"The COUNTRY REPORT"! DUE! AND the BOOK is checked OUT! Aaargh!!

Relax!
Get ARTICLES from "authorized" sources, through the Library Website!
Reach CULTUREGRAMS from HOME.
Choose "My Account" tab, and Login "username" and "password".
Choose "Research" tab and find CULTUREGRAMS.
It provides up-to-date information on countries and people.
It includes a State Edition with profiles on each state,
AND it tells you how to cite the article in your report.

Another great online resource for country information is the CIA World Factbook.

School Library Journal provides an "Online Science Fare" resource list for Science Fair season.
Here it is, and hope it HELPS !
Science Fair Project Resource Guide from the Internet Public Library.

Online (and Hands-on) Activities created by the San Francisco Exploratorium.

Science Fair Project Resource Guide created by Librarians, "a well-known classic among science fair veterans". And

ZOOMsci with simple experiments especially good for elementary students and teachers looking for in-class projects

Beginning today, travelers crossing into the United States via land will be required to show identification documentation. Also effective January 31, 2008, U.S. and Canadian citizen children ages 18 and under will be expected to present a birth certificate issued by a federal, state, provincial, county or municipal authority. The Dept. of Homeland Security website includes an FAQ for travelers.

Rosetta Stone has sent us “formal notice that Rosetta Stone Online will no longer be available to public libraries for use in online database offerings.”

Therefore, the Ann Arbor District Library will no longer be able to provide online access to Rosetta Stone after our current contract expires on March 31, 2008. At that time all public library registered users will no longer be able to log on to Rosetta Stone.

Foreign Language Materials at the Library

In the Foreign Languages section of the AADL Select Sites you can find some basic online instruction through the BBC Languages, FSI Language Courses, Livemocha, and Mango Languages.

We will be adding the substantial subscription price for Rosetta Stone to the library’s budget for foreign language learning materials in order to provide the Pimsleur Language Programs on compact disc (the beginning, intermediate, and high intermediate (Levels I, II, and II) courses).

The library has very good collections of print and audio courses available for check out. Click on Read More for links to the catalog for a few foreign languages or search the catalog under the name of the foreign language you want to learn.

If you've never read the annual holiday edition of The Economist, you're missing a rare treat. In addition to the magazine's typical insightful reporting and commentary, this edition includes several special reports on as sundry topics as professional poker to Mao Zedong's management style. Here are just a few articles that I enjoyed from this year's issue:

* Why humans' hunter-gatherer era wasn't quite as idyllic as we think
* The political sensitivity and power that comes from the Census
* China's attempts to encourage panda sex, and why we should care
* The political implications of electing a Mormon president.

Has your interest been piqued? Want to check out this issue of The Economist in its full-text glory? You're in luck! You can access it online in General OneFile, one of our great research databases. After you get into the database, just click the "Publication Search" link and search for The Economist. You will need to login to your aadl.org account to follow the database link.

Like a lot of locals I’m thrilled to have the Google Company move to town. However when I’m looking for information I’ve grown tired of the typical search result of millions of hits. Too many answers are useless to me. Maybe you’ve got time to go thru them all. I don’t.

Fortunately I’m not alone in my frustration. Try Clusty search engine. It searches for your requested information and presents the results in clusters. It’s a refreshing way to get the answers. Try it! You’ll like it. I did.

A 4th/5th grade assignment is to find information on "Electric Heroes" and their inventions. To use the RESEARCH databases, Choose MY ACCOUNT and login. These databases are not on the internet. They are only on library websites through your AADL library card.
The articles provide the citations you need to prove your research.
1. Choose the RESEARCH tab along the top of the website.
2. Use the link to "browse databases by name".
3. Choose BIOGRAPHY RESOURCE CENTER.
4. If you know names, use the last name to search for articles on that person.

A 4th/5th grade assignment is to find information on “exploration of north America”. To use the RESEARCH databases, Choose MY ACCOUNT and login. These databases are not on the internet. They are only on library websites through your AADL library card.
The articles provide the citations you need to prove your research.
1. Choose the RESEARCH tab along the top of the website.
2. Use the link to "browse databases by subject".
3. Choose “Kid’s and Teens”.
4. Choose “Kid’s INFOBITS”.
5. Choose” Advanced Search” and enter keywords.
I used “discovery”, “OR”, “exploration”, “AND”, “north America”. You will come up with articles to read, or print.
6. Now the challenge is finding "historical" exploration, and "keywords" for further research.

Whether you are in recovery from an addiction or are part of the support system for someone who is, take advance of the resources the library has to offer on the health issues for those in recovery. Check out The Wellness-Recovery Connection: Charting Your Pathway To Optimal Health While Recovering From Alcoholism And Drug Addiction, The Sober Kitchen and Safe Medicine For Sober People, which provide advice on becoming and remaining healthy during recovery. For more information and resources on wellness, consider using Health Wellness Resource found under databases on our Research Databases By Subject page.

If you're looking for detailed information about a corporation, try Reference USA. You may be surprised to learn that you can get contact information for major American corporations, just by clicking into this database. Maybe you thought Reference USA was mostly for phone numbers? Wrong. Check again. This is an excellent database that includes management directories, images, competitor reports, public filings, and Uniform Commercial Code profiles.

Have you ever exchanged your dollars for a different currency? I don't know about you, but I'm always confused as to how much I'm actually getting. If I can trade one dollar for 0.75 euros, can I still get as much stuff as I would with a dollar (which, admittedly, is not that much)?

For over 20 years, The Economist has been giving a clever answer to this complex question: Big Macs. The Economist's Big Mac Index compares the prices of that beloved artery-clogger around the globe, and in the process helps show just how much you can get for your dollar. Or franc. Or rouble. In their latest index, you can get a burger in the U.S. for about $3.41. But in China, it will only cost you $1.45. If you're traveling to Norway, though, it will cost you a whopping (pun intended) $6.88!

The Big Mac isn't a perfect way to measure exchange rates and purchasing power. After all, you can't trade them across international borders (eww!). But they have the advantage of being made the same way no matter where you go, an elusive quality in international markets.

Want to find out more about the Big Mac index, or any number of other current events or international trade topics? As an AADL cardholder, you can actually access The Economist in its full-text glory in General OneFile, one of our great research databases. You will need to login to your aadl.org account to follow the database link.

This is not a zigzag bladderwort, it's a Blanchard's cricket frog, one of the more than 600 rare plants and animals featured in the new Michigan Rare Species Explorer. The curious of all ages can search by habitat, location, name, best time to view or browse the beautifully illustrated entries for all the species. Kudos to the team at the Michigan Natural Features Inventory for this wonderful new resource.

After much research we are sad to report there is not an official Michigan Pasty Day. Although Governor Romney proclaimed May 24, 1968 as Pasty Day and Governor Milliken declared May 25, 1972 as Pasty Day, these single-year proclamations do not do justice to the importance of the pasty in Michigan’s history and cuisine. Perhaps Governor Granholm can rectify this situation. Best place to get pasties? Jean-Kays Pasties in Marquette, across from the NMU Superior Dome