New Database from Gale

Kids InfoBits is a new database from Gale that was launched on your Statewide Databases Menu on June 1. Kids InfoBits targets the research needs of students in Kindergarten through Grade 5. It features a developmentally appropriate and visual graphic interface, a subject-based topic tree search and full-text, age-appropriate, curriculum-related magazine and reference content. After researching the content and navigation here at the MBLC and by the Regional Offices and their reference/database committees, we determined that the regional member libraries will benefit from this database. The InfoTrac Kids and Junior Editions will remain available through September 30, 2004. This will give you time to adjust to the new database and still use the old ones as needed.

Kids InfoBits and Kids Edition are both aimed at an elementary schools audience. The only overlap between them is the Columbia Encyclopedia and periodicals. Kids InfoBits has several reference books that don't appear in Kids Edition; the great thing about them is they are all written for elementary age students. Here's a list of reference books in Kids InfoBits:

• Blackbirch Encyclopedia of Science and Invention
• Blackbirch Kid's Almanac of Geography
• Blackbirch Kid's Visual Reference of the United States
• Blackbirch Kid's Visual Reference of the World
• First Facts About American Heroes
• First Facts About the Presidents
• First Facts About the States
• First Facts About U.S. History

As for their interfaces, Kids InfoBits has 3 search paths: Basic Subject Search, Subject Icons and Advanced Search - more for librarians and teachers; it allows them to search by a particular source, do a full text search, limit by document type, etc. Kids Edition has 2 search paths: Basic Subject Search and Subject Icons. You can only limit your search by source or date once you've done your search and are viewing periodical results in Kids Edition. Also, the Subject Icons in Kids InfoBits work much better than the ones in Kids Edition - they were updated and realigned with subject headings for Kids InfoBits. Kids InfoBits has reading levels assigned to articles; Kids Edition does not.

Marlene Sue Heroux
Reference Information Systems Specialist

New Web Site for the Board of Library Commissioners

The new homepage is mass.gov/mblc. This is the standard State Agency naming convention and this URL will be used in all MBLC publicity. When you go to this address, you may notice that the URL in the location bar reads mblc.state.ma.us. Either one will get you to the site. The old links, including: www.mlin.lib.ma.us and www.mlin.org should seamlessly send you to the new homepage.

Regional mailing lists are maintaining the "mlin.lib.ma.us" domain for mail. So regional mailings will still go, for example, to boston@mlin.lib.ma.us or metrowest@mlin.lib.ma.us.

The MBLC web site provides authentication for home users trying to access Gale, Newsbank and other database products. We have been in contact with database vendors and believe that remote access should continue to work without interruption. If you cannot get into any of the databases, please let me or your regional headquarters staff know about the problem.

Library Directory, Jobs Listings, and other "dynamic applications"should be functioning properly. If you have any difficulty posting a job or doing a search in the library directory, please let me know.

We hope you find the new web site simple to use and that you can find the information you need more easily.

Paul J. Kissman
Library Information Systems Specialist