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In order for a high school library media website to meet the needs of the students and faculty it must contain some core components.

General Organization Recommendations:

1. First and foremost the website should be inviting. It is the initial welcome and just like the librarian sitting at the resource desk in the school library it should put the student at ease knowing that they will be able to find what they are looking for.

2. Visually appealing. It should be well organized, contain graphics such as the school mascot, use school colors and familiar photos from the school itself. It can contain animated clip art as long as it is not distracting. This ensures that the student is comforted by familiarity and engaged but not overwhelmed.

3. It should be easy to navigate and remain updated so as not to have inactive links. Students need to access current information. If links are not current it makes the rest of the site a bit suspect.

4. The home page should have general categories that students can choose from. This allows them to quickly and easily find what they are looking for.

Content Area Recommendations:

1. General Library rules, hours, and ways to access a real person’s assistance. The key is to put the student at ease and let them know the structure and the help that is available to them.

2. Activities/Events for the school year. This should also be updated throughout the year. This makes the student and parents aware of days off, marking period ending, cultural activities, etc. It facilitates involvement through the exchange of information.

3. Reference Materials on How To’s such as: How to evaluate a website, How to look up current journal articles, how to cite electronic materials, how to successfully search the Internet, etc. As bold as our students appear in class, they may be intimidated when it comes to navigating the web for materials other then the newest MP3 download. Tutorials that walk them through each of these activities are a way wonderful to ensure success.

4. Online Catalog and Databases. This is a major reason why students are coming to this page. They need to access current journal articles on various topics.

5. Links to search engines. Students may not be aware of where to begin when doing a search. Pointing them in the direction of a search engine is a valuable assistance.

6. Recommended Reading Lists. Remember when students would read for fun? You can encourage them by having other students post book reviews on the recommended books!

7. Links to Teacher made websites. Students should have an easy link to their teacher’s web page. This is wonderful for the student that forgets the homework assignment directions in their locker, understand the rules of the classroom, and what is to be expected.