COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
P.O.
BOX 2120
RICHMOND,
VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 157
September 26, 2003
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne DeMary Superintendent of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Online Databases for Student Use |
The Department of
Education is pleased to inform school divisions that the Library of Virginia is
providing access to a number of online research databases. This joint project is in cooperation with
Virginias public libraries and K-12 public and private schools. This project
is funded through the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA)
funds.
This initiative provides at no charge access to a selection of online databases directly
from computers in classrooms, labs, and library media centers. In addition
students will have remote access to these same resources by logging on to the
Finditva website, www.finditva.org
using their public library card identification number. These resources offer
outstanding instructional support for students and teachers by providing access
to several of the Gale databases.
Databases included are:
o InfoTrac One File
o Expanded Academic
o General Reference
Center Gold
o InfoTrac Student
o InfoTrac Junior
o InfoTrac Kids
o
Health
& Wellness Resource Center
o
Business
& Company Resource Center
Detailed information
concerning the scope of each of these databases is provided in an attachment to
this memo.
BigChalk, a periodical database which
includes articles from the Richmond Times Dispatch, Roanoke Times and World
News, Washington Post, and Washington Times newspapers will not be included for
individual access until January 2004.
Until then, BigChalk can be accessed at the Finditva site using a library
card.
Schools will continue to have free online access to the SIRS database resources. This will be the third year that the Library of Virginia has provided the SIRS databases for the schools. SIRS is also offering several of its products at special pricing for schools in Virginia.
School divisions will need
to identify a point of contact to submit an online registration form that
establishes an account or updates their existing Gale account. The online registration form can be found at http://access.gale.com/va
There is no need for individual schools to register. The divisions contact person will register the division. Detailed information regarding registration is included in the attachment to this memo. Each school division should submit the name of the contact person to Charlie Makela, educational technology media and research services specialist at cmakela@mail.vak12ed.edu by November 1, 2003.
We are very excited about this opportunity to provide this collection of resources for all students. For additional information, contact Charlie Makela, 804-786-9412 or cmakela@mail.vak12ed.edu
JLD/cm
Attachment
/administrators/superintendents_memos/2003/inf157a.pdf
/administrators/superintendents_memos/2003/inf157b.pdf