Database Updates from Facts-On-File News Services

Facts On File is delighted to announce that our parent company, Infobase Publishing, has recently acquired Facts On File News Services. With this transaction, Facts On File (http://www.factsonfile.com/) and Facts On File News Services (http://www.facts.com/) are once again under common ownership, as they were before March 1996. We are committed to our database publishing program, and we will continue to add new resources and features to help your users make the most efficient use of our databases. Here are just some of the exciting additions to your News Services subscription.

Facts On File World News Digest :

• All-new Research Features spotlighting Iran’s nuclear development, the use of performance-enhancing substances in competitive sports, and the 50th anniversary of school desegregation in Little Rock, AK.
• New “Need a Research Topic?” sections focusing on three key aspects of history and recent news: Church-State Separation, Same-Sex Marriage, and the fall of Communism in eastern Europe.
• Access to top Issues in the News coverage from Issues & Controversies.
• Understanding Historic Documents—Student Resource Center guidelines on the importance of primary source documents in research and tips on how to work with them, plus a special Historic Document Worksheet template.
• Front-page access to Recent Featured Stories from the Facts On File World News Digest, giving instant access to the recent content on everything from political and business news to the arts and sports.
• The updated 2008 Presidential Election Guide, with a quick link on the front page.
• The latest key events always added to the front-page Iraq War Coverage Guide.
• More than 100 new and topical Editorial Cartoons with Questions on recent news, with thought-provoking discussion questions and links to related news coverage and context articles.
  

Issues & Controversies:

• Full coverage of the 2007 National High School Debate topic: Public Health Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Education Resource Center material on working with Primary Source Documents.
• Editorial Cartoons with key questions and links to current information on recent topics in the news, from Hurricane Katrina to Immigration and the Pledge of Allegiance.
• New articles like College Rankings, Ecotourism, and Special Education.
• Updates on newsworthy issues for students like Detainees’ Rights, Education Standards, Performance-Enhancing Substances, and Teen Pregnancy.
• Follow-ups, covering breaking news on important issues like the Minimum-Wage Increase and Students’ Free-Speech Rights.
• Statistical Updates that track key statistical shifts on topics from Advertising to Youth Depression.

Issues & Controversies in American History:

• Resource Center for Students and Educators—packed with tips on using this unique database for learning and teaching.
• Special Feature: Understanding Primary Documents, including a Worksheet, and an educator's guide to Suggested Activities incorporating historic documents.
• All-new articles on more debated aspects of U.S. History: the Astor Place Riot, Flappers, the Homestead Act, the introduction of Income Tax, the Iran-Contra Scandal, Social Darwinism and the Texas Revolution.
• More than 60 additional Primary Source Documents, giving unique insights into history as it was lived and experienced.
• More Discussion Questions and Activities.
• Many more Historical Cartoons with key questions—fascinating caricatures of political events and controversies, from the Stamp Act through the USA Patriot Act.

Today’s Science:

• More than 30 new, highly illustrated articles covering the most important headlines and breakthroughs over the summer, in Biology, Earth, Space and Physical Sciences.
• New listing of standards-based Classroom Activities and Experiments.
• “Issues & Controversies in Science”—a list of top articles on scientific subjects from Issues & Controversies.
• Science Fair Guide—a practical, easy-to-follow manual for students with tips on how to design and carry out a science project.
• Discussion Questions accompanying each new article, to build understanding.
• Links to Journal Abstracts leading straight from Today’s Science coverage of top science news to the published abstract of the research itself.

World Almanac Reference Database:
New, improved article interface:

• 2007 World Almanac and Book of Facts data added.
• Improved World Almanac and Book of Facts data delivery automatically leading to the most recent available edition’s information from every menu listing.
• New “World Almanac Archive” links at the top left of articles allowing users to compare the most recent data with previous editions, to see how statistics trend over time; also display automatic links to more recent information if available.
• New identifier at top right of each online article providing the date of the print edition where it appeared.
• New Chapter listing near top right of each article gives link from each specific information page to the general Contents listing for that subject.
• Recent World Almanac Cover Stories chronicle the 60th anniversaries of the Marshall Plan for rebuilding postwar Europe, the founding of the CIA, and Indian and Pakistani independence, as well as examining the first terrorist attack at the Olympics, in 1972.
• More than 60 brand-new World Almanac Encyclopedia articles, including biographies of figures from Bella Abzug and Charles Addams through Jerry Falwell, L. Ron Hubbard, Leni Riefenstahl, and Nicolas Sarkozy to Darryl Zanuck—plus updates to hundreds of articles.
• Special Reports on topics of interest from the government changes in Britain and France to safety concerns about products from China, Harry Potter’s final chronicle, and the true age of cats!