Gale Virtual Reference Library
Now Available To All VIVA Institutions

VIVA
The Virtual Library of Virginia

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release (January 24, 2006)

Gale is well known for their outstanding print reference sources and VIVA now offers online access to 15 of their key reference works at http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/?db=gvrl. These reference works include notable and frequently-used encyclopedias and other special reference sources. These sources are useful for researchers in specific disciplines, but are also designed for multidisciplinary research. Examples of some titles included are Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America, Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, and the Encyclopedia of Small Business.

All reference works in this package can be searched individually or collectively. The opening search page has a "Basic Search" box and a list of the ten areas of study. The search box allows the user to search all the reference works at once for information on a topic or to select a reference title under one of areas of study. If a user clicks on a title, he or she will have options to browse or search in that work. After a user has found a useful citation, Gale offers many choices to aid the user upon opening an article on a topic. The user can find out how to cite the article, ask for it to be translated into eight languages besides English, find out more information about the reference work, browse the table of contents or index, or find a list of illustrations in the work. Two handy additional features are a link to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary at the top of every page and that the user can trace his or her steps using the bread crumb trail.

Gale includes the date of publication of each reference title so users know how recently the work was updated. This is crucial in this database since these reference works are online counterparts to the printed versions. Faculty, students, and researchers in public and privates colleges and universities in Virginia will find this database valuable because of its content and ease of use.

Titles Included:

• Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America, 1st Edition, 6 Vols
  
• Contemporary Fashion, 2nd Edition, 1 Vol
  
• Contemporary Novelists, 7th Edition, 1 Vol
  
• Contemporary Poets, 7th Edition, 1 Vol
  
• Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, 1st Edition, 4 Vols
  
• Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer, 1st Edition, 2 Vols
  
• Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, 1st Edition, 2 Vols
  
• Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 2nd Edition, 5 Vols
  
• Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, 2nd Edition, 3 Vols
  
• Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health, 1st Edition, 5 Vols
  
• Gale Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, 1st Edition, 5 Vols
  
• Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2nd Edition, 1 Vol
  
• Gale Encyclopedia of Small Business, 2nd Edition, 2 Vols
  
• Gale Encyclopedia of U. S. Economic History, 1st Edition, 1 Vol
  
• Nonfiction Classics for Students, 1st Edition, 5 Vols
  

VIVA is a consortium of the libraries of 73 non-profit research or higher education institutions in Virginia, including 39 state-assisted colleges and universities at 55 campuses within the Commonwealth of Virginia, 33 independent private, non-profit institutions, and The Library of Virginia. VIVA's mission is to provide, in an equitable, cooperative, and cost-effective manner,enhanced access to library and information resources for Virginia's academic libraries serving the non-profit higher education community. VIVA is funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia through the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and by investments from participating institutions. # # #

For additional information contact:
Katherine A. Perry
VIVA Director
MSC 2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444
Tel: 703-993-4652