Alabama Virtual Library

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Alabama Virtual Library

• Presented by the
• Office of Technology Initiatives
• Alabama State Department of Education

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What Is the Alabama Virtual Library?

• Scholarly, essential, electronic information
  resources
• Accessed through the Internet

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What Are the Goals of the AVL?

• Equity
• Economy
• Excellence

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Who Are the AVL Partners?

• Alabama Commission on Higher Education
• Alabama Department of Post-Secondary Education
• Alabama Public Library Service
• Alabama State Department of Education
• Alabama Supercomputer Authority

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How Is It Funded?

• 3,000,000 appropriated by the Alabama
  Legislature for FY 2000 and FY2001
• APLS serves as the fiscal agent for the AVL
• Alabama Education Trust Fund

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How Is It Governed?

• Under the legal authority of APLS
• Council appointed by agency heads
• three members from each agency
• Bylaws
• Committees

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How Is the Money Used?

• License databases
• online encyclopedias
• almanacs
• indexes
• full text of online books and magazines
• Training
• Set up and maintain hardware and software
• NO FUNDS FOR STAFF!!

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What Does This Mean for Our Schools?

• Accurate, up-to-date information
• Available at the desktop
• The poorest and most rural schools to have access
  to the same information as everyone else

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What Does This Mean for Students?

• 1998 Age of Collection Study
• Eleven magazine subscriptions
• 2000 in AVL
• Nineteen year-old Science books
• Up to the minute with AVL

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Where Is the AVL?

• http//www.avl.lib.al.us/

Alabama Supercomputer Authority
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Where Is the AVL?
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At Home
Go to your Public Library and ask for a blue
Alabama Virtual Library Card.
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What Is Your Research Question???
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Data Bases

• AccessScience
• African-American History and Culture
• Alabama Libraries
• Business and Company Resource Center
• Business Index ASAP
• Business Source Elite
• Contemporary Authors
• EBSCOhost Web
• Electric Library
• ERIC
• Essay Finder
• Ethnic NewsWatch Complete

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• FirstSearch by OCLC
• General Reference Center Gold
• Health Source Consumer Edition
• Informe  (Spanish version)  (English version)
• InfoTrac OneFile
• InfoTrac Student Edition
• LegalTrac

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(No Transcript)
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EBSCO

• Comprehensive
• Offers three search options
• Searchasaurus, a user-friendly search option for
  young users
• Middle Search Plus
• Primary Search
• General Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedia of Animals
• Tutorial and Fun Facts

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• Designed for the novice user, but powerful enough
  for an experienced researcher
• Variety of resources including newspaper, TV
  radio transcripts, maps other images
• Allows for the retrieval of age appropriate
  resources

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Special Features

• Uncluttered search page
• Includes television and radio transcripts
• Reading level for each article

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• SIRS Discoverer
• interactive reference tool for young readers
• each article is assigned a reading level category
• SIRS Researcher
• general research information on social,
  scientific, health, history, business, and
  political issues

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• SIRS Renaissance
• current perspectives on the arts and humanities
• Government Reporter
• wide range of information published by and about
  the federal government, i.e. Supreme Court
  decisions, directories, information on Congress,
  etc

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Special Features

• Help and Tips on the search page
• Can email articles
• Lists database contents on the search page
• DISCOVERER is appropriate for elementary and
  middle
• Allows user to search by subject or keyword
• Includes a workbook for learning how to use the
  resource
• Also includes an encyclopedia

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Observations

• Includes information from
• General Reference
• Information by and about the U.S. Government
• Arts and Humanities
• Go to the
• SIRS Discoverer Database

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• Grolier MultiMedia Encyclopedia
• Grades 5 and up (middle school)
• New Book of Knowledge
• Grades 3 and up (elementary school)
• Encyclopedia Americana
• Grades 7 and up (high school and junior college)

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• Research Abstracts II
• ProQuest Gold
• high school
• JuniorQuest
• middle school
• KidsQuest
• elementary

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Special Features

• Includes numerous resources for career/technical
  programs
• Search report includes whether or not a picture
  is included with article

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• Full text of most authoritative encyclopedia
• Other EB services
• Free vs. Fee Britannica service

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Special Features

• Includes a collegiate dictionary
• Provides an Internet Guide
• Includes Spotlight Features
• Good maps
• Search results include a short summary of the
  article

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Gale Group

• Includes three databases
• Contemporary Authors
• Scribner Writers Series
• Twayne Authors Series

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Contemporary Authors

• A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in
  fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism,
  drama, motion pictures,television, and other
  fields
• 90,000 authors

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Scribner Writers Series

• the gold standard for literary criticism
• Includes 1600 full-text articles on writers and
  literary genres
• Articles are written by scholars and include
  primary and secondary sources for further study

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Twayne Author Series

• Premier literary reference resource
• Each author is tied to the high school and
  college curriculum
• Provides critical introductions to the lives and
  works of writers, to the history and influence of
  literary movements, or the development of
  literary genres.

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Poem Finder

• Online poetry reference center
• Largest, most comprehensive and mot current
  poetry database available
• International in scope
• Covers poetry from antiquity to the present
• Never out of date
• Subject Navigator (Vietnam War, Womens Rights,
  etc.)
• The Years Best Poetry

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African American History Index

• Facts on File
• Organized in five sections
• Biographiessports, politics, science,
  literature, etc.
• Encyclopedia400 entries on concepts and terms
• Historical Documentscourt decisions, speeches,
  political platforms,etc.
• Galleryvintage and contemporary images
• Maps and Chartspertaining to AA history

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Access Science

• 7100 articles 115,000 dictionary terms and
  hundreds of Research Updates in Science and
  Technology
• Biographiesin-depth bios of scientists
• In the Newsweekly updates of breakthroughs and
  discoveries
• Student Centersresources to guide research
• Related Siteslinks to web sites reviewed by
  editors

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Whats next for the AVL?

• Additional databases
• Access to government and other free information
• Recurring appropriation to maintain AVL
• Training and use are critical
• Thank the legislature!