Send comments to Janette Fluharty, website developer and IUPUI MLS student. Page created in 9/04.| Home | Evaluation Criteria | Initial Impact | Technical Assessment | Content Assessment |
The breadth of content found in the pages of this site is amazing. Clearly, the librarian has whole-heartedly devoted herself to this website as evidenced by the sheer volume of material she presents. Her site is truly a portal for the parents, students, and teachers in Casis Elementary School commmunity. When working on a project for personal, educational, or professional use, it is easy to see where the patrons of Casis would readily turn to the library's website as a starting point for their projects.
With links to the Big6, How to Write a Bibliography, and a whole section devoted to copyright and fair use, including sections for children and teachers, this site provides teachers with the resources needed to help students effective users of information and ideas.
A variety of both educational and fun sites are presented with all pages having been updated within the last year. An example would be the poetry section. Students may visit the Academy of American Poets for a class project or maybe Giggle Poetry just for the sheer pleasure of enjoying poetry.
Links to resources within the local community are presented in the parent, student, and teacher sections. Parents would appreciate a page with links to local camps for children. One page teachers would find helpful listed contact information and possible sites for local field trips. Click trips to visit the local field trips page.
The librarian has organized her resources according to the Dewey Decimal system. Take a look at the table she has used to organize the websites for children by clicking here. Resources for teachers are categorized and organized in an easy to use format. As appropriate, resources are annotated. Specific sections for kids, teachers, parents, and librarians are presented.
The site is current, well written, and free from grammatical, spelling, and other errors. The librarian knows her patron base and has tailored her site to the needs of elementary students by keeping her pages neat and easy to navigate. Young students can be easily distracted by busy pages with animated graphics. By keeping the design simple, Miss Campbell puts the focus on the content. Miss Campbell also includes library tips to assist students with their research. For an example, visit the biography page in the children's section. Click biography to view the page.
A variety of reference sources are presented, including: maps, databases, online catalogs, streaming videos, websites, encyclopedias, etc. Some sites require the user to obtain a password from the librarian to gain access to the source.
Background Information - Written by fourth grade students, the story of the library may be found in the library scrapbook. Click scrapbook to read the story of the library.
Feedback Opportunities - Miss Campbell welcomes and solicits suggestions, comments, and feedback from her patrons. A request for such information may be found on the Find It @Your Library page.(i.e., suggestion form, guestbook, surveys)
Live Resources - From the Find It @Your Library page, students can link to streaming video or select and expert from the Ask-An-Expert page.
Policies and Procedures - The library mission statement and a link to library policies and procedures may be found on the home page. The policies and procedures page contains links to the Code of Conduct, Circulation Selection Policy, Austin ISD Acceptable Use Policy, Computer Workstation Rules, Rules for Internet Safety, the Student Agreement Form: K-2, and the Student Agreement Form: 3-5.
Library-Specific Resources Include - Electronic Databases, Government and Local Resources, Online Catalog, Online Clubs, Periodicals, Program Archives, Reference Resources, and Research and Information Skills.
Suggestions:
It is easy to see why this site previously won the SLJ Online Website of the Month for April 2003 and The Golden Web Award for 2003-2004. Walter Minkel states media center Web sites should convey the "implicit message that libraries are essential and that skillful librarians are ready to guide students, teachers, and parents through the overwhelming world of information."1
In crafting her site, Miss Campbell has done exactly what Mr. Minkel suggests. Unquestionably, this site deserves to win the LITEhouse Website Award for the fall 2004 semester.
1Minkel, Walter. "Remaking Your Web Site in Seven Easy Steps. School Library Journal. May 1, 2002.Return to the top.
Send comments to Janette Fluharty, website developer and IUPUI MLS student. Page created in 9/04.
