Academic OneFile is a comprehensive database of journal articles that have been published from 1980 to 2011. These articles cover a vast array of academic genres which include history, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts, theology, and literature. Specific journal titles include; "Journal of Communication", "Journal of Southern History", and the "Journal of Social Issues". Most of these journals can be viewed in full text, and are available in HTML and PDF formats.

A few other popular features of this database includes transcripts and podcasts from National Public Radio programs, and full text coverage of the "New York Times" back to 1995. You can also peruse popular news magazines such as "Newsweek" and "The Atlantic".

Access to this database is available at every branch of the Ann Arbor District Library, as well as off site provided you have a valid Ann Arbor District Library card. You just log in to your account to obtain full access to Academic OneFile. Another bonus is that this database is updated daily to keep you “in the know!"

This event, which has two sessions (Monday September 12, 2011: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm & Tuesday September 13, 2011: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm -- both at Pittsfield Branch: Training Center) is now full.

Due to the large demand for this program, we will be offering this again, in a lecture format, in the Downtown Library Multipurpose Room on Monday, December 12 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. There will be no registration for this December session and there should be room for all.

learningexpress

Did you know that you can access dozens of practice tests and 150 e-books by going to the LearningExpress Library from our Research Pages? Just click on the Research Tab and then the click on the link that says "Test Prep". LearningExpress Library is the sole item with that heading. You will need an additional log in to access this database to take practice tests. Believe me, it's worth having a look-see for Academic preparation, Civil Services exams, Skill Building for kids and adults and So MUCH MORE!!!

ThinkfinityVerizon Thinkfinity is a portal to thousands of free online resources for classroom, after school, and homeschool educators, including teachers, tutors, and parents.

Who develops the resources?

Led by Verizon, Thinkfinity brings together a diverse group of content partners, including ARTSEDGE of the JFK Center for the Performing Arts, EconEdLink from the Council for Economic Education, Illuminations from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and Literacy Network from the National Center for Family Literacy and ProLiteracy.

These participants contribute lesson plans, games, interactive activities, and skill-building activities for collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical-thinking for Pre-K through adult learners. These resources are aligned to state and national standards.

In Michigan, the Thinkfinity State Education partner is the Michigan Department of Education.

What resources are available?

• Classroom -- Try the Search box to find resources that suit your needs!
• At Home and After School -- Try the Search box to find resources that suit your needs!
• Professional Development
• Community Building, Discussion Forums, and Organizational Tools

Thinkfinity

Do you need fast answers and facts? You can always call or visit the Ann Arbor District Library!

...

But this is not an advertisement for you favorite local library. Submitted for your approval is a new type of search engine under the name of WolframAlpha. This engine has new, unusual features. It will try to compile and calculate information for the searcher. Give it a try! Here are some suggested searches to try (courtesy of the website):

enter any date (e.g. a birth date)
enter any town (e.g. a home town)
enter any two stocks
enter any calculation
enter any math formula
enter any two first names
enter any food
enter any measurement
enter any chemical formula
enter any musical notes

If you try these you will find calculations and charts for mathematical problems, statistics from towns, stock comparisons, and more.

Give it a try, then leave comments here on how effective the engine is!

Most people pick up a business book when trying to solve a problem. You go to a library or bookstore and find one that seems to address the situation you are in. The problem is, more slop resides in the how-to business section than just about any other category. Even my brother-in-law has written three business books!

Robert Frost

The AADL now subscribes to The Columbia Granger’s World of Poetry with the full text of 250,000 poems.

Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky is one. 149 Robert Frost poems are available.

Get a daily dose of poetry by visiting The Columbia Granger’s and reading the featured poem of the day.

Poems can be searched by author, title, first line, words in the poem, and subject.

You can browse by eras (for example, Augustan Era or Romantic Era), schools of poetry (for example, the Beats or the Harlem Renaissance), or language (15 languages).

Browse also offers the Top 500 Poems (the 500 most frequently anthologized poems).

The Listening Room offers audio versions of 101 poems.

Brief biographies and commentaries are provided for some poets and poems.

The Columbia Granger's may be found among the databases on the AADL Research page.

neighborhood

They're the people that you meet each day. And they probably belong to a Neighborhood Association that the Ann Arbor City Planning Department depends on for input and information. This handy list includes residential, commercial and watershed groups with boundary maps to boot. The Planning Commission meetings are open to the public and a great way to stay on top of development in Ann Arbor.

When school ended, the 10-year-old classroom degu (South American rat) came home with us. The teacher told us that Cedar, named for her reddish fur, might not survive the summer, given her advanced age, in which case we should freeze her (near the cool-pops?) until fall, when she would get a proper school funeral. I did not fall immediately in love with this creature, despite her being cute, caged, fairly clean, and friendly. Instead, I clicked into the Oxford English Dictionary, to learn that a degu is “a rat-like animal, rather smaller than the Water Vole, the head and body measuring from seven and a half to eight inches in length.” A definition often makes me fonder. Now I like Cedar, sort of, and having her around has made me curious about the new book Central Park in the Dark: More mysteries of urban wildlife. Who knows, maybe Cedar has dozens of cousins in New York City.

Some of the best browsing you can find begins at aadl.org in the Research section. AADL Select Sites offers high quality Web sites on many topics, chosen by an AADL librarian. Click on the first topic that interests you. A great surprise for me was in History: Primary Sources, Making of America. It was a very readable digital copy of a June 1842 article, "Blindness and the Blind," in Southern Literary Messenger. I will be going back to this site a lot because there's something for everyone!