You can now learn Koine Greek (the Greek used to write the New Testament), Ancient Greek, Latin and Biblical Hebrew, compliments of Mango, the only language learning company to offer a Religious and Scholarly Language Collection…. [Read Press Release].

New searchable Newsfeed in Issues & Controversies. A searchable Reuters newsfeed has been added to Issues & Controversies. Students, researchers, and instructors will now find it even easier to access the latest headlines about the timely issues covered in this critically acclaimed database…. [Read Press Release].

EBSCO has released a new smartphone app which allows you to search all the EBSCOhost databases.

The convenience and rich functionality of the app enables users to:

•Choose which databases to search
•Limit results to full text or peer reviewed
•Sort by relevance or date
•Retrieve full text results in HTML and/or PDF formats
•Save results for offline access at a later date
•Email results to self or others
•Automatically save 25 most recent searches
•View cover flow display of results

To get this app, go to the EBSCO page and click on the link along the bottom of the page. You’ll be prompted to enter your email address. You’ll receive an email containing instructions on how to install the app as well as an activation code. Then you will be able to search on the go!

Mango Mobile Library Edition

Learn languages everywhere you go with our free apps for iPhone®, iPod touch® and Android™. Mango Mobile Library Edition gives you access to all the Mango language courses offered through your library from the palm of your hand.

Read more . . .

The search options in ReferenceUSA, your go-to source for information about businesses, have expanded with three new modules. The first new module is U.S. New Businesses. New businesses that have appeared in the past 6 months can be found in this database, and will remain for up to two years. However, as these businesses enter their first year you will be able to locate more information about them in the regular U.S. Businesses module.

The next new module is U.S. Healthcare, containing 855,000 physicians and dentists. The information here is simple: name, where certified, office location, and phone number.

The third collection is the most fascinating. Ever wonder where marketers find out information about you? This is one of the sources. This database collects purchasing data and assigns it into broad categories. You may or may not be in here, but take a look to see if what you find is accurate.  And to those of you who are marketing a business or service this is a great product to explore. It could possibly help you reach many new potential customers.

Finally, ReferenceUSA has a new way of searching for businesses.  In the Custom Search tab under the option for Geography, you can now select Map Based Search. This is a pretty cool tool to help you get the results you need. For a series of videos showing how this works, follow this link: http://media.salesgenie.com/mapping_tutorial/mapping_tutorial.html

If you are planning on going to college or know someone who is, and want to offset the cost, then take a look at our e-book version of Scholarships, Fellowships, and Loans, part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library.

When you begin your search, the best way to search is to type in the box labeled “within publication” on the left-hand side of the screen. You may need to scroll down just a bit to find it. If you use the search box at the top of the page, it will search through hundreds of different and unrelated reference books.

There are groups offering scholarships for nearly any aspect of your life, whether it is academic, social, or physical.

For example, a search for the word deaf finds eight entries from, among others, National Black Deaf Associates, Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and Michigan Association for Deaf and Hard Hearing. Each of these groups has a scholarship, but to find out what it is, you must click on the name of the organization offering it. If you click on the image, it will take you back to the start. If you click on the Scholarships, Fellowships, and Loans link, that will also take you back to the start.

Each article will tell you the purpose, focus, criteria, the funds available, and how to apply.

If you want to do another search for a different keyword, search from the box on the left side of the page but mark the circle for either “all editions” or “all volumes in this edition.”

While it will take a little practice to narrow your search terms, it should be easier than filling in actual loan papers!

Two years ago we cancelled a subscription to a very good database because it didn’t have enough use, but it is such a valuable site that this month we welcome back Issues and Controversies. This is a Web resource that helps students understand today’s key issues. This is a product designed for the student report writer or debater.

Here’s a sample from the start of the article about drone aircrafts:

The issue: Is the use of drone aircraft abroad a valuable military tool or an ultimately ineffective method of warfare? Should drones be used domestically for law enforcement and other uses, or will drones in U.S. airspace lead to invasions of privacy?

• Critics of drones say: The use of drones to carry out killings abroad has resulted in civilian casualties, which fuel anti-U.S. sentiment abroad. Furthermore, the government’s embrace of drone warfare has resulted in military activity that lacks transparency and accountability. Domestically, authorizing law enforcement or private interests to fly drones in U.S. airspace will result in unconstitutional invasions of privacy.
• Supporters of drones say: Drones have proved to be valuable surveillance tools abroad and can carry out targeted killings of U.S. enemies without risking U.S. lives. Conventional warfare has become too outdated to effectively fight highly mobile, shadowy terrorist networks, and drones represent the future of warfare. Domestically, drones could be effective in a variety of capacities, from fighting crime to tracking forest fires to locating missing persons.

