This guide is intended as an overview on Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) for public library patrons, learners, and parents of learners. The above tabs will take a novice user through the basic steps of navigating databases from the Big Three vendors on AVL (EBSCO, Gale, and Britannica), conducting basic and advanced searches on these databases, information for users having trouble accessing AVL resources, and vendor-provided training for users who want to learn more about a particular resource.
Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) consists of databases that have magazine, journal, and newspaper articles for research. Through the AVL, an equitable core of information sources is available to every student and citizen in Alabama, raising the level of excellence in schools and communities across the state.
AVL has databases from Britannica, National Library of Medicine, ProQuest, EBSCO, Gale, Capstone, Oxford University Press, and McGraw-Hill. These databases cover a diverse range of subject matter and including news, education, science, history, literature, business, health/medicine, and general information. However, this guide focuses on EBSCO, Gale, and Britannica offerings as these are the most represented databases on AVL. While the examples in this guide are specific to databases from these vendors, the skills and techniques presented here are generally applicable to any AVL database.