Gale Virtual Reference Library provides access to eBooks covering a wide range of subjects; users can search content to find relevant passages and take notes or highlight text using study tools; citations can be automatically generated in different styles.

1. Gale Virtual
Reference Library
A Basic Instructional Guide

2. What is Gale?
- Gale started as a print publisher in the 1950’s, and has continued to innovate and work
with libraries for over 60 years.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library (Also called Gale eBooks) is a web platform where library
users can access a large collection of non-fiction resources
- These include eBook versions of many dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other non-fiction
eBooks covering a wide range of subjects, from art and history, to science, culture, and
more!
- Gale is a wonderful for those doing research, and those looking for credible, easy to
access and annotate sources of information on a variety of topics.
-
- While Gale also has video classes under Gale Courses, today’s presentation will be
focused on Gale Virtual Reference Library/ Gale eBooks.

3. Accessing Gale eBooks
- You can access Gale Virtual Reference
Library from the library’s eResources
page,
www.fountaindale.org/learning-tech/e
resources/
- To access it from the library’s
homepage, hover over te grey
“LEARNING & TECH” tab, and click on
“eResources” on the drop down menu
that appears.

4. Accessing Gale, Cont.
- On the eResources page, click the
down arrow on the right side of
the “ARTICLES & RESEARCH” bar
to open the drop down list.
- From there, the sources are listed
alphabetically. Scroll and click on
the Gale Resource Library icon,
listed by “G”
- This will take you to the Gale
eBooks Homepage.
- If you are accessing Gale from
outside the library, you may be
prompted to sign in with your
library card number and PIN.

5. Gale eBooks Homepage Tour
From the Gale Homepage, you can:
A.) Browse eBooks by category (Arts,
Science, etc.)
B.) Do a basic search, or click the link
below the search box for more advanced
searches
C.) Sign in with your Gmail or Microsoft
(optional) if you wish your save your
search history or annotations A
B
C

6. Searching Gale eBooks
- For a basic search, type a keyword or the
topic you wish to explore in the search box
near the upper left hand side.
- One of the great things about Gale eBooks
is that it searches not only the titles of the
available works, but the content as well. For
example, if you were to search “Shinto” it
will be able to direct you not only to the
books that contain information on the
Shinto religion, but to the exact chapter,
article, or section in which it is discussed.
- On the right side of the results page, there
are multiple options for filtering and
refining your search.

7. Searching- Filtering results
- The “Subjects” tab under “FILTER YOUR
RESULTS” will offer suggestions for
related subject searches. The number to
the right of each heading indicates the
number of results available for each.
- “Document Type” will help you narrow the
sort of resource/ information you are looking
for. You can select more than one category by
clicking the box to the left of the listing.
When you have checked all the boxes you’d
like, hit “apply.”

8. Searching- Filtering results
- “Publication Title” will pull up a list of
eBooks, Magazines, etc. that provide info
on your search topic. By clicking the
check boxes you can narrow your search
to entries within those specific
publications. This is useful if you have a
specific entry you are looking for.
- You can also narrow your search by language,
reading difficulty, and search for subtopics
within your original subject

9. Result Map
A.) Publication, Cover and Title
B.) Entry/Article Title
C.) Author
D.) Summary/Description
E.) Year Published
F.) Length (of Entry)
G.) Document Type
H.) Difficulty level (dots=difficulty)
To jump to the relevant entry, click on the entry title. (B) To see a table of contents for the entire
publication, click the cover photo or the “From:” link (A)
A
C
B
H
GF
E
D

10. Entry/ Article Page
- Clicking on the Entry/ Article title will bring up the full text for that section, along with any photos
and graphics that may include.
- Under the entry title is a bar containing much of the same publication information as the results
page, along with the publication’s editor.
- Below that is a line of the following icons:
Translate/ Change Language Listen - Reads text aloud, highlighting as it plays
Font size- Smaller/Larger Send to Google Drive
Send to Microsoft OneDrive Email
Download Print

11. Default Article Page
- The default view of selected
excerpt displays the text as a
scrolling webpage format.
- The page number (A) where the
excerpt can be found in the
book is listed above the excerpt
text. (B)
- You can find links to similar
readings (C) and an article table
of context (D) on the left side of
the screen
- You can change to a scanned
view of the book pages by
selecting “Book View” on the
bar at the top of the article. (E)
E
B
A
D
C

12. Book Page View
Page
Number
Zoom
In/Out
Toggle One/Two
Page View
Back to
Default
Display Full
Screen
Turn Page

13. Note-Taking and Study Tools
- Book View and text view each have
their advantages. Book view, or a
downloaded PDF tend to be more
printer friendly.
- HOWEVER, if you wish to take
advantage of the built-in not taking
features Gale has to offer, or have the
computer reads the text aloud, you will
need to be in text view.
- To listen to the text aloud or on headphones, click the “Listen” icon above the text. It may take a
moment for the audio to load.
- The Play/Pause button and audio settings options will replace the listen icon.
- The computer will automatically highlight the text as it is reading i, with the current
sentence/phrase marked in green, and the current word marked in blue.

14. Note-Taking and Study Tools, Cont.
- Clicking and dragging to highlight will
automatically open the grey toolbox
displayed on the right.
- Dragging to highlight a single word, then
hitting “Define” in the grey box will bring
up a Merriam-Webster definition of that
word, and related terms.
- By dragging over a larger section, then
selecting a color, you can highlight and
save a snippet to refer back to later.
- You can also type notes or reminders to
yourself in the textbox.
- Make sure you are signed in if you want to
save your notes past your single session.

15. Citations
- Gale makes citing your sources simple by providing the appropriate citation for you.
- You can view the citation by clicking the “Cite” Icon on the right side of the grey bar at the
top of the page on either text or book view.
- OR, if you are on the default “text view,” you can simply scroll down to the bottom of the
article.

16. Citations, Cont.
- While Gale with display the citations in MLA format automatically, you change the style to
APA, Chicago, or Harvard Style by clicking the heading above.
- You can then either Copy/Paste your citation, download it, or export it to one of the
citation web tools or drives indicated below the citation.

17. For Additional Access / Assistance
In Library: The Library is Open 9am-9pm Mon-Thurs, 9am-6pm Fri- Sat, and 12pm-6pm Sun
The Computer Commons is on the 2nd floor, and is open those same hours.
Computer Assistants will be able to assist at the 2nd floor desk.
Remote: Call 630-759-2102 During Library Hours, or email atsd@fountaindale.org
And of course, keep an eye on our Facebook and our Webpage for upcoming programs and
classes!