Download Creating_A_Cyber_Library

Creating A Cyber
Library
Introduction
Rationale for Cyber
Libraries
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Provide means to deliver more information
Provide rich content for users
Provide full-text databases
Provide online tutorials
Connect students with outside sources
With Alabama Virtual Library makes job easier
because most of the groundwork has been
done for you.
Reason Cyber Libraries
Are Possible
 98% of public schools connected to Internet in
2000; as early as 1994, only 35%
 Connections more powerful in 1998 through T1
and T3 lines and 51K dialup
 Less students per computers in schools
 At home access is possible
 Some companies offer web site hosting free.
Economic Forces &
Incentives
 A cyber library is a cost-saver
 Can link to thousands of curriculumrelated sites without having to purchase,
classify, catalog, retrieve, bind or weed.
 Issue of access versus ownership
 Acquiring & maintaining current material
 Allows sharing of information
 Eliminates storage of materials problems
Sites Already Available for
the Cyber Library
 There are web libraries already available,
such as KidsClick!
http://www.sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick
!
 ALA 700+ Great web sites:
http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites
Educational Forces and
Incentives
 Some schools are moving toward
teaching online because it solves space
problems.
 Some schools use a mixture of traditional
and online classes.
 Students prefer online research as a onestop shopping place for finding
information
Professional Forces &
Incentives
 Retiring certified media specialists replaced with noncertified, or relaxation of qualifications.
 More need for SLMS expertise at making all materials
usable.
 The cyber library will serve as a laboratory to teach
students to choose appropriate databases, perform
Boolean searching, design an Internet search strategy
and evaluate web sites.
 SLMS preselect books, periodicals & AV materials from
reviews in journals.
 Most faculty and students are unaware that information
on the Internet is not valid, objective, or authoritative.
 Only SLMS are qualified to distinguish the good
materials from the meaningless information at web
sites.
Purpose of this book
 To provide practical guidelines
 To suggest Internet sites for designing
cyber libraries reflective of research,
curriculum and recreational needs of the
school.
 To furnish ideas for building a cyber
library.
 Designed for SLMS in grades 4-12
THE END
Cyber Library Guidelines
 Chapter 1
Mission Statement
 A one or two sentence description that
describes to future users the overall
purpose for designing and maintaining a
cyber library.
 It should appear on the cyber library’s
web site.
General Purposes in a
Mission Statement
 Support curriculum, research, and recreational
needs of students, faculty and staff.
 Inform, motivate, & inspire users.
 Provide skills for improving information literacy
 Supply programs, services and information that
improves value of Internet
 Serve as supplemental research facility for
users.
 Provide links to other Internet resources.
Specific Goals of the
Cyber Library: Reasons for
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Give credibility to web site.
Helps to ensure relevant web sites
No gaps in the collection
Ensures good navigation routes.
Good goals will ensure the site to be
easy to search, use, maintain and
expand.
 Look at possible goals on page 2.
Cyber Library Users
 Need to know who users are before
constructing a cyber library.
 Who users are affect:
 Types of materials collected
 Programs and services provided
 How information will be presented &
displayed
Cyber Library Users
 Who are primary users and what does
that tell you?
 Collection must reflect their needs and
interests.
 Language level must be reflected in the
collection.
 Graphics & color choices should be relevent
and of interest to this age range.
Using Student Information
to Design Web Site
 User characteristics can help determine the
primary audience & the secondary audience.
 Example: If many students have after school
jobs, a section about resume writing,
interviewing & local job ads might be included
in the library collection.
 Example: If students live in single-family
homes, might include information about
cooking and home safety.
Determining the
Secondary Audience
 Look at demographic information about
parents.
 Determine what local public and
academic libraries are doing for parents.
 Link to their services on the cyber library
web site.
Sources of Information
About Students
 Recent accreditation reports. Look at
section under students and the
community in which they live.
 Local census data Internet sites.
 Look at demographic and educational
information:
 See page 3, bottom of page.
Gathering Information
 Check public and academic libraries and what
they are offering.
 Consult the school’s course of study
 Check with the guidance department.
 Check with Study Skills Center or faculty
member who works with students with learning
disabilities
 Student Focus Groups: Look at page 5 & 6 for
possible open ended question content
 Develop a student survey to ask questions
Proposal for a Cyber
Library
 Plans for soliciting administrative support
 Decide the approach: consortium vs. single
library
 Assess skill level and training for designers
 Equipment & technical needs
 Budgeting
 Deadlines for testing & completing of project
 Read very carefully pages 7-16
Factors That Determine
Cyber Library Contents
 Library hours of SLMC
 Collection size
 User population characteristics
Factors That Determine
Cyber Library Contents
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Not open as much as other libraries
Lack of depth of the slmc collection
Reference materials do not ciruclate
Students require immediate gratification
of information needs because of school
assignments.
