About the Databases

Databases Digital Content for 2008-2009 Licensed to Baltimore County Public Schools	These online databases are subscriptions licensed by the Baltimore County Public Schools or the MDK-12 Digital Library for use by students, staff, and parents in school or from home. Fee-based database digital content, unlike most content found on the free Internet, represents authoritative content from reference, periodical and multimedia information resources. An investigation of a subject or research project should always include information located in these fee-based databases. The organization of these databases is exceptional and the powerful search features ensure success in locating information on almost any subject. No password is needed when accessing these databases from school or office computers within the Baltimore County Public Schools. To access these databases from home, a login ID and password are required. Your Library Media Specialist can provide you with a handout which has all of the user ids and passwords for remote access. (A BCPS staff login is required to access this handout)
	Net Trekker provides more than 180,000 hand-selected, educator-approved resources and images – organized by grade and readability level and aligned with your state standards. See the producer's fact sheet.
	America the Beautiful provides state by state information including history and facts. See the producer's description.
	BrainPop includes hundreds of animated movies developed according to national standards for K-8. BrainPOP covers the core curriculum subjects in:SCIENCE, ENGLISH, MATH, SOCIAL STUDIES, TECHNOLOGY, HEALTH Each movie is accompanied by a 10-question interactive quiz, experiment, comic strip, timeline, and printable activity page. The teacher's section contains lesson plans, standards correlation, and ideas for using BrainPOP in the classroom. http://www.brainpop.com/about/
	BrainPOP Jr. provides educational movies and homework help for K-3 students. Each animated movie has quizzes, games, vocabulary, and activities for kids. BrainPOP Jr. is a great resource for teachers and homeschools, offering lesson plans and lesson ideas that develop critical thinking and inquiry skills.
	(Science e-Books) Gale Virtual Reference Library delivers a wealth of e-book reference content in a database format. Baltimore County Public Schools purchased the science reference digital books where students, teachers, and families may search a single reference e-book or the entire collection with ONE keyword search term. Go to the annotated bibliography of titles in the e-book collection. Some titles include: Animal Sciences Beacham's Guide to Endangered Species of North America Biology Building Blocks of Matter Environmental Encyclopedia Genetics Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia Macmillan Encyclopedia of Energy Plant Sciences Pollution A to Z Science in Dispute UXL Encyclopedia of Biomes UXL Encyclopedia of Landforms and Other Geologic Features UXL Encyclopedia of Water Science World of Forensic Science .........and many more! See complete title list. Other helpful tools are as follows: Marketing materials for libraries that may help to promote usage: http://www.gale.com/brochure/VirtualRefgml24404.pdf Navigation Guide (librarian training) http://www.gale.com/pdf/navguide/gvrl_nvg.pdf Search Tips (end-user training): http://www.gale.com/pdf/searchtip/gvrl_tip.pdf
	SIRS Interactive Citizenship includes interactive books, organized by chapter and offered in two formats, each with a specific purpose. The interactive books What Citizens Need to Know About Economics, What Citizens Need to Know About Government and What Citizens Need to Know About World Affairs, are available in both printer-friendly (PDF) and Web-friendly (HTML) formats. See producer's description.
	SIRS Discoverer is an award-winning, general reference resource for young researchers that makes learning fun and intuitive. SIRS Discoverer helps students in grades 1-9 develop their research, writing, language and computer skills. The database includes carefully selected full-text articles and images from more than 1,600 domestic and international newspapers, magazines and government documents. See producer's description.
	SIRS Discoverer WebFind is an online database of carefully chosen, reliable and credible Internet resources on almost any subject appropriate for researchers in grades 1-9. Each site contains content from well-documented and reliable sources that are relevant for younger researchers. Utilizing time-tested techniques, SIRS evaluates and continuously monitors each site to ensure quality and accessibility. See producer's description.
	SIRS Decades more than 5,000 hand-selected primary and secondary source articles highlighting key events, movements, people, and places in 20th-century America. Coverage includes documents, letters and memos, editorial cartoons, streaming video, websites, photographs, maps, advertisements, and published articles See the producer's description.
	SIRS Government Reporter is a comprehensive student resource for the study of all aspects of U.S. federal government. It contains thousands of full-text documents, summaries, and graphics covering a wide variety of topics including health, science, economics, environment, politics, foreign affairs, business, and industry. All the articles and graphics are carefully selected according to strict SIRS criteria for content reliability, relevance, and age-appropriateness. Users can easily retrieve information by subject heading, topic browse, and keyword searches.The articles are indexed according to Library of Congress subject headings to ensure the best search results and can be printed, saved, and emailed.. See producer's description.
	SIRS Knowledge Source (SKS) is a comprehensive database portal which is comprised of several distinct reference databases including SIRS Researcher®, SIRS Government Reporter®, SIRS Renaissance® and SKS WebSelect™. Updated daily, SKS provides relevant, credible information on social issues, science, history, government, and the arts and humanities. Full-text articles, graphics and Internet resources are carefully selected from thousands of domestic and international publications and respected organizations. See producer's description
	SIRS Renaissance - Current Perspectives on the Arts & Humanities - a reference database, provides dynamic information on the following topics: architecture and design, culture, literature, multimedia, music, performing arts, philosophy and religion, plus visual arts. Full-text articles are selected from more than 1,000 domestic and international publications. Many articles are accompanied by full-color images, including art reproductions, photographs and illustrations. See producer's description.
	SIRS Researcher is a highly-acclaimed general reference database containing thousands of full-text articles exploring social, scientific, health, historic, business, economic, political and global issues. Articles and graphics are carefully selected from 1,500 domestic and international publications according to strict criteria with regard to content and age appropriateness. See producer's description.
	SKS WebSelect is an online database of carefully selected, reliable and credible Internet resources on vital issues and topics. SKS WebSelect is dynamically updated and offers Internet resources from around the globe, including those of leading universities, government agencies and respected organizations. See producer's description.
	Student Resource Center - Gold offers easy access to award-winning content based on national curriculum standards. Covering all core curriculum areas, including history, literature, science, social studies, and more, SRC - Gold provides a premium selection of reference material, more than 1,100 full-text periodicals and newspapers, primary sources, creative works, and multimedia, including hours of video and audio clips and podcasts. See producer's description.
	Literature Resource Center is a comprehensive literature resource of 415,000 full-text journal articles from more than 250 literary journals, 44,000 critical essays, and 6,000 authoritative web resources. Provides access to author biographies, literary criticism, bibliiographies, links to additional resources, literary-historical timeline, and an encyclopedia of literature. Search by author, title, keyword, and advanced options. See title list. Also, see producer's description.
	Science Resource Center offers thousands of topic overviews, experiments, biographies, pictures and illustrations are just a few clicks away and the latest scientific developments are covered in articles from over 200 magazines and academic journals and links to quality web sites. The database covers curriculum-related science topics and offers teachers an easy-to-use tool to identify content directly correlated to state and national standards. See the producer's description.
	Worldbook Online includes more than 26,000 articles as well as more than 12,000 pictures and maps, and 7,000 links to editor-approved Web sites useful in helping students constructively explore topics further. See producer's description.
	ProQuest Professional Education offers a comprehensive research collection of more than 300 educational magazines and journals for teachers, administrators, and students seeking scholarly articles. Go to list of journals. Also, go to the Training Resource Center to learn how to effectively search this database.