CultureGrams is an online research database that provides concise information about cultures around the world. It has been publishing cultural content since 1974 to foster cultural understanding. The database provides information on individual countries, including photos, videos, recipes, and statistics. Library patrons can access the World Edition through the library website using their library card number to search for information about different countries and cultures. The presentation demonstrates how to navigate the CultureGrams site to find specific country profiles and recipes.
2. What is CultureGrams?
CultureGrams is a research database that can inform users about the
myriads of cultures around the globe in an easy to understand format for
all ages.
“Since its beginnings in 1974, the aim of CultureGrams has been to foster
understanding and appreciation of the world's countries and peoples by creating
and publishing concise, reliable, and up-to-date cultural content. Today the
CultureGrams series is one of the most trusted and widely used cultural reference
and curriculum products in the education, government, and non-profit arenas.”
- CultureGrams ‘About Us’ page
3. CultureGrams World Edition
CultureGrams provides several different editions to Cook Memorial and Aspen Drive Library
patrons, including World, U.S. States, Provinces of Canada, and a simplified Kids Edition. This
presentation will focus on the World Edition, but all are helpful research tools.
4. How to Find the Site
For Cook Memorial and Aspen Drive patrons, by going to www.cooklib.org in your internet
browser, on the home page you will see the research tab circled in red below.
5. How to Find the Site
After clicking research, you should appear on the web page shown below. To get to
CultureGrams, we’ll need to scroll down further.
6. How to Find the Site
Click on
CultureGrams
World Edition
to enter the
main website.
7. Using CultureGrams at Home
If you are using the computers at the Cook Memorial or Aspen Drive Libraries, CultureGrams will load
immediately. At home, you will need to type in your Library Card Number in the circled space below.
8. How to Find the Site
If you see this screen, you’re in the right place
9. What Can I Use
CultureGrams For?
CultureGrams World Edition is able to provide extensive information on cultures from
all over the world.
There are pages for every country on Earth, plus several other territories. There are
subsections for:
● Photos
● Slideshows
● Videos Interviews
● Famous People
● Recipes
● Flags
● Graphs and Tables
Each of these sections is filled with content, so
feel free to browse and find something you didn’t
know about. If you have a topic in mind, the next
panel will talk about how to use the site like an
expert.
10. How to Use CultureGrams
If you know what region
or country in the world
you would like to
research, you can click
the Select a Region or
Country button in the
top left, and this drop
down menu will appear.
Then you can scroll to
the correct country.
You can also use the
search bar in the top
right to fill in a country
or territory name.
11. How to Use CultureGrams
Here is an
example of a
country page.
Scrolling down
will tell you more
information.
You can also
print the sheet in
a printer friendly
format by
clicking “Print
Report” on the
right side of the
screen.
13. Recipes Tab
Here’s an example of one way
to use the site aside from the
main country articles.
Say you have a cultural foods
party, and want to do
something a little more out of
the box. Or maybe you want to
find some recipes from your
family’s cultural background?
By clicking the recipes tab
circled in red, we can find
several well crafted recipes for
every country.
15. Recipes Tab
For an example, I
chose the country
Israel. If you want,
you can use the
letters across the
top to quickly jump
to countries
starting with
different letters.
16. Recipes Tab
And Voila! This page has
seven recipes from Israel on
it ready to use to cook at
home. These pages also
have translation and audio
options, which have been
circled in red.
You could also look at any
page to simply learn what
kinds of food are eaten in a
country you wanted to
learn about!
17. Further Questions are
Encouraged!
Anytime you
want to learn a
bit more, you can
call the library
during normal
business hours at
(847) 362-2330,
or use the lovely
Chat with us
feature on our
homepage to
communicate by
text.
