MeL Minute - Tools To Make Life Easier

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From Christine Schneider, K12 Education Specialist at Michigan E-Library:

Completing projects around the house can be so much easier when you use the right tools.  The same goes for research! This week’s MeL Minute will identify a few (sometimes hidden) tools in MeL that will make research a cinch for library staff, patrons, and students. And stay tuned in July for a MeL Minute on Hidden Searching Tricks in MeLCat!

Gale Database Tools

  • Topic Finder - this is an amazing tool that allows you to visually see related topics, and can help narrow down to a more specific research topic.  This tool can be found in all InfoTrac databases, as well as Opposing Viewpoints in Context. For more information about Topic Finder, you can watch the short video or read over the Gale Periodical Collections Resource Guide and the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Guide.
  •  Highlights and Notes - In any of the Gale databases, researchers can highlight sections of text in an article, add notes and then download to save. Watch the highlights and notes video for more info.
  •  Create a Search Alert - InfoTrac periodical eResources provide Search Alerts to let you know when new articles that match your search are added. Here is a Create a Search Alert Tip Sheet for more information.
  •  Help With Research and Reports - The Elementary Students and Middle and High School Students web pages link you to multiple “How To” tip sheets and worksheets that not only will K-12/College students appreciate, but many adults may find the tips quite helpful as well!

Britannica School

  • Britannica School is not just an encyclopedia! It also includes access to over 400,000 periodical articles and over 100,000 photos and images. And it includes a step-by-step research planner and How To guides for book reviews, presentations, research papers and science reports. To access these, click on “Students” in the top right page in either Britannica Middle or Britannica High.

More MeL Tools

If you are looking for even more tools than what could be listed in this MeL Minute, then check out More MeL Tools for Researchers (http://bit.ly/MoreMeLTools).

Brought to you by Christine Schneider of the MeL Team.

MeL databases are available to Michigan residents or Michigan library access only.

Want more information on MeL?  Stay tuned for the next MeL Minute available on many Michigan library listservs, email us at contact@mel.org,  visit http://mel.org, or sign up for the MeL Minute and other Library of Michigan e-mail lists via GovDelivery. We encourage you to share MeL Minutes with your colleagues and networks.

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