Another way for the Santa Fe New Mexican

The Santa Fe Public Library has the Santa Fe New Mexican in paper format, Main Library offers it on microfilm going back to 1870, and the paper is also available for searching in our Gale database from 2000-present.

Now, you can also access the Santa Fe New Mexican through our NewsBank New Mexico Newspapers database, from 9/07/1994-present, from in the library and from home with your library card. Just click on one of the NewsBank links, then New Mexico Newspapers, and you'll be able to search and access full-text New Mexican articles.

So now you can stay up-to-date on local and statewide news, as well as having another option to dip into the recent backfiles. If you have trouble accessing this database, please see or call your reference librarian, or e-mail us at library@santafenm.gov.

Please Use Us

Over the past few years, we've added a bunch of online resources that can help enrich and improve your life. For example, we now have One-Click Downloadable Audiobooks, Mango Languages, Research Pro, Grzimek's Animal Life, and Britannica Online. While we're all busy, and all the information out there can be overwhelming, we need to know that we're spending your money wisely on these products.

Two resources that we feel a need to remind you about are the LearningExpress Library and the Literature Resource Center:


LearningExpress has over 800 online courses, tests and e-books. It includes GED, AP, SAT, and ACT test prep, as well as modules for different jobs and careers. You can create your own account and help track your progress as you take practice tests and skill-building modules. There are modules for Elementary, Middle, and High School students to improve their math, reading, and writing. There's also a section to help you with a job search, résumés, cover letters, and interviews.


With the Literature Resource Center, you'll be able to find biographies, criticism, overviews, reviews and primary sources for many of your favorite writers. Students of any age who need to do a report on an author will love this, and many author biographies have photos!

All these resources are available both inside the library and from home with a SFPL library card. If you have any questions about using them, please ask a reference librarian, on the phone, in person, or by email at library@santafenm.gov.

So please, if you need them, use them!

El Portal for all New Mexico

"Your doorway to a world of information"

The New Mexico State Library has created an exciting and useful resource, El Portal. Through a single website, all New Mexico residents are able to access various online databases such as Chilton's Auto Repair, Opposing Viewpoints, and Gale Magazines Online. There are also links to full-text New Mexico newspaper articles, reference eBooks, small business resources and a database just for kids.

El Portal provides one-stop access to a local library finder, "Ask a Librarian" service, tutorials for using the site, and a link to Salsa, the State Library's online catalog. It's available 27/7 everywhere in the great State of New Mexico. You don't need to login, just go to the site and start searching!

The web address for El Portal is elportalnm.org
The El Portal project is made possible by grant funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) admistered by the State of New Mexico through the New Mexico State Library, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs.

Research Pro Interruption

Today, Wednesday, May 4, from about 10:00 am to noon, Research Pro will be down for scheduled maintenance. You will still be able to access the library catalog and online databases, both in and outside of the library.

This upgrade will increase the speed and performance of Research Pro, and will allow us to include more of our resources such as Britannica Online. If you have any questions, please call or visit your local reference desk, or email library@santafenm.gov.

Chilton Online Auto Repair is here!

Thanks to the New Mexico State Library, we now have access to the Chilton Online Auto Repair Manuals database. If you've ever used those big auto repair manuals in the Reference section, you'll be happy to know that Chilton's is available from home, easy to use, and the information is printable. Head to the our Online Resources page on the catalog to access Chilton's in and outside of the library.

So before you get out your toolbox to fix your car, use some library tools to guide you!

Online Options:

When Vacation is Short and Class Assignments are Long

We often hear from students doing research projects that their teachers won't allow them to use sources from the Internet. However, online information has changed drastically in the last ten years, and even in the last two years. It is now easier than ever to access reputable references online, and to be able to evaluate what's good information and what's biased, untrue, or merely questionable.

The Library can help you access resources that you can use in your research, both online and in print. Many of these references are available in both formats. For example, we subscribe to Britannica Online and Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, as well as having the print volumes in our reference collection. Our run of the Santa Fe New Mexican on microfilm goes back to 1849, and our Gale Magazine Database has it as far back as 1994. There's also the Opposing Viewpoints database, based on the popular and useful book series of the same name, but with added features of relevant and reliable online information. In fact, all our databases provide access to tons of print magazines, newspapers, and other useful sources, many of which we don't subscribe to in paper. You can use these databases in the library and from home with your library card.

