School Library Media Websites

Components of a school library media web site

Þ Schedule: A listing of library hours, class visitations to the library, and book due dates is important for all patrons and parents to know.

Þ Calendar of Events: This would let folks know when special events like book fairs, special guests, and other programs are coming to the library.

Þ Library/Media Resources: A section to let parents, students, and teachers know exactly what materials and resources are available for use in the library media center.

Þ Reference Sites: Links to sites where students can do research for assignments and projects.

Þ Suggestion Box: An area for teachers and students to make recommendations on terrific web sites, books, and more! Reviews to students’ favorite books or helpful web sites for teachers could be posted here.

Þ Subject Area Links: Students could access sites specifically related to Math, Science, Social Studies, Language, and Reading for activities, games, and homework help.

Þ Classroom Links: Links to each classroom in school would be a great way to showcase what is going on at every grade level. Themes, assignments, and news could be highlighted. This would have to be updated regularly.

Þ Tutorials: Links to tutorial programs, or original tutorials explaining how to do such things as use a search engine, send e-mail, and create a web page would be a wonderful resource to have.

Þ Photographs: Include pictures of the library media center in use. Showcase students hard at work. In fact, it would be a great idea to have students help design and maintain the library media web site!

Suggested Sites For Inclusion on a School Library Media Website

Þ http://www.school-libraries.net/

This site offers a wonderful collection of Web Pages created or maintained by school librarians. Some are for entire schools, while others are for individual school libraries. Some pages are personal, while others are for professional associations, or other curriculum related resources. Also included here are a few links to helpful Web development.

Þ http://www.school-libraries.org

This is the “home” on the web for school library Webmasters to share information. Librarians here share the best resources and services possible for school libraries. Watch this site for news and information about the things librarians need in order to make use of the web so that their online school libraries can be the best!

Þ http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/

Blue Web'n is an online library of more than 1,200 outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (lessons, activities, projects, tutorials, resources, references, and tools). You can search by grade level, broad subject area, or specific sub-categories. New sites are added weekly. You can get a list and description of these additions sent to you by signing up below for weekly updates.

Þ http://www.awesomelibrary.org/

The Awesome Library claims to provide only resources that have been reviewed and found to be of high quality for their users. All of the resources are highly rated at the time of review. In order to be included in the Awesome Library, resources need to meet all of the standards below.

- Only child-safe links
- Useful for teachers, students ("kids" or "teens"), parents, or librarians
- "Real Stuff" (Actual documents, projects, pictures, and discussion groups)
- Current
- Load quickly
- Small percentage of "dead" links
- Best version available

There are over 19,000 sites included here, and you can browse in five foreign languages.

Þ http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/amazing.html

Compiled by the Children and Technology Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. This is a compilation of sites recommended for children from preschool through age 14, their parents, and other caregivers. These sites are considered to be “great”. Also included are links to school library sites across the United States.

Þ http://www.kidsdomain.com/

Kids Domain is a commercial (advertisements included), acclaimed educational and entertainment online destination for kids, parents, and educators who are actively involved in the search for and use of child-safe Internet content. Kids Domain is packed with nearly 14,000 pages of kid-friendly content including; more than 1,500 reviews of commercial software products by parents for parents, over 1,200 interactive games, crafts and holiday activities, safe surfing information, articles on effective teaching, more than 3,000 downloads for PC and Mac, graphics, and contests that entice users to greater experiences.

Þ http://www.factmonster.com/

Sponsored by the Learning Network, Fact Monster combines essential reference materials, fun facts and features, and individualized homework help. Fact Monster offers good reference resources, including an encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, and the Information Please kids' almanac. Kids, along with their parents and teachers, have easy access to just the right facts on topics ranging from science to sports to people in the news. The Fact Monster Homework Center lets kids find direction on common homework topics and submit questions to homework helpers. Fact Monster also includes original features and fun games and quizzes on topics important to kids.