Libraries

Lee’s Summit High School The Lee’s Summit High School webpage is a simple site. In a way, it’s almost too simple, but I think that’s also a part of the charm of it. The entire LMC site can be accessed from a drop down menu on the main site of the school webpage. I think that the convenience of that is very nice and would like to have that done with my own webpage. Kids can access anything they need in the LMC webpage by simply hovering over the link and moving around. The other thing that I find nice about this site is the links to podcasts that the library has. It is clear that the librarian has spent time encouraging podcasts among faculty and there are library specific podcasts as well. I feel that podcasts are a great, simple way to get the word out about what’s going on in the library and I allows think it’s a darn good way to get kids to not feel that the library is an antiquated idea. []

Oak Grove High School I chose this school because it is small and I think big school often overshadow the good things that happen on small school websites. The thing that’s so special about this site is it’s simplicity as well. It’s not a huge page and there aren’t a ton of things that blink and flash and move around to distract from what needs to be done. There could be a few more exciting links and the librarian could spend a bit more effort on adding in podcasts and things, but overall everything that a student could need can be accessed in one click from the main LMC webpage. In a way, that’s very refreshing. On my own school website I plan on having lots of awesome things, but I hope to keep it simply still with a plain menu like this one. I also like how the homepage for the library has all the information a kid could want on it as soon as it opens. The hours are clear, how long books can be checked out for is clear, and the basic instructions on how to navigate the site are also clear so that first-time users have no problem with navigation. http://www.oakgrove.k12.mo.us/education/staff/staff.php?sectionid=125&

Blue Valley North High School This site is nice and simple too. The homepage only consists of all the links kids can access – or would ever want to access. This school also has podcasts and links to social networking sites – life Facebook and Twitter. Moreover, it has live chat which is by far the best part. If a kid needed help, all they have to do is type in the question and hit send. At the top of the chat bar it is clear if the librarian is online, offline, or simply away from the chat for a short while. If a librarian is offline, the email for the librarian is a simple one click away for kids. There’s also a lovely Animoto show about the featured new books. A bit more detail could have gone into it on what the books were about, but at least it’s front and center. http://www4.bluevalleyk12.org/bvn/lmc/