Gale Virtual Reference Library

In getting to know the titles in GVRL I selected Literature and Its Times to look for some background information on Big Read classics for a new webinar I am working on with Jasmine about book clubs. Browsing the table of contents was too slow, so I used the search box. I found great info on the Maltese Falcon, Grapes of Wrath, Joy Luck Club, My Antonia, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, A Lesson Before Dying, and The Death of Ivan Ilyich. I selected the e-mail option for each and sent them to myself to read fully later. In addition to plot info, etc. the articles also give historical background about the time of the novel. This will help me brainstorm some themes readers might explore, other titles, etc. The Shawl and Housekeeping were not in this reference title so I went back to the home page and did an author search for anything related to these titles anywhere in GVRL. I found a few references but nothing as concise as the other articles.

For the Basic Search I typed in impetigo as it is currently spreading among my hunka grandchildren. The search brought up articles from nine different titles. I took a look at the article in the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Yuck, it is so contagious although easy to treat, which I knew, but left untreated it can be very serious – kidney disease, sepsis, bone and joint infection, pneumonia. The photo was helpful and the read aloud feature was easy to listen to. Key Terms gave some basic definitions, but it would be helpful if the other articles linked to the term had hyperlinks.