Discover Gale Virtual Reference Library

 

Find a Wealth of Information in a Few Clicks with eBooks on Gale Virtual Reference Library

Easy to access through a Google Chrome app and save content directly to Drive

Gale eBooks on CMRLS is a one-stop learning destination for all of your ready reference needs! Let’s look at a few examples.

Here’s a familiar scenario: a high school student is writing a paper about Bill Gates. They are only allowed one internet source, and need book sources. What a perfect use of GVRL!  Sure, the database is accessed via the Internet, but the sources themselves are books. Glorious, full-text reference books!

A GVRL search returns two of the full-text reference books; both of the volumes have entries for Bill Gates. The student is skeptical – the entries looks like an internet print-off and they are worried that their teacher won’t believe that it really, truly, is from a book. No worries, just click on the “View PDF” link at the top of the Bill Gates entry and the screen changes to look like the entry from the print edition, just as if the student had photo-copied the page from the book itself.

There is even a “Listen” button. Press the triangle “Play” button and listen to the entry read by a computerized voice. It’s a nice voice – not overly robotic and with excellent pronunciation (not like your incomprehensible caller ID announcer; more like a real, human voice!)

Now, would the student like a citation of this source? Of course they would! Click on “Citation Tools” on the right side of the screen and choose from MLA or APA styles. You can even save the citation to one of a number of online options like EasyBib, EndNote, or ProCite.

The student doesn’t have to check out this eBook or any eBooks. They can access CMRLS’s full collection through our website Gale eBooks, or download the “Gale eBooks” Google Chrome app. After their first login with his library credentials, they can authenticate and login with his Google account credentials. Once logged in with Google, they can save articles or article highlights directly to Google Drive for future use.

The student is now ready to write their paper. Meanwhile, their parent has been watching this interaction and pipes in with a question of their own. “Is there anything in there about hypertension? This kid is giving me high blood pressure!” Yes, indeed, the GVRL has many eBooks on health topics. You can click “medicine” on the homepage of the database or just search key terms. 

Now, the parent is onboard with GVRL too, and gets excited. “I’m thinking about opening my own business. Are there books in this database to help me get started?” Yes, yes, yes! There are eBooks on business plans, e-commerce, and more. There are search limiters on the right side of the page as well, to really narrow the search to relevant topics, sources, and document types. One of the document types listed is “statistical data,” which is extremely useful in this kind of research!

It is even possible to translate articles into a variety of languages, making this a truly accessible resource. You can even download the MP3 to listen to an article offline.

This database is an extremely practical and relevant and accessible to you 24/7. Access Gale eBooks on GVRL from our library’s website CMRLS: Gale eBooks Should you have any questions, please contact our customer service at CMRLS.