Cori Martin

slm 521

Elective 5: School Library Media Websites

 

What Every Library Media Website Should Have:

 

  1. A Greeting – something to invite the user to actually look around, maybe even include some hints about the site.
  2. Immediate links to the School Handbook, Library search, maybe even the school lunch menu.
  3. Section for parents – Involved parents make for happier schools. But some parents don’t know where to start.  This link should be able to tell them what’s going on in the school, and what they can do if they want to get involved.
  4. Section for students to look up their subjects – Once there each subject can have sub-headings for things that are being studied by various grades or class.  This way if students have to research outside of class for a certain topic, but the teacher wants to make sure they look at certain sites, or give certain things consideration, they can hit those places here, and use them as a jumping off place for more research.
  5. Writing guidelines for MLA- this is really important that students learn writing styles early, and that they learn they will have to give credit to the sources they use, and that information on HOW to do that is very attainable.
  6. Link to the Board of education – It’s always good that people are able to get in touch with the very people that are helping to mold their education.  It’s also important for students, teachers, and parents to know that they can communicate with people in positions of authority.
  7. Box for Announcements with link to School Calendar, and Community Calendar with Kid friendly events.  Good information, and just what people want to do with it is up to them.
  8. Link for Booklists – Whether it is for a school project or to fend off summer boredom, good suggestions of books with small write ups are good for students.  Also this provides a way for parents to see what their children are reading.
  9. Link for research – This should make online encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesaurus, Periodicals, and Search engines all readily available.  A suggestion for a couple clip-art sites wouldn’t hurt either.
  10.  Photographs!  Of the Media Center looking good!  They should make the place seem inviting, up to technical standards, and most of all, being used!  Pictures with kids in them are great!  Clip art is great, but in this instance it would be most helpful if the users can actually SEE what it is that they are accessing, and using. 
  11. News and Weather -  It is a media center, and you can cover any base you want, these are things that are not absolutely mandatory, but they are cool things to have instant access to.