Issues database is heading in this direction, and I'm both dismayed that its release is apparently delayed until December, but pleased they're taking the time to work out a truly unique approach, in that individual libraries can adjust its interface and content to their needs.
Now look, I know none of this is new. I'll never be one of the great thinkers in the profession! My talents lie more in the mash-up arena: trying to figure out how the big ideas work on a day-to-day level.
As librarians and educators we need to release our stranglehold on authority, revel in the wisdom of crowds (or clouds!) and use our positions as leaders from the middle to take the best of both approaches and create information tools to empower users and improve findability.
Last week I attended CASL, the Connecticut Librarians State conference. I've already mentioned Kathy Schrock was there, giving an interesting presentation. An off-hand remark she make caught my attention, but I didn't think too much of it until after hearing part of the discussion I love-blogged yesterday. Her comment? (roughly paraphrased) I hate Wikipedia to the depth of my bones. Followed shortly by a humorous remark, "We're all librarians here, and I assume we'd like to see the web organized according to Sears."
Everyone (in our world!) knows that Kathy has long been on the forefront of all things library and technology related. So these comments surprised me, to say the least. More on that later.
Here's part two of this discussion: In the most fascinating part of the Just In Case or Just In Time discussion yesterday (and OF COURSE the section right after my battery died!) Chris and Joyce gave an impassioned call to deconstruct (dare I say destroy?) the OPAC, break databases and MARC records out of their respective boxes and allow users to mix and mash and tag and recreate information in personally meaningful ways.
This is the world David Weinberger discusses in his marvelous Everything Is Miscellaneous (If you haven't read that, it's really part of your library duties!) and is where education and the library profession MUST head if we are to remain relevant to the 21st Century learner.
Hence my surprise at Kathy's comments. I respect her as much as anyone, but that authority-controlled attitude, whether Wikipedia vs. Britannica or Sears vs. social tagging overlooks the obvious: We need both. And we only have to look at Amazon for a perfect example of where we need to head.
While Amazon uses a subject tree and places books in traditional categories, it allows users to tag them in ways they deem appropriate. A search I just ran on Civil War (I'm reading Team of Rivals at the moment), turned up not only the usual keywords and subjects, but also "Pritzker Military Library podcast," which may be a good resource for our school's Civil War unit.
I see user recommendations alongside the professional reviews, what other books users have purchased on similar topics....I would LOVE it if my OPAC did all that, and how much more motivated would my students be to actually USE the OPAC if they could use it as a social tool as well as a research tool?
Along similar lines, Joyce called for e-publishers to break the databases out of their state collections (iConn, AccessPA) or ProQuest/Gale/InfoTract boxes. We need widgets, and lots of them, so that students can add them to their Facebook accounts, I can put individual resources directly into pathfinders and wikis, rather than mere links. These things need RSS feeds, comment boxes and tools for sharing among groups.
If their promos are accurate, the new Gale Global Issues database is heading in this direction, and I'm both dismayed that its release is apparently delayed until December, but pleased they're taking the time to work out a truly unique approach, in that individual libraries can adjust its interface and content to their needs.
Now look, I know none of this is new. I'll never be one of the great thinkers in the profession! My talents lie more in the mash-up arena: trying to figure out how the big ideas work on a day-to-day level.
As librarians and educators we need to release our stranglehold on authority, revel in the wisdom of crowds (or clouds!) and use our positions as leaders from the middle to take the best of both approaches and create information tools to empower users and improve findability.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
I'ts A Shrinking World: Global Issues database
I don't think I've ever pitched for a product before that wasn't online and, if not free, at least VERY inexpensive. It's not a trend I want to continue, as I like to see myself as the Consumer Reports of the ed tech blogosphere. (well, I'm having delusions of grandeur there, but you know what I mean!) That's one reason I won't run Google Ads on the blog.
But I saw a demo of Gale's new Global issues database at NECC, grabbed my computer and immediately emailed my rep to sign us up--even though it won't be released until November! If it does everything Gale promises, this database will be something very different, and very cool.
I should preface this by stating my school is very big into multiculturalism and building global awareness; thus, this product grabbed my attention, in that it is the only high-school oriented, issues-focused database out there that doesn't present a U.S.-based perspective. (If you're aware of others, please let me know!)
Want to find out what Saudi Arabians think about Al-Qaeda? The database offers newspapers and videos from the Middle East (think: Al Jazeera in English, among others). Need a Chinese perspective on human rights issues? It's there.
The topics range over 400 issues and 193 countries, with interactive maps, downloadable audio, and RSS feeds to keep up on recent additions. The database also includes student research tools, including the ability to post comments and content from over 400 international journals, magazines and newspapers, selected by country-based experts. Best of all, it presents multiple points-of-view, allowing students to draw their own conclusions. I'm so tired of databases that present a "This is what happened" approach to history, virtually ignoring the unceasing complexities to any human endeavor.
Most interesting, the homepage boasts a customizable interface allowing the librarians to choose what content to show.
Like most Gale databases, this one is not cheap. But Gale is running a pre-release sale that offers a pretty hefty discount if you sign up in July or August.
In an increasingly global economy, it is imperative for us to encourage in students not only a broader world view, but a deeper understanding of other cultures and other perspectives. The U.S. is internationally infamous for its "Let them learn English," (and American English, at that!) attitude.
We were able to get away with it in a post-WW II world where we had little competition. In the 21st century we are doomed if we don't foster global knowledge and understanding in our students. We will, quite frankly, become a quaint anachronism, a relic from the not-so-distant past.
One database can't overcome all the educational challenges we face to accomplish this goal. But it's a good start.
But I saw a demo of Gale's new Global issues database at NECC, grabbed my computer and immediately emailed my rep to sign us up--even though it won't be released until November! If it does everything Gale promises, this database will be something very different, and very cool.
I should preface this by stating my school is very big into multiculturalism and building global awareness; thus, this product grabbed my attention, in that it is the only high-school oriented, issues-focused database out there that doesn't present a U.S.-based perspective. (If you're aware of others, please let me know!)
Want to find out what Saudi Arabians think about Al-Qaeda? The database offers newspapers and videos from the Middle East (think: Al Jazeera in English, among others). Need a Chinese perspective on human rights issues? It's there.
The topics range over 400 issues and 193 countries, with interactive maps, downloadable audio, and RSS feeds to keep up on recent additions. The database also includes student research tools, including the ability to post comments and content from over 400 international journals, magazines and newspapers, selected by country-based experts. Best of all, it presents multiple points-of-view, allowing students to draw their own conclusions. I'm so tired of databases that present a "This is what happened" approach to history, virtually ignoring the unceasing complexities to any human endeavor.
Most interesting, the homepage boasts a customizable interface allowing the librarians to choose what content to show.
Like most Gale databases, this one is not cheap. But Gale is running a pre-release sale that offers a pretty hefty discount if you sign up in July or August.
In an increasingly global economy, it is imperative for us to encourage in students not only a broader world view, but a deeper understanding of other cultures and other perspectives. The U.S. is internationally infamous for its "Let them learn English," (and American English, at that!) attitude.
We were able to get away with it in a post-WW II world where we had little competition. In the 21st century we are doomed if we don't foster global knowledge and understanding in our students. We will, quite frankly, become a quaint anachronism, a relic from the not-so-distant past.
One database can't overcome all the educational challenges we face to accomplish this goal. But it's a good start.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)