If choosing which resource to start with seems overwhelming, you can start with Research Pro. This way you can search our catalog for print sources, and also get pertinent and helpful magazine, journal, and reference information. If you can use web sites as a source, try Sweet Search. This search engine is geared towards students, and all 35,000 websites have been selected by educators for reliable and useful content.

A few final tips for research success: make sure you know exactly what the assignment requires, and ask the teacher if you have any questions. Give yourself plenty of time, because not all sources, print or online, are instantly accessible. And last but not least, ask the librarian—aka the Human Search Engine—for help! We know of resources and tools you haven't even dreamed of.

Good luck with your project!

New Online Encyclopedia

We now have Britannica Online!

Now, either in the library or at home, you can access encyclopedia articles, dictionary listings, atlases, timelines, newspaper articles, and multimedia. You can find links to this database on our Online Resources page in the Library catalog. One of the best features is being able to switch between the general Britannica Reference Center and the age-and-grade appropriate Britannica Kids with a simple mouse-click at the top of every page.

Here's a short list of what Britannica Online offers. Login to the library and check it out for yourself!

• Encyclopædia Britannica®
• Compton’s by Britannica
• Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia
• Merriam-Webster's Student and Collegiate® Dictionaries
• Merriam-Webster's Student and Collegiate Thesauri
• Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Quotations
• World Atlas
• Gateway to the Classics

Back to School!?

We can help!

In addition to books, magazines, DVDs, CDs, and awesomely knowledgable reference librarians, the Santa Fe Public Library has the following resources to help you out in school this year. Whether you're in kindergarten or college, you can access any of these in all library branches or on your home computer with a SFPL library card. If you ever have any questions, we encourage you to call your local reference desk!

Research Pro
What it is: Don't know where to start? Go to Research Pro to search across our databases and catalog to get newspaper and magazine articles and book titles.


LearningExpress Library
What it is: Over 800 online courses, tests and e-books. Includes GED, AP, SAT, ACT test prep, as well as modules for different jobs and careers.



Literature Resource Center
What it is: Do you need to do a report on an author? Do you need to find criticism or articles for your English class? Start here!



Mango Languages
What it is: An easy-to-use, self-paced, online language system. If you need extra practice for your Spanish, German, French, or ESL class, spend some time on Mango and track your progress.


Opposing Viewpoints
What it is: If you have to do a report for Social Studies, History, or Current Events class about an issue, such as Gangs, Medical Marijuana, or Gay Marriage, you can access pro/con essays and magazine or newspaper articles to back up your argument.


Grzimek's Animal Life
What it is: If your doing a project for Science class on any type of animal, check this out. You'll find useful facts, photos, videos, and even sound clips to hear what types of calls your animal makes.

A library card is the most important card in your wallet! You can get one if you live, work, or go to school in Santa Fe City or County. Just bring photo ID and proof of mailing address to any branch! Check this page for applications and more information.

Summer Slide

Worried your children will fall down the "summer slide"?

We’ve got a solution for that!

Through the library’s website, you can access LearningExpress Library. There you will find sections to help students of all ages brush up on reading and math skills in a self-paced environment. If you've also slid down the summer slide, LearningExpress has GED test prep, job skills, and practice tests for various careers.

Just because you have slid down the slide, doesn’t mean you can’t go back up it!

If you have any questions about this great resource, just call or visit your local Reference Librarians.

by DB @SS

¡ Mango !

SU BIBLIOTECA TIENE MÁS QUE SOLO LIBROS…
¡ TIENE A TODA LA LENGUA INGLESA !

¡Mango es la forma más efectiva de aprender a hablar un idioma!

Nuestro sistema online de aprendizaje de idiomas le enseñará las verdaderas aptitudes conversacionales de una amplia variedad de idiomas. Es tan fácil y rápido que empezará a hablar incluso después de la primera lección.

• Situaciones de la vida real y diálogos prácticos en Inglés estadounidense para enseñar habilidades de conversación que usted pueda utilizar.


