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Mari Smith, of Social Media Examiner, recently blogged about the top 75 applications for Facebook.  With these apps, you can add video and photos, tags, polls, contests, geolocation, tweets, and so much more.  Try adding some of the apps to your library fanpage and increase your statistics.

Found via: iLibrarian

Kids InfoBits is a database developed especially for beginning researchers in Kindergarten through Grade 5. Using the graphic interface, students move from a broad subject to a narrower topic using the subject-based topic tree. The curriculum-related, age appropriate, full-text content is from the best elementary reference sources and magazines. This database covers geography, current events, the arts, science, health, people, government, history, sports and more.

Challenge: Students need to prepare a poster showing information (state flower, tree, map, etc.) about one of the states.

These three resources provide access to a variety of indexed and full-text magazines, newspapers and reference books for information on current events, the arts, science, popular culture, health, people, government, history, sports and more. The graphical interface and topic tree simplify searching for less experienced students.

Kids Edition K12 - this periodical database with almost 125 titles is designed for elementary school students.

Junior Edition K12 - with over 330 titles, cross searchable with E-Books, this periodical database is designed for students in junior high and middle school.

Student Edition K12 - with over 1100 titles, cross searchable with E-Books, this periodical database is designed for high-school students.

Challenge: A student needs resources for a report on jellyfish. Be sure to show him the tools for citing his sources.

There are many subsets of the InfoTrac databases. Here are 2 resources for students.

JuniorEdition: Designed for junior high and middle school students, this resource features the magazine, journal, newspaper and reference titles most critical to their research and curriculum. Provides diverse perspectives and strong full-text coverage, this resource helps students find the answers they need to all their general reference questions.

Student Edition: With over 1100 titles this multi-source database is designed for high-school students providing them with access to a variety of full-text magazines, newspapers, podcasts, and reference books for information on topics most important to their curriculum including: current events, the arts, science, health, people, government, history, sports and more

Challenge: Can you find an interview with Toni Morrison.

This resource covers the core curriculum areas for middle school students, including history, literature, science, social studies, and more.  JRC provides a premium selection of reference, primary sources, and multimedia content, including audio and video clips and more than 7,400 photographs. New to the database are popular topic pick lists and an integrated national and state curriculum standards search with content correlated to the standards.

Find science experiments for earthquakes.

What was Judy Blume’s first book?

Gale’s largest general interest periodical resource, General OneFile, provides periodical and news articles on a wide range of topics for researchers at all levels. Content includes more than 12,000 titles in all with nearly 30 years of coverage.  General OneFile puts approximately 80 million (updated daily) records at users’ fingertips with a single search query.

A patron wants news articles regarding the ban on gays in the military, published in the last three months.

Health Reference Center Academic - Multi-source database providing access to full-text of nursing and allied health journals, plus a wide variety of personal health information sources that offer reliable health information to researchers, including nursing and allied health students. This resource was created specifically for students, knowledgeable consumer health researchers and health care professionals.

Can changes in diet improve symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?

Health and Wellness Resource Center and Alternative Health Module  - Provides instant access to carefully compiled and trusted medical reference materials. This source includes nearly 400 health/medical journals, hundreds of pamphlets, over 700 health-related videos from partner Healthology, Inc., and articles from 2,200 general interest publications in addition to a broad collection of Gale reference titles.  This database was created for consumers and patients.

Find two herbal remedies for asthma.

Gale provides two similar resources for topics in the academic fields:

Academic OneFile - is the premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world’s leading journals and reference sources. It includes extensive coverage of the sciences, technology, medicine, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects - authoritative and comprehensive. Millions of articles are available in both PDF and HTML full-text with no restrictions; updated daily.  This resource is perfect for research libraries, graduate schools, universities and community colleges.

Expanded Academic ASAP -From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Users can access scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. It delivers answers for both the novice and the experienced researcher.  Though smaller in scope than Academic OneFile, it includes material for 11^th and 12^th graders, and topics for AP courses.

Try doing a couple of searches in both databases and compare the results (formats available, types of publications, etc.).  Leave a comment and share your experience.

Users can start their search directly on the Florida Electronic Library home page. Simply type the search terms in the box and click on the “Search” button.

A high school student is researching stem cell research for a debate. Determine the appropriate search term, and then use the limits on the left side of the results screen to narrow the results to the ethics of stem cell research.

Power Search can also be found at the top of most pages in the Gale interface.

Cengage-Gale has added a training component to the Florida Electronic Library.  In this post we challenge you to review the training options available and complete one of the on demand sessions.

On the Florida Electronic Library website, you will find a section for Librarians.  Click on the link for “Training Opportunities.”  On the gray bar near the top you will find several menu options: 

·         Course offerings

·         Login/Create New Account

Under “Course offerings” there are several choices.  You are encouraged to explore all the options, but for this exercise we will use the “On Demand (Self-paced)” lessons.  Click on the + (plus sign) next to a title to select and view a course.  If you need assistance with this or any of the activities, contact Carol at PLAN.