If you need to access the page and do not have the above address, check your library. Many public and school libraries have web pages with a link to the MARVEL databases page.
MARVEL is available anytime in Maine from any Internet connected computer. Free access to MARVEL is for all Maine citizens of all ages. MARVEL is funded by the Sate of Maine, the University of Maine Systems, and the Maine State Library
If you are using remote access you are prompted to enter your name, library affiliation and zip code. This is for statistical purposes only.
This resource contains millions of articles, thousands of journals, newspapers, and encyclopedias. MARVEL saves you time surfing the impossibly big web, provides you with credible resources, and supplies information for all ages.
Contents
1. Basic directions for using MARVEL
2. Choosing the best word for searching
3. Great databases for 7th & 8th graders
1. Basic directions for using MARVEL:
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1. Enter the MARVEL site. Use the icon on your dock, or go to your school library site for a MARVEL link, or use the address: http://libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/
2. Choose the database best suited to your needs.
a. Clicking on the red dot before the name gets a summary of that database.
b. Clicking on the name gets the database.
3. Following is an simple example search in the Middle Search Plus.
a. Choose the Full Text box - this will give you instant information. If you cannot find any article, you can unchoose this and search again. If you find a non-full text article, ask your librarian to ILL it (Inter Library Loan).
b. Put your topic word on the Search line, and hit the Search button.
c. Browse the list of articles found. Choose the best one to read. Look at the name of the magazine, the date, and how many pages it is. All of these things will help you decide if the article is worth reading.
d. Notice the list of types of sources: magazines, pamphlets, reference books, primary source documents, biographies, newspapers, and images. Clicking on any one of these types will limit your articles to that type. For example: Your teacher says to get a newspaper article, click on the word "Newspaper" and all the articles that are from a newspaper will be displayed.
e. Note the Lexile reading level number listed with some articles. Click on the Lexile number for a table matching Lexile number to grade level. If you are having trouble reading an article, try choosing a lower Lexile numbered article. The average Lexile range for 7th and 8th grade is 880 to 1140.
f. If the article is something you need, you have the options of e-mailing it, saving it to the MARVEL folder, saving it to your iBook, or printing it.
g. If you use information from any of MARVEL's pages, be sure to credit your source by including the bibliography.
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2. Choosing the best word for searching
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Choosing a topic word or words can make or break your search. If your word does not get you any articles, or gets you too many, rethink your word choice.
Exactly what is it you want to find? What words can you use to find the information. Sometimes a thing is know by more than one term. Such as: cars and automobiles.
What specific question are you trying to answer? Narrow what you are hunting down to one or two questions at a time.
Examples:
a. "Cat" is probably too big. What kind of cats do you want? Use "Maine coon cat" for a more exact term. Use "cats" and "feeding" for limiting the number of articles. If "feeding" does not work, try "food" or "nutrition."
b. If you used a plural word, try it singular. "Cat" gets 1500+ articles. "Cats" get only 750+ articles.
c. "Cars" gets 2810 articles. "Automobiles" gets 2700+ articles and some of those are different than the "cars" list.
d. "US history" gets no articles. "U.S. history" gets 234 articles. "United States history" gets 1957 articles. Putting "United States" on one line and "history" on the second line gets 10,000+ articles.
e. "ATV" gets 133 articles. "Four wheelers" gets 12 articles.
If you are having trouble getting exactly what you want, e-mail your librarian for help.
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3. Great databases for 7th & 8th graders
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1. Middle Search Plus has nearly 400,000 articles and is designed for middle school students.
2. MAS Ultra - School Edition has over 1 million articles and includes over 460 magazines for grades K-12.
2. NoveList and NoveList K-8. Gives information on fiction books to read. Includes plots, discussion questions, author read-likes, genre book lists, and thematic units for teachers. Can be searched by title, author, subject, publisher, and reviews.
3. Contemporary Authors. Provides a bio-bibliographical guide to authors living during the last 40 years.
4. Health Sources: Consumer edition. Authoritative information, especially good for those health topics that get filtered out on the Net.
5. Proquest Newspapers. More than 500 newspapers for the latest print news, both national and international. Usually more reliable than individual web sites. Includes the Bangor and Portland papers.
6. Encyclopedia Britannica. The "Mercedes" of encyclopedias. Well researched, extremely reliable basic information on almost every topic in the world. Reading level is high, so you may need help reading. Does include video and sound clips, interactive learning activities, and a student version of many articles.
7. EBSCO Animals. Helps when you need a specific breed of a common animal, includes some images.
8. Geo ref. Geoscience database for geology topics. Helps if you need a specific volcano or minerals information.
9. NetLibrary. Over 7,000 book available as “ebooks”. You can read these books on line for 15 minutes or follow directions to create a NetLibrary account and "check out" the book for four hours.
Explore all the databases and learn how to best use your favorites.
