Something about the Author- In Gale Virual Reference Library

Is the end of school close? Have students been working on reports about authors? Well searching for those authors has never been easier. Just by searching our catalog, you can search for a biographgy for say Gary Paulsen and this leads you right to the online version of "Something about the Author" in the Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL). Within three easy clicks your students can have everything they need to create a report about an author, right from this wonderful source. GVRL contains a wealth of information from many subject areas, so remember to look here when you need a little extra to complete your search.

Footnote.com Available Remotely

It has been a long time coming but the Footnote.com database can now be accessed remotely from your home computer. You will get there through the libraries Web site at hcplc.org and then select "Databases and Websites" and from there you will go to the Genealogy page and it is listed under the databases. Footnote contains such information as Civil War documents, Newspapers, Milestone Documents, Census information, Photos, World War 1 papers and Naturalization records.

NoveList K-8 Adds Interface Enhancements

Over the past year NoveList has spent a lot of time listening to their customers. What they have told them is that we want even more of the great resources they provide, and we want to be able to get to those resources quickly and easily.
As you may already know, they have been working on enhancements to the NoveList and NoveList Plus interfaces, but they are also working on updates and enhancements to K-8 and K-8 Plus.
Design for the K-8 and K-8 Plus interfaces is underway and the release is scheduled for later this summer. While there won’t be a Beta version for these interfaces, you can still see what’s coming by using the NoveList or NoveList Plus Beta.

The new versions of K-8 will search, browse, and make recommendations just like the new NoveList, with a few slight differences:
The new K-8 will use a different color palette and larger font than NoveList.
The K-8 homepage will be slightly different, most notably with the addition of juvenile-related links in the menu on the right.
The K-8 Search box will include Reading Level limiters.
You can see what the new K-8 will look like by visiting their Support Center. On the preview page, you’ll see screenshots of the new interface, and you can find additional information and promotional materials for the new K-8 under the FAQ and Promotion tabs.

Auto Repair Reference Center (ARRC) Interface Updates Coming Soon

Ebsco is excited to announce that later this summer, we will see significant user interface, content and functionality updates made to our Auto Repair Reference Center subscription.

Some of these upgrades are listed below:
All repairs classified by OEMs, such as Ford, Honda, etc., on a given vehicle will be categorized and made available in the new ARRC user interface
Thousands of repairs (as opposed to hundreds in print repair manuals) for each vehicle will provide the most comprehensive repair coverage available to the Do-it-Yourselfer
Coverage will be provided for many more vehicles than Chilton, with historic repair information dating back to the 1940s
Content indicies will make finding repair information much easier, and will include wiring diagrams, specifications, maintenance intervals, TSBs, recalls and labor guide estimates
A streamlined content update system will ensure currency superior to the manual methods used by other sources
Researchers using the new interface will have more complete access to what they need, by being able to find content from PDFs, including graphics in the repair procedures

Here are some examples of the new, intuitive screens coming in the ARRC updated interface:
http://crm.ebscohost.com/app/crm/marketing/campaignlistener.nl?__lstr=__cl&c=392875&__r=5861002&__h=64dce20078f6ab3facbd&_od=aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3Jtcy5uZXRzdWl0ZS5jb20*&url=http://support.epnet.com/uploads/kb/arrc_screen_shots.ppt/ohttp://support.epnet.com/uploads/kb/arrc_screen_shots.ppt
This release is expected in the summer, and will simply replace the existing ARRC as soon as it is ready.

Ask a Librarian on You Tube

YouTube has a new channel called "Search Stories." Susan Smith from Hodges University created a very dramatic video about Ask a Librarian.
It's great!

Check it out at:
http://askalibrarian.org/blog/?p=981

New Languages added to Mango

Are you planning a trip this summer to another country? Would you like to learn the language before you go? Well Mango has recently added several new languages and some facts and figures about them are listed below. Also check out the video testimonials at PLA-Portland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkQacmNde9c

Arabic (Levantine)
Approx speakers: 35 million
Spoken in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus

Chinese (Mandarin)
Approx speakers: 1,365 million
Spoken in China

Dari
Approx speakers: 9 million
Spoken in Afghanistan, Pakistan

Farsi (Persian)
Approx speakers: 80-134 million
Spoken in Iran


French
Approx speakers: 77 million (native), 390 million (non-native)
Spoken in France, Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina, Faso, Niger, Senegal, Mali, Belgium, Guinea, Chad, Haiti, Burundi, Benin, Switzerland, Togo, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Djibouti, Luxembourg, Vanuatu, Seychelles, Monaco

German
Approx speakers: 105 million (native) and 80 million (non-native)
Spoken in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Greek
Approx speakers: 12 million
Spoken in Greece, Cyprus


Hebrew
Approx speakers: 7 million
Spoken in Israel

Hindi
Approx speakers: 490 million (first language), 120–225 (second language)
Spoken in India, Pakistan, Fiji

Irish
Approx speakers: 355,000 (fluent)
Spoken in Ireland

Italian
Approx speakers: 70 million (first language), 125 million (second language)
Spoken in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Eritrea, Somalia, France (esp. Corsica) and Greece

Japanese
Approx speakers: 130 million
Spoken in Japan

Korean
Approx speakers: 78 million
Spoken in North Korea, South Korea, China

Pashto
Approx speakers: 26 million
Spoken in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran

Portuguese (Brazil)
Approx speakers: 200 million
Spoken in Brazil

Russian
Approx speakers: 164 million (first language), 114 million (secondary language)
Spoken in Russia, minorities in countries of the former Soviet Union, San Javier (Uruguay)

Spanish (Latin America)
Approx speakers: 329 million (first language), 170 million (second language)
Spoken in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Cuba, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Panama and Equatorial Guinea

Tagalog
Approx speakers: 49 million
Spoken in Philippines

Thai
Approx speakers: 60-64 million
Spoken in Thailand, Northern Malaysia, Cambodia, Southern Myanmar, Laos

Turkish
Approx speakers: 70 million
Spoken in Turkey

Urdu
Approx speakers: 250 million
Spoken in Pakistan, India

Vietnamese
Approx speakers: 73 million
Spoken in Vietnam