New iPhone App Lets Kids Access School Library Databases

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-- School Library Journal, 5/19/2010 2:05:00 PM

Add this to the growing list of popular iPhone apps for kids—AccessMyLibrary School Edition, which makes remote searches of media center databases just a click away.

The latest app from Gale, a part of Cengage Learning, comes on the heels of last year’s launch of an iPhone application that helps users find their local libraries.

This latest K-12 version asks students to enter a password, then search for their local school library. Once in, they can pull up the vast array of Gale online resources within a 10-mile radius that were purchased by their media specialist.

Whether researching for homework or personal use, there’s a wealth of information on science, history, literature, the environment, and biographies right at kids’ fingertips—and it’s completely free. All kids need to do is select a topic, and credible information from current magazines, journals, encyclopedias, and more is available for unlimited use 24/7. A student’s one-time login provides access until the end of the current school year.

“With this new AccessMyLibrary iPhone application, the school library is available anytime remotely, helping to make library resources even more easily accessible,” says John Barnes, Gale’s executive vice president of strategic marketing and business development. “This application is making research accessible to students in the way they prefer to learn, taking advantage of the latest technology. Students are able to access their school’s Gale databases in order to finish homework, work on a project or do research.”

The AccessMyLibrary School Edition app is downloaded at the iTunes store

Cigarette Dispensers Refurbished as Book Vending Machines

Originally posted by Jason Boog on May 12, 2010 10:23 AM

Cigarettes and books have been linked together since the very first literary salon. In this healthful age, one publisher has changed cancer stick dispensers into book machines (pictured, via)--keeping the smoky charm without any of the side effects.
Here's more from Publishing Perspectives: The publisher has refurbished and repurposed old cigarette automats for the purpose of selling books, focusing on the neighborhood surrounding the University of Hamburg. The books--all original texts by Hamburg authors, ranging from graphic novels to poetry to a travel guide for professional women--will each cost four euros. As reported in the Boersenblatt, the titles will also be available for purchase online."
Earlier this year we reported how one company is wrapping print editions of classic stories in fake cigarette packs that fit easily inside your pocket or purse--the perfect books for the new machine. (Via Victoria Strauss)