NCES has just updated the State Education Reforms (SER) website http://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/
Most of the data on the website was collected by organizations other than NCES. The NCES compiles and disseminates data on state-level education reform efforts in four areas: 1) standards, assessment, and accountability, 2) school finance reforms, 3) resources for learning, and 4) state support for school choice options. Specific reform areas include student and teacher assessments, adequate yearly progress, statewide exit exams, highly qualified teachers, open enrollment laws, and charter schools.

Here at the Pollak Library we value the hard work you put into your research and we would love to reward you for your efforts. The Library will honor three individuals with awards of $1,000 (first place); $500 (second place); and $300 (third place). Winners will participate in an award ceremony and have an exhibit devoted to their work on display in the Library. The deadline is April 10th, but that will be here before you know it.  Visit our web site to get all of the details.

Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1865 (Library of Congress digital image)

With the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama taking place this month, persons interested in learning more about the festivities, history, and related information may wish to visit the web site of the Joint Ceremonial Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC). Some of the interesting links offered in the JCCIC web site include those to inaugural trivia as well as information on the inauguration of previous Presidents.The Library of Congress offers another source for learning more about previous inaugural ceremonies through its “I Do Solemnly Swear . . .”: Presidential Inaugurations collection, which offers an opportunity to view this solemn occasion from a variety of historical perspectives.

Take a look at our subscription-based political information website, The National Journal.  This online source offers nonpartisan reporting on the current political environment and emerging policy trends and it includes polls, news, legislation updates, columns, and national and some state election tracking.  The National Journal online also contains  the full-text of articles from National Journal, Congress Daily, The Hotline, American Health Line, Technology Daily, and The Almanac of American Politics. To access this database, start at the Library homepage and click on Databases A-Z.

The Global Market Information Database (GMID) is now called Passport Reference.  Passport Reference contains the same information you’re used to locating in GMID:  in-depth industry profiles, market reports, and statistics for over 200 countries. Company profiles, product sector informaion, industry performance analysis, operating environments and economic outlook, consumer demographics, global and national perspectives. Includes 17,000 full-text reports.

Both titles will remain accessible on the Pollak Library’s Databases A-Z list until March 1, 2009.  After then it will be available only as Passport Reference.

Teachers and administrators are apparently drowning in data, according to the Dec 2008/Jan 2009 issue of Educational Leadership, leading most decision-makers to rely on a narrow set of metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of their schools, (Scherer, 2008).  Read this issue online in the Omnifile Full Text Mega database.

• Read Cherokee accounts of their experiences on the Trail of Tears.
• Study rare historical photographs of medicine ceremonies or ghost dances.
• Compare narrative styles using the actual audio recordings of Native American storytellers.
  

Primary source research into cultural, anthropological, and historical Native American topics now becomes a reality for Cal State Fullerton students through an amazing digital collection of autobiographies, biographies, Indian publications, oral histories, personal writings, photographs, drawings, and audio files. The collections have been chosen for their ability give insight into the native point of view in the United States and Canada from the time of the earliest European settlers to the late 20^th century.

This new addition to the Pollak Library’s collection of primary source databases shares the powerful searching capabilities of other Alexander Street Press databases, ranging from the ability to locate information on specific individuals, eyewitness accounts of raids, battles, and other historical events, to mentions of specific species of wildlife, geographic formations, or natural phenomena, and drawings of huts, tools and other items of daily life.

North American Indian Thought and Culture was added in Summer 2008 and  is listed under Databases A-Z on the library homepage.

When using Sage eJournals from off campus to locate and export articles to RefWorks, please note that the direct export to RefWorks is not functioning properly.  When on campus, direct export works properly.  We suggest you choose to download and save the citations in the RefWorks format.  This file can be saved and imported into RefWorks using the “Import” option on the “References” menu when logged into RefWorks.

You can now subscribe to library news! All of the latest news can be delivered to your favorite feed reader.

Are you new to rss, or are you not sure what rss is? Watch this video for a quick introduction. Once you are ready to go, click on the rss icon (that is the button that looks like this ) on your browser toolbar to add us to your favorite feed reader.