Website+Reviews+Essay

** LIS 5260 - School Library Media Center Website Evaluations ** **Courtney Trautweiler**

**Castilleja** **School** **Library** []
 * It’s easy to see why the Castilleja School Library website is an award winner. The website is an excellent model for other media centers to emulate. In a nutshell it provides dynamic access to the activities the students are involved in and static information such as card catalogs and databases. Not to say that card catalogs and databases are static, but in this sense they are constantly available on the website, whereas the content regarding student projects, book reviews and general activities changes regularly.

**Like?**
 * I like the basic layout and navigation style of the website. The navigation header is at the top of each page with the content filling in below or opening in another window. The color scheme is attractive and consistent. The portal page has snippets of each section available throughout the site to make scanning and locating what you’re looking for efficient. The posts are dynamic in that users have the ability to leave comments in each section, so communication is encouraged.
 *  I also like that the book reviews are student authored, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability on the student level.

**Done better or things I would change?**
 * I think the slideshow transition is a bit too fast. I would lengthen the time a little more to allow the user a few more seconds to be able to read the synopses.
 *  While I would be very proud of an award winning website also, I would move the award banner further down the page or downsize it a bit, the banner takes up valuable real estate on the front page. Another thing I would change would be to add the link to the school district homepage in the main navigation menu, while it was on the front page; it was seemingly hard to find in the right-hand sidebar in a “Links” section. I think it should be easier to access.

**Missing?**
 * It took me a little bit to find something missing on this site but I think while it has links to research databases, the OPAC and an MLA style guide, I think it could use a page dedicated to the research process, evaluating information and the issue of copyright/fair use.

**School/curricular: Is there evidence that the site supports learning and school goals?**
 * ** It seems that the content on the website definitely supports learning, with the coverage it gives student projects, classroom activities and other goings on like how the robotics team fared at a recent contest, skyping with Young Adult authors and participating in World Poetry Day. As far a supporting school goals, I’m not sure, but my hypothesis would be that the district supports the site and its communication style/content otherwise I would think they would object in some form. Also with the site being an EduBlog award winner, they now have a reputation to uphold. **

**Like?**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The library blog has a basic navigation menu which I consider to be a standard requirement. However, I would change the menu a single row of links instead of two. The content is there though with links to the OPAC, research databases, teacher resources, new books and cool book suggestions.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I liked the in-depth pages devoted to teacher projects and a separate page for teacher resources, so the staff will definitely feel included in the media center’s line of communication.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another required item Westlake’s page has is the research page. I think it lists a healthy number of resources for students to access to help them support their research with data from almanacs and statistical sources as well as finishing the project with a proper citations.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I thought the Cool Books suggestions by using exterior blogs was a good idea. The content is channeled to the media center’s site, so a bit less overhead on page creation and content updating.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Communication is encouraged through the 'talk to us' link, where students/teachers can contact the library staff, as well as being able to post comments on the blog posts.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Done better or things I would change?**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The New Books link has a three book links with broken navigation, which probably due to hard linking into the OPAC. So its possible that the links work inside the media center proper.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The main page seems too long to me with lots scrolling to get down to the bottom of the page. I’m a proponent of a pretty consolidated home page with navigation menus and short links to make locating information efficient. Basically I like to use the main page as a diving board for the rest of the site.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are a number of blog entries that are ‘uncategorized’ with no tags, so I think that goes against the grain of using a blog to post information and keep it organized. Take a few more minutes and tag the entries so that users can browse by tag/category too.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It’s probably trivial to some, but I think the title on the homepage should be spelled out. I would change it to Westlake High School Library and change the color of the background to something subtle, just not plain white.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**Missing?**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While the the teachers seem well stocked with links and resources, I thought the students could use a dedicated page for that also. I realize the entire site is available as a student resource, it would be a good idea to have a page with links of student interest, academic links, studyguides, colleges, reference, humor, creative writing, creative commons information, copyright and fair use.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> While the site has a number of good things going for it, it seemed a bit plain vanilla to me. I don’t require lots of bells and whistles but I think it could use a bit more flair in delivery. Maybe move to a table/grid layout and move away from the long list design. Add some color and a nice background, would improve the landscape too.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">**School/curricular: Is there evidence that the site supports learning and school goals?**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** I think the evidence is there, just not in an easy to spot at a quick glance way. Student activities, education news, and technology news is present, so I believe they support learning, they could do more though. Maybe add a student’s projects page, list pathfinders for classes and post data like standardized test scores that would show how the library is helping the students learn. Even surveys about what the students/teachers think would be beneficial. **

**Sedgwick Library** []

**Like?**
 * I thought the individual class pathfinder pages were a great section to the library media center website, it shows that the library is invested in connecting the students and individual classes and teachers to the content they’re teaching.
 * The How To’s for basic Noodletools, Noodle for notetaking, copyright and database searching were a feature that I thought really improved the website.
 * The calendar was another feature I thought was helpful to include in the media center website. I can see how a basic calendar would be used by students and teachers to check on current and upcoming events.
 * The tutorials for Credible Sources Count and You Quote It, You Note It were a nice surprise to come across. Anything that helps students with evaluating information and understanding copyright and the problem of plagiarism is a valuable tool.

**Done better or things I would change?**
 * One thing I found strange was that there was Microsoft Word document that had to be downloaded to gain access to database login information. I would do away with that completely and have an IP address based login system from inside the school or individual logins for the students. Having to download a document to gain access to a database is a hassle.
 * Another aspect that at first glance I thought would go in the I like it section was the page of teacher/class blogs, but after some exploration I found that most of them were outdated, hardly used and didn’t see any teacher/student interaction. If its not working, change it so it can work or get rid of it and try another approach.
 * I had a hard time discovering the OPAC link to search the library’s database. If anything that should painfully obvious and easy to locate. So actually this will get mentioned in the missing section too.

