Gale Virtual Reference Library

The Blume Library now provides access to the Gale Virtual Reference Library. Titles currently available include:

New Catholic Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia of Religion

Encyclopedia of Bioethics
Gale Encyclopedia of Science

American Women Writers
Feminism in Literature: A Gale Critical Companion
International Directory of Film and Filmmakers

Encyclopedia of World Biography
Encyclopedia of World Cultures
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations

These fulltext reference works are now accessible 24/7 and via remote access to you wherever you and your computer are located. Articles can be emailed or printed.

All Gale Virtual Library titles can be searched at the same time or you can restrict your search to individual titles. The online format provides expanded search capabilities for difficult-to-find material.

Links to the Gale Virtual Library are available in the Blume Library's Catalog and on the library's website.

Free Access to New York Times Times Select information

The New York Times is now offering free access to the Times Select portal to students and faculty at colleges and universities in the U.S. Along with free access to the current daily paper, you will be able to access the following resources via Times Select (description from the NY Times):

The Archive
Explore The Times archive dating back to 1851. Access 100 articles per month.

Op-Ed & News Columnists
Get exclusive online access to The Times's Op-Ed columnists.

Multimedia
Go beyond the written story with the sights and sounds of video, audio, slide shows and interactive graphics.

Times Preview
Be the first to read selected articles before they are published in Sunday's Times.

News Tracker
Receive personalized e-mail alerts on the topics that you choose.

Talking Points
Learn more about the issues the editorial board has been tracking.

Times File
Save and file any article from NYTimes.com or from around the Web. Access Times File from any computer with an Internet connection.

You can sign up for free Times Select access by going to http://www.nytimes.com/gst/ts_university_email_verify.html.

Women's History Month stats and facts

March 1 begins Women's History Month. But how long has this been so? International Women's Day was first observed in 1909, but it wasn’t until 1981 that Congress established National Women’s History Week during the second week of March. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month.

The Census Bureau presents the following interesting stats about women and their status in the U.S.—

• As of November 1, 2006, there are 152 million females in the U.S., as opposed to 148 million males


• The median earnings of full-time women workers over the age of 16 in 2005 was
  $32,168 (77% of the earnings of male workers)


• As of 2005, 85.4% of women 25 or older had completed high school (as opposed to 84.9% of men)


• There were nearly 6.5 women-owned businesses in 2002, up 20% from 1997. These businesses generated $939 billion in 2002.


• As of September 30, 2005, there were 203,000 women serving in the military on active duty. 35,000 women were officers, and 168,000 were enlisted personnel.

And don't forget to check out the Library's Women's History Month display of favorite fictional female characters!