DISCUS -DISCUS - South Carolina’s Virtual South Carolina’s Virtual LibraryLibrary

www.scdiscus.org

9/2004

An Overview for Schools

DISCUS* is an online LIBRARY

• The best online information & learning resources

• For South Carolinians of all ages & interests

• Available online - all the time

*D*Digital igital IInformation fornformation for SC SC USUSersers

DISCUS gives you free access to --

• From reputable publishers

• Organized & regularly updated

• Selected, age appropriate materials

• Delivered over the Internet – but NOT the free Internet

DISCUS is DISCUS is better thanbetter than the free Internet the free Internet !!

Subscription *databases*

DISCUS *databases* are . . .

• Large, organized, electronic collections of . . .

• Articles, books & other types of published information . . .

• That may be easily searched to find the information you need.

DISCUS includes . . .

Articles from -• Magazines• Newspapers• Professional Journals

DISCUS has over DISCUS has over 26 million26 million articles from over articles from over 50005000

periodicals!periodicals!

Information from -• Encyclopedias• Dictionaries• Reference sources

and . . .

DISCUS also includes . . .

• Pictures & photographs• Maps • Lesson plans• Student & teacher activities• Primary sources• Links to the best web sites

. . . and more!

DISCUS covers . . .

• Arts & Literature

• Biography

• Business

• Current Events

• Education and more!

Find information on all subjects!Find information on all subjects!

• Government

• Health & Medicine

• History

• Science & Technology

• Social Sciences

Use DISCUS for . . .

• K-12 homework• school projects• college research • speech preparation• term papers & reports

and much more!

• teacher preparation • independent study• political awareness• consumer decisions• lifelong learning

DISCUS goals & vision for SC

• Equal access to information

• Serve information needs of all

• Expand library resources

• Offer library resources 24/7

• Cost efficient use of public funds

$1 spent on DISCUS buys $1 spent on DISCUS buys over $12 worth of resources.over $12 worth of resources.

DISCUS is for all South Carolinians !

Through the services of your . . .• Public library

• Public school• Private school (SACS-accredited)• College or university

Coordinated by the South Carolina State LibraryCoordinated by the South Carolina State Library

DISCUS Web site - www.scdiscus.org

K-12 users -

Click here

DISCUS site for K-12 users

Click on the name of the database you wish to use.

Click Subject, Grade Level or Search Tips tab for help in choosing the best

database

Kids go here

DISCUS Kids page

Use DISCUS at home, too !To use DISCUS at home, just ask your school library

media specialist for the username & password.

Grolier encyclopedias for all age groups

All 3 include teacher

resources,

magazines, Web links

& more!

New Book of Knowledge

for grades 3 & up

Info News

PicturesGames

Web links

& more!

Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

for grades 5 & up

for grades 8 &

up

Encyclopedia Americana

For grades

1-9

Find articles & Web sites by topic &

reading level

SIRS Discoverer

SIRS Knowledge Source

Articles, Web links & more

for advanced

middle grades

& up

News, audio clips, maps & more!

SIRS Knowledge Source – features

The State Columbia, SC newspaper

Gale databases for children - adults

14 periodical & reference databases to

meet your needs

Kids InfoBits

Easy to use &

has helpful tools!

Junior Edition

Build information literacy skills, too!

Junior Edition – Tool Box

Find individuals by occupation, ethnicity, gender

Biography Resource Center + Who’s Who

What Do I Read Next?

Scribner Writers Series

Focus your search

with limit options

Health & Wellness Resource Center

Over 26 million

articles at your fingertip

s!

InfoTrac OneFile

Broad subject coverage –

• Student Edition• General Reference Center• Expanded Academic ASAP• Custom Newspapers

More “InfoTrac” databases from Gale

and . . .

More “InfoTrac” databases from Gale

Specialized subject coverage –

• General BusinessFile ASAP• Health Reference Center- Academic• LegalTrac

Thank Your Legislator!

DISCUS is funded by the South Carolina General Assembly, through the K-12 Technology Initiative.

Supplemental funding is provided through the federal Library Services & Technology Act.

DISCUS is coordinated by the South Carolina State Library -

in cooperation with school, college & public libraries.

www.scdiscus.orgTo learn more, ask your librarian!To learn more, ask your librarian!

Start using DISCUS Today!