**Missing?**
 * I couldn’t find the link to search the OPAC. Seriously. There was a ‘Request a Book’ form and lots of links to useful blogs about YA books and Award books, but not a shred of evidence for locating books in the library.
 * Another item that I’ve come to expect in a well rounded site is a student gallery/showcase to show the students projects/blogs/presentations for other students, parents and teachers to access.

**School/curricular: Is there evidence that the site supports learning and school goals?**
 * ** It appears that there are numerous links to databases and tutorials for notetaking, evaluating information, copyright/fair use and database searching; so yes I do think the site supports learning, however as I mentioned above, I believe that having an area to view the products of the learning, ie studen work is essential. **

** ﻿ ** **Roosevelt** **Middle School** **Library** []

**Like?**
 * The OPAC link which was a bit further down the sidebar than I would have expected opened to page that had a surprising amount of well organized reference and research resources. You then had to click the Catalog tab to reach the OPAC, but its interface was simple and easy to use.
 * The fact that the librarian listed concrete contact information in the form of a phone number and email address was good feature to encourage communication with the library.
 * I thought the library tab on the top navigation menu was about 50 percent pertinent information. The Library orientation slideshow and pdf Map of the Library were excellent resources to include. The author studies were another resource that I thought added to the media center website. The other 50 % of the tabs under Library will be mentioned in the next section of things I would change.

**Done better or things I would change?**
 * The main navigation menu across the top of the page could be pared down and some of the sections consolidated or relocated to a sidebar; most notably the Science Fair, Students Love Voki, Amazing Math and Theodore Roosevelt.
 * I can understand a certain level of use of web apps like Voki, but I think that there seems to be a bit of overuse of them on this site. There are two on the main homepage and at least two more pages containing numerous Voki. Now, to their credit the other two pages are collections of student work Vokis, but with so many of the same format, the projects get redundant. I would suggest broadening the project format spectrum.
 * I noticed that there seems to be quite a lag time in-between blog posts and that creates a static feeling page without an active, daily/weekly update feel. More posts would be nice.
 * The tab for the parents has a short FAQ which is fine, but I think that the page could include more useful information like a calendar, links to student work, and kids & technology links.
 * While the site is formatted as a blog, there really seems to be no cross communication between the poster(s) and the reader/users. It might be due to the long form that needs to be filled out each time a comment would be added. I think a more efficient way to welcome feedback would be helpful.
 * I thought it was interesting that the Media Center included links to School Library Standards but honestly don’t think they need to be in main navigation menu list. It would think it better located under teacher resources.

**Missing?**
 * The research tab seems to very spare in its information. I would relocate or duplicate the list of resources on the OPAC home page to fill in the gaps on the Research tab.
 * There is an obvious lack of student interaction. No book reviews, no comments, no questions. So I would try to change the comment form usability and encourage student contributions to increase the communication between the students and the Library.
 * I would also recommend some Class pathfinders and a calendar of events be added.


 * School/curricular: Is there evidence that the site supports learning and school goals? **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The About Us tab did list vision and missions statements, and there is a Standards tab but they seem to float disconnected to anything else. It seems the Library wants to and is trying to support learning but might be so new in their Library website creation skills, they need some time to grow more in their ability to collect, organize and dispense the most pertinent information to their students, teachers and parents.

**Sacred** **Heart** **College** **Middle School** **Library** []

**Like?**
 * The first thing I liked about Sacred Heart’s webpage was its color scheme and easy to follow navigation menu and right sidebar. It made getting a sense of the way website was organized very quickly.
 * At first I thought the multicolored text would end up in the ‘things I would change’ section, but surprisingly I changed my mind and decided that it gave some definition to the paragraphs and allows the reader to skim/scan easily.
 * The right sidebar is well organized with student and teacher sections, Web 2.0 tools, various pages for Book Review and Teaching and Learning Resources.
 * I’ve liked the Shelfari add-on ever since I ran across one reading various sites for this assignment; I will certainly have one on my media center site.

**Done better or things I would change?**
 * I wasn’t sure if they had an OPAC available on line or not, so I think that would definitely be a priority to add to library’s web presence. I also liked that there was a Book Club being promoted but was a little discouraged to see it actually outdated and not being used. So I would recommend revamping its design and if it is still not working, cut it loose.
 * The Book Reviews tab seems like it was active at one time, but either the interest has tapered off or the interface isn’t engaging enough to invite the kids to come back and keep posting. I would suggest a survey to see why they stopped posting and what could be done to get them engaged again.
 * The teaching and learning resources looks it started off well, but the drive to update or add links to the pages wasn’t steady. I think it has a good basis, the designer needs to come back and add some more information. I think some specific class pathfinders would also be handy.

**Missing?**
 * I think the main element that is missing in their website is a freshness that appeals to middle school age children. While the color scheme and layout is attractive, it is so in a grown-up fashion, not what middle school kids would see as stylish or appealing to their sense of culture or technology. So I think it needs an age related make-over.
 * Like I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, I think a student showcase for projects and assignments that aced the mark, giving them a display case really gives them a chance to feel proud of a job well done and allows others to communicate with them about their projects.

**School/curricular: Is there evidence that the site supports learning and school goals:**
 * ** The site looks like it started off well in its attempts to create a good learning resource for students and teachers, and succeeded in part. The collection of student, teacher and Web 2.0 tools is commendable. I think it could improve by making sure content is current, that communication is interactive and encouraged and that student work is showcased. **