What follows are ten pages of supporting material.

Having trouble finding a topic for a report? You can pick a subject from the “Issues in the Headlines” section, start drilling through the Subject Index, or pick a word and search for it in the Keyword Search box.

You might be surprised by what you’ll find in Issues and Controversies: Overfishing, the conflict in Kashmir, committing the mentally ill, and bounty hunting are just a few.

Issues and Controversies is a great resource for anyone interestested in learning more about current events.

Another Web resource has been radically transformed in the last month: Gale Virtual Reference Library, which we also call GVRL. This is our web resource that has nearly 400 reference e-books. This is one of my favorite resources because it covers such a wide range of topics. There are resources on business, movies, college scholarships, history, biographies, medicine and more. These reference books are always available, even when the Library is closed. New features include:

•A completely updated, engaging user interface available in more than 35 languages
•Improved user-focused navigation and organization
•Eye catching book covers and interactive online book experience with two-page view and page flipper
•ReadSpeaker text-to-speech technology in 19 languages
•Cross-search and browse easily across series
I find the book covers to be so inviting that when I see them I like to open them up and look through them. This is really an improvement over the old way of just listing the titles. A general search through all of them is still available with the search box at the top of the page.

Wanting to repair your car yourself? We have the database for you:  Auto Repair Reference Center.

If you’ve never been there before, it has coverage of nearly every car you could possibly own.  If you’ve used the site before you’ll be pleased with the changes they’ve made.  The first thing you’ll notice is the great new look with loads of color!  No more of the white screen look that Google made so ubiquitous.  But there is a lot more to this redesign, including:

• Coverage of more than 37,000 vehicles from 1945 to present
• Millions of drawings and step-by-step photographs
• Approximately 110,000 technical service bulletins & recalls issued by the original equipment vehicle manufacturer
• Over 180,000 enhanced wiring diagrams for easy viewing and printing
• Specifications & maintenance schedules
• Labor Time Guide & Estimator
• Video overviews of auto systems with AutoIQ
• Quick Tips (a complete guide to vehicle ownership & maintenance)
• Diagnostic information
• Completely redesigned interface with intuitive, user-friendly navigation
• Enhanced searching within content collections
• Ability to print/e-mail/save high-quality PDF records
• Increased repair coverage – more than 37,000 vehicles covered
• Expanded, in-depth repair information from the major original equipment manufacturers, including Ford, Honda, and GMC
• On-Board Diagnostics (OBD II) codes with description and troubleshooting information

So if you like to do things yourself and save a whole lot of money, try Auto Repair Reference Center.  If you’re at home and you have a laptop, you can save the PDF files to it and bring it out to the garage with you.

The Library’s newest, exclusive web-resource is AtoZ World Travel, a database that is easy to use and full of depth.  Delving into the going-onsof 202 cities, there is plenty for the new traveler.  Before you go somewhere, you would need to know what the city is like, something about its history, and some places to visit.  AtoZWorld Travel has these details, and plenty more.  There are recommendations of historical monuments, religious sites, architecturallandmarks, and museums.  The listings are thorough but standard for a first time visitor.  For the more seasoned or daring traveler, there is a section called the Insider’s Guide that contains things you might not see in the regular guidebooks.

For example, they list these 4 things for New Delhi, India:

• Agrasen Ki Baoli Stepwell(700 year old ruins)
• Lodi Gardens (a beautiful public park built around 500 year old tombs)
• The Museum of Toilets (this is really off the wall! And if you’ve “done it all” this is certainly a good place to head
• Street Children Walking Tour (a charity offers a view on the life of homeless children and an offer for you to help make their lives better)

There is a lot of information about survival, such as how to get around and if there are any tricks to dealing with cab drivers.  In Delhi, public transportation not only includes taxis, but also 3 wheeled covered scooters called auto-rickshaws, and cycle-rickshaws (and cycle here means someone pulls you around in a cart by bicycle!).

Other important information includes: travel warnings, a listing of emergency phone numbers, how phones work, and embassy and consulate contact information, images of electrical outlets and plugs.  And something that is really cool is in the money section.  There are complete full color images of the currency.

Traveling in the US? 

New York, Seattle, Houston, Dallas and Chicago are only some of our many cities.  The Baha’iTemple in Wilmette is listed as on the things to do for the insiders.  There are even directions on how to get to it: take the CTA Purple Line to Linden, its last stop, and then walk five minutes to the right of the station. 

All of these reports can be downloaded into PDFfiles for printing or transfer to your iPador tablet to take along with you.