Gale and TSLAC Partner to Provide Texans Equitable Access to New Digital Resources

Educational E-resource Programs Help Address the State's Goals of Providing Robust Educational Content to all Texans

AUSTIN, Texas and FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Oct. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has partnered with Gale, part of Cengage Group, to provide participating K-12 schools, public libraries and academic institutions across Texas with access to Gale digital resources through its TexShare and TexQuest e-resources sharing programs. Millions of Texans now have access to these resources. This partnership expands Gale resources within TexShare to support the recent growth of Texas families considering homeschooling for their children and students pursuing higher education in Texas community colleges and four-year academic institutions. These new resources provide Texas residents and students with reliable, high-quality content regardless of their location, age, education and financial status that supports their educational, professional and informational needs.

"The Texas State Library and Archives Commission is pleased to continue offering a broad array of quality electronic resources that local institutions may use," said Gloria Meraz, director and state librarian at TSLAC. "We are committed to equipping libraries with content that they can use and customize to meet their respective needs."

The demand for equitable access to information is rising in Texas. More than 800 public school libraries, over 400 public libraries and nearly every public or not-for-profit institution of higher education in Texas now participate in the TexQuest or TexShare Databases programs. A consistent suite of electronic resources for all participants allows students, faculty and library patrons to access information where and when they need it. Gale's Open Web Entry program allows these users to start their research with Google and other search engines, and integration with Google Drive, Google Docs and Microsoft 365 improves their ability to save, share and collaborate with others.

The Gale resources now available to participating libraries and schools through TexShare and TexQuest include:

• Gale ChiltonLibrary: Automotive repair and maintenance instruction for more than 2,600 vehicle makes and models.
  
  
• Gale LegalForms: Access to a variety of document templates – including state-specific legal forms – from wills and rental agreements to forms needed for starting or managing a new business.
  
  
• Gale Presents: Udemy (exclusively for public libraries): Thousands of high-quality, on-demand video courses taught by world-class instructors across 75 categories for upskilling in business, technology and design.

• Gale OneFile collections: Over 16,000 full-text periodicals and popular magazines, plus, peer-reviewed journals to support research and student inquiry.
  
  
• Gale Business Suite: Offers small business resources, market research, financial data and planning tools to support entrepreneurs at every stage of the business lifecycle.
  
  
• Gale Health Sciences Research collections: Supports academic research in health and medicine, nursing and allied health practices, physical therapy, sports medicine, psychology and more. 
  
  
• Gale Literature collections: Premier literary databases with full-text literary works, journal articles, literature criticism and analysis, reviews, author biographies, bibliographies, multimedia and a rich collection of scholarly overviews and more.

View all TexShare digital resources from Gale.

• Gale In Context student databases: 14 multidisciplinary, multi-source type databases covering elementary, middle & high school and college studies, STEM content, biographical info, U.S and World history and more. Great resources for students with age-appropriate content and easy to use tools. 
  
  
• Gale Presents: National Geographic Kids: Explore amazing adventures in science, nature, culture, archaeology and space.
  
  
• Gale Interactive: Science: Manipulate 3D interactive models to visualize and understand biology, chemistry, earth and space science concepts.

View all TexQuest digital resources from Gale.

"Gale has had the honor of serving the Texas K-12 community for many years and now we are opening up that access to public libraries and academic institutions and the communities they serve to remove barriers and create a true online learning community," said Shawn Clark, senior vice president of Gale's domestic learning business. "We live in an information-based economy, and the continued success of all states depends on ensuring equal opportunities for all residents. This partnership ensures that all Texans have the resources they need to thrive no matter where they are in their education journey."

Texas schools and libraries are positioned to mitigate learning loss through evidence-based interventions available with Gale resources that support Texas curriculum.  For more information on resources for pandemic recovery, visit this webpage.  

For more information and to access Gale resources, Texans can visit the TexShare and TexQuest websites.        

Cengage Group, an education technology company serving millions of learners in 165 countries, advances the way students learn through quality, digital experiences. The company currently serves the K-12, higher education, professional, library, English language teaching and workforce training markets worldwide. Gale, part of Cengage Group, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries. For more than 65 years, Gale has partnered with libraries around the world to empower the discovery of knowledge and insights – where, when and how people need it. Gale has 500 employees globally with its main operations in Farmington Hills, Michigan. For more information, please visit www.gale.com.

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The Texas State Library and Archives Commission provides Texans access to the information needed to be informed, productive citizens by preserving the archival record of Texas; enhancing the service capacity of public, academic and school libraries; assisting public agencies in the maintenance of their records; and meeting the reading needs of Texans with disabilities. For more information, visit: tsl.texas.gov.

Media Contact:
Kayla Siefker, Gale, part of Cengage Group
248-378-3376
[email protected]

SOURCE Gale, part of Cengage Group