Volume 6, Issue 1
January 2007
Search Tip of the Month
This Month's Features
Spreading the News
Happy New Year! January is named for the Roman god of beginnings and endings, Janus. It makes this month the perfect time to look back at the year just ended and to look forward to 2007.
The Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) has had another year of growth. We added three review sources: Books for Keeps from the UK, The Lion and the Unicorn and NSTA Recommends. In looking over the list of the top 50 U.S. Schools of Education published by U.S. News and World Report this spring, we discovered that 30% of the top 20 colleges and universities subscribe to CLCD. Speaking of colleges and universities, those in the UK can now find it easier to subscribe to the CLCD via Athens authentication. Curriculum tools, which include reading and teaching guides, have increased by 86%. You have asked that we include Standards of Learning and we are pleased to say we now have over 4,000 references. We have increased the number of links to author and illustrator sites by 39%. By the way, we spend considerable time each month checking these links in the CLCD to make sure they are still viable. We will continue to do this for we know how frustrating it can be to click on a link only to learn it no longer exists. We won’t catch all right away, but we are trying to be as conscientious as possible.
We enjoyed meeting librarians, reading teachers, English teachers and university professors, as well as science teachers, history and social studies teachers at conferences throughout the year.
What is our prediction for 2007? As our subscriber base grows worldwide, we are looking to provide additional international review media. We will continue to be your best source for reliable, efficient, and comprehensive information in a cost-effective database.
ON THE ROAD: CLCD will be in Seattle at ALA Midwinter, January 19 to 22. We will be at booth 157 in the Exhibit Hall, and we look forward to seeing you there.
Quote of the Month
"We librarians in the Curriculum Resource Center are especially thrilled with the addition of the CLCD. We are working hard to align our collection with the Ohio Academic Content Standards and the CLCD has made it easier to ensure that our purchases reflect what the teachers need at the various grade levels. We can see what is new on all kinds of topics for various ages. It is all right there in one place. Its broad and independent scope means we can make our own decisions about what is best for our collection."
Kathy Yoder
Associate Librarian
Curriculum Resource Center
William T. Jerome Library
Bowling Green State University, OH
The search qualifiers such as genre and the radio buttons are provided as a convenience when searching for major topics (genres were selected from the LC subject headings) and not necessary to use. Since CLCD is a full text searchable database, you can put anything you want in the search box and never use any of the qualifiers. For example, if you wanted (sports poetry boys) put those words in the search box and then if you want to further qualify it by age, grade or pub date use those fields. The CLCD team does not assign the ages--that comes from the reviewer of a particular review media and yes, frequently they do not agree. Also any LC subject heading can clicked to initiate another search if you find that term is more precise or broader--whatever may suit your needs.
Monthly Features
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is January 15, 2007. Find out about some of the new books available, including I've Seen The Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Walter Dean Myers and illustrated by Leonard Jenkins and Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman.
Books on spirituals, jazz, blues and the artists who sing and play them, pop singers and an 18th century opera composer are included in our update about African American musicians.
Books about the beauty of the first snowfall and the fun of building snowmen can be contrasted with those about blizzards and avalanches in this update to our feature about Snow.
Lynne Cheney, wife of the Vice President of the United States, is also an author of children’s books. Her topic? Why, American history, of course! Learn about her most recent book, Our 50 States : A Family Adventure Across America (illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser) and why she has chosen to write for children.
Denise Grady, New York Times writer and author of Deadly invaders : Marburg Virus, Bird Flu, and Other Emerging Viruses, discusses her travels and research for this timely topic.
The highly creative and ever-surprising Chris Van Allsburg talks about his newest book, Probuditi!
Don’t miss the conversation with Susan Roth and the inspiration for her book, Do Re Mi: If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido d’Arezzo.
CLCD Newsletter Editor, Sharon Salluzzo serves as a library and education consultant to CLCD. In addition, Sharon is a book reviewer, a storyteller, and a member of The Children's Book Guild of Washington, DC. She currently serves on the ALSC Quicklist committee. Sharon earned her MLS at SUNY Geneseo.
About the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database
Our monthly newsletter is now available to everyone within an organization, not just the primary contact. A new feature at www.childrenslit.com will provide you with a form allowing you to sign up for just the electronic newsletter. The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database, updated mid-month, is your most complete source of information about children's books. Indeed, it is the next best thing to having the book in hand, and the best tool for leading you to the best books. All at a most affordable price. To subscribe to the CLCD or contact us, go to www.childrenslit.com.