 Students need for instruction in
searching, retrieving & evaluating info
What Should the
Contents Be?
 Primarily full-text materials that will
supplement the resources of SLMC
 Online tutorials
What the Content
Should Not Be
 Citation databases and commercial sites
with subject summaries frustrate students
and should not be a part of the cyber
library.
Cyber Library Content
Categories
 Free web sites
 Internally developed content from teachers and
the slms
 Internally developed interactive services
 Private services/electronic resources
 Best in the beginning to do free web sites.
 Read carefully pages 18-23
Cyber Library Design and
Style Guidelines
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No size limit
No budget limit
Allows constant changes
Allows erasing mistakes instantly
Offers a wealth of graphic designs
Decisions to Be Made
 Organization of the information for ease
of use: See pages 25-26.
 Web design must be hypertext that is
easy to navigate
 Look at other library web sites for ideas
about design and navigation
 See page 27-28 for design
considerations
Building a Cyber Library
Template
 Built to guide you in the layout features
and design
 Check with school’s web master to
determine parameters.
 Template will help in the organization of
content and reflect the slmc’s mission
 See page 28 for suggestions when
constructing a template
Cyber Library Artistic
Guidelines
 The brighter the colors and wilder the
graphics, the better students liked it and
the more they stuck with it. (Minkel &
Feldman,1999, 84)
 Goal to be attractive and appealing
 Choose an age appropriate font size
 See other artistic suggestions on pages
29-30
Cyber Library Finishing
Details
 Proofread every page
 Search the cyber library in two main
browsers to that information appears
correctly.
 Check all links to see that open.
 Check links of photos, icons, or visuals to
see that it takes no more than 30
seconds to download.
 If plug-ins are used for audio & video
sites, make sure they are clearly
identified and functional
Recommended Web Sites
to Help with Cyber Library
 Look on pages 31-34
 They are organized according to the
stages in cyber library construction
in this chapter.
The End
Cyber Library Policies
Chapter 2
Web Accessible Policies
for Cyber Library
 Collection development policies
 Policies that facilitate the use of the
collection
 Privacy and confidentiality policies of
students and faculty
 Copyright policies as they relate to the
use of the Internet
Legal and Ethical
Concerns
 Cyber libraries are visible when SLMS’s are off
duty.
 Makes cyber library more vulnerable to
justification & challenge especially with
controversial materials.
 Intellectual freedom to provide all sides of a
subject.
 Privacy issues related to cookies (small text
files that a web site writes to the user’s hard
drive).
 Log in profiles that provide web site owners
information about the user’s Internet searching.
Ease of Use of Cyber
Library
 Policies are needed that keep cyber
libraries well organized and visually
consistent.
 Policies are needed that maintain their
design, layout and organizational
structure so that users are not lost in
cyberspace.
 Policies are needed the define web
content and the templates used.
Internet Use Policy
 Once ACP (Acceptable Use Policy); now
Internet use policy.
 Include same things as ACP, but more:
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Accessing pronography
Sending abusive e-mail
Using other’s passwords
Hacking
Internet Use Policy
 Other topics that should be included in
the Cyber Library policies:
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Printing policies
Downloading
Use of workstations
Digital literacy skills
Student access to remote databases
Use of slmc computers.
Internet Collection
Development
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No restrictions on cost
No restrictions on space
Scope of collection is limitless
Problems with link disappearance
Problems with content and address
alterations for selected sites.
 Accountability and quality control of sites
are responsibility of slms
Two Approaches to
Writing Collection Policies
 Single Team or Consortial approach
 Separate or Integrated policies
Single Team vs. Consortial
 No problem with the single cyber library
 Consortial approach:
 Sharing knowledge and expertise to
determine Internet sources included
 Decision of design template to use
 Decision about how user groups will be
protected
 Challenges to collection can stand pressure
better than one slmc alone
Separate or Integrated
Policies
 Decision is made whether to make
separate policies related to the cyber
library
 Or to integrate policies into exisiting slmc
policies
 Recommend an integrated approach of
including all policies together.
Writing the Policies
 Make certain that policies reflect the cyber library’s
mission and goal statements
 Think of written policies as version 1, 2
 Keep draft policies and different versions for
accreditation purposes.
 Need library boilerplate legal wording when preparing
policies.
 Check the Internet for such policies and adapt them to
your situation.
 Obtain permission from authors if you adopt large
portions of their policies and site them on your site.
Programs and Services
 Determine what types of programs and
services you plan to include in the cyber
library.
 Find the list of questions to ask yourself
on page 42.
Types of Policies
 Review the different types of policies on
pages 43-55.
 Decide which or all of the policies that
you will use for your cyber library.
 Look carefully at the criteria for each
policy.
 Recommended Internet sites are offered
to help you in learning more about the
different types of policies you will need.
 Check the recommended web sites and
see what they can offer you.
THE END