Media Center Websites

 That Work! 

Not so very long ago, I found myself, as a classroom teacher, needing resources, for an upcoming unit on the holocaust and The Diary of Anne Frank.  Having a limited amount of time left in my planning period that day, I decided to take a look at the media center website for my school to peruse for resources I might make use of during the unit. I –finally- located the web link on an obscure tab of our school’s home page. When I arrived at the site I was shocked at the simplicity of the design… no eye catching colors, no upcoming events, nothing really of much interest there except a link to the OPAC. Now my question is this… If I as a future media specialist found this website lackluster and dull, what did all the other staff and students think of it? I knew in that instance when I became a media specialist, I wanted to develop a website that would be well-loved and used frequently.

 

But…how is one to go about developing a media center website that works?

 

 

According to Odin L. Jurkowski, 90% of school librarians maintain websites. Of all these websites, how many of these are as lackluster as my school's was and how many were perfect examples of what I should do?

 

 

 

 

 I set out to research exactly how to plan, construct, and design an exceptional website.

David Warlick, who is an independent consultant living in Raleigh, N.C., wrote in his article Building Websites That Work for Your Media Center that the top five daily activities of Internet users are: 

1.) Getting the news

2.) Researching as part of a job

3.)  Looking for information on a hobby or interest

4.) Answering a question

5.) Researching a product or service for purchase

 

In planning and constructing a webpage, it is important to remember that the look and design are only a part of its success. The website needs to assist you, as the media specialist, in serving all the stakeholders in the most efficient and successful way possible.

 

Five Things to Keep in Mind as You Begin to Develop a Media Center Website:  Remember the main goal of the LMC is to provide valuable information to teachers and students.

•  Identify the problems and barriers that prevent students and teachers from making the beat use of the media center (underutilized books or resources, teachers who are not making use of the library even with flexible scheduling, etc.)
•  Keep ALL members of your audience in mind. Not only are teachers and students part of a media center audience but administrators, parents, and community members are as well!
• Think about the information that will provoke and empower the behaviors you want to see. For example, if you want parents engaged in reading with their child, include an interactive list of available books or solicit book reviews.
• If you want new investments in media technologies, have a “Dream Media Center” section where you describe all the services that could be offered if these technologies were provided in the future.
• If the cost of webpage development is an issue, then there are some free web editors such as Mozilla Monkey or Nvu. You may also choose to use course-management software such as Moodle or create a wiki.

In Short…..The Process of Developing and Establishing a Media Center Website

1. Find out your school’s district requirements and processes.

2. Choose a Web Editor

3. Get file space on the