Kazumi Reads

About the Database: 
Gale's Literature Resource Center is a great tool for teens to utilize when writing formal English papers or looking for information on an author, poet, or text. When users read through the page, they will notice that they have 1,331,279  documents to search, which means there are plenty or resources for to use. Furthermore, when users first enter this site, they will see the the homepage (figure 1), which provides several search options: Basic Search, Advanced Search, Person Search, Works Search, Gale Literary Index. Another great aspect about Literature Resource Center is the tools that can be utilized after information retrieval. For example, I conducted a search on William Shakespeare, using the"Person  Search" and found an interesting article about Shakespeare and the database offered a variety of options.

Figure 1

Critical Evaluation:
After exploring Literature Resource Center (LRC), the one aspect that I enjoyed is how user friendly the database is. Rather than being inundated with many options, LRC streamlines searching by providing several interfaces that are unique since they focus on the subject of the search, which could be the person, a popular work, or a combination of both. Moreover, each of these searches provides specific filters that teens can use to narrow their by the century, ethnicity of the author, the type of article, and audience. What is also great about this database is that students can use this tool as the beginning step of their research using the "Gale Literary Index," which allows the to search for particular articles. Lastly, this database actually offers users to have their articles formatted by MLA and APA format, which, for some teens, is a real perk.

Information about the Database Company:
Gale, which is a subsidy of Cengage Learning, is one of the leading electronic publishing companies that provides products for libraries, schools, and businesses. Based in Farmington, Michigan, Gale has offices all over the world, which makes it one of the more popular companies in this business. According to Gale, it "[b[est known for its accurate and authoritative reference content as well as its intelligent organization of full-text magazine and newspaper articles, the company creates and maintains more than 600 databases that are published online, in print, as eBooks and in microform" (para. 1). Among electronic publishing, Gale is also a publishing house where some of its imprint consist of: Macmillian  Reference USA, Charles Scribner's Sons, Primary Source Media,, UXL, Greenhave Press, Lucent Books, Sleeping Bear Press, KidHaven Press, Thorndike Press, Christian Large Print, Wheeler Publishing, Five Star, and Large Print Press.

Genre:
Reference

Reading Level/Interest:
Grades 9 & up