• Nuestro sistema es interactivo, entretenido y fácil de usar. Hace que aprender sea DIVERTIDO!


• Mango es GRATUITO para todos los miembros de la biblioteca y accesible desde cualquier lugar en donde se pueda conectar en línea.

Conozca más acerca de cómo utilizar Mango en: http://libraries.mangolanguages.com/santa-fe/start

Mango in the News

Since our launch of the Mango Languages database earlier this month, we've had a fantastic response from patrons. Even better, the Santa Fe New Mexican profiled Mango Languages and an enthusiastic patron who is learning Japanese.

So far we've had over 400 users learning a new language, whether it's an English speaker studying one of 22 foreign languages, or a patron learning English as a Second Language from 14 different interfaces. You can learn this language using a public PC at the library, using the library's wireless access, or in the comfort of your own home or coffee shop. Best of all, if you create an account with Mango, you can track your progress through your polyglot studies.

If you're traveling to a foreign country this year, want to better converse with the international tourists that Santa Fe gets over the summer, or if you simply want to broaden your horizons, check out Mango Languages. You'll be exhibiting that Je ne sais quoi in no time.

Grzimek's Animal Life

We have a new online resource, Grzimek’s Animal Life database. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia has been the go-to source for laypeople for over 30 years, and now you can access this online! The online database also has features that just can't be included in a print encyclopedia, such as videos of lions and audio clips of bird calls.

Grzimek's, pronounced chimeks, has information that is useful to all ages of animal lover, whether you're in elementary school doing a report on a duck-billed platypus, or a researcher who needs definitive information about the owls of Russia. Because of this wide range, we have links to this database on our Online Resources page, and a fun widget on our Children's page.

You can access Grzimek's outside the library with your library card, but not through Research Pro. As always, if you have any questions, be sure to call or visit your local reference librarians!

Now, for some good news

We’re launching a new database, Mango Languages. It's an easy-to-use, self-paced online language-learning system. Patrons can access this both inside and outside the library, and can sign up for a free account if they want to track their progress. Links to this database are on the Online Resources page.

The following languages are provided: Arabic (Levantine), Chinese (Mandarin), Dari, Farsi (Persian), French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Latin America), Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese.

There are also English as a Second Language (ESL) courses for the following languages: French, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Italian, Egyptian Arabic, Japanese, Vietnamese, Polish, Korean, Greek, German, Latin American Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.

¡Buena Suerte!
удачи!
Bon Chance!
福
Buona Fortuna!
好运
Viel Glück!
موفق باشيد
İyi şanslar!
सौभाग्य
Adh Mór Ort!
행운을빌어

Photo: Cheery Masked Staff Promote Mango Languages!

Opposing Viewpoints Database

We’ve added a new database, Opposing Viewpoints. This is a great resource for students in grades 6 to college who need to do reports on current events or controversial issues, such as Drug Abuse or Pollution. The database provides different perspectives on the issues from a wide variety of sources including pro and con viewpoint articles, 140 full-text magazines, academic journals, newspapers, primary source documents, statistics, multimedia, web sites, and more.

This is one of the Gale databases, so it can be accessed in and outside the library both from the Gale Databases General link, and it also has its own link on the Online Resources page. While the interface is different from the other Gale databases, it should be easy to figure out and use. You can always call your branch's reference desk for more information or assistance.

LearningExpress Library

Are you studying for the GED, SAT, ACT, GRE, ASVAB, or LSAT? Do you need to take an exam to become a police officer, fire fighter, commercial driver, or teacher? Do you need to work on your English or study for your citizenship exam? The Santa Fe Public Library can help you succeed in all your exams and career endeavors with our new database of test preparation, LearningExpress Library!

You'll be able to access the database both in the library and from home. You can create your own account and help track your progress as you take practice tests and skill-building modules. There are modules for Elementary, Middle, and High School students to improve their math, reading, and writing. There's also a section to help you with a job search, résumés, cover letters, and interviews.

You can access this database by going to our Databases page on the catalog, and just look for the Learning Express links. You'll be excelling in school or at your job in no time.