Gale, part of Cengage Learning, and the National Geographic Society, a non-profit scientific and educational organisation, have announced an extended agreement to create additional library products as part of a new product suite, National Geographic Virtual Library.
Earlier this year, Gale announced the National Geographic Magazine Archive, 1888-1994, for libraries, which included all issues of the magazine for its first 107 years, fully searchable through an intuitive interface. The partnership has now been extended to provide all National Geographic magazine issues from 1995 onwards, as well as access to a new virtual reference collection of National Geographic books, maps, videos, images and National Geographic Traveler magazine (2010-current).
Some of the notable National Geographic resources made available as part of the agreement include titles such as Polar Obsession, by Paul Nicklen, and Sizing Up the Universe: The Cosmos in Perspective, by J. Richard Gott; videos exploring topics such as alternative energy and the lifestyle of beluga whales; and destination guides and expedition maps.
This is the first time all these resources have been offered to libraries together in digital and searchable form. These new resources will be created on the same platform as the National Geographic Magazine Archive, 1888-1994, and will work seamlessly together.
The online magazine archive and collection will have benefits for library users at all levels, introducing students to primary-source materials that are relevant and engaging, and giving teachers and professors exciting resources that can be incorporated into syllabi and reading lists. They will support learning and research in a wide range of subject areas. These include: Science and Technology; Peoples and Cultures; Environment; Geography; Animals; and Photography and Journalism.
These new resources will be available to customers starting in fall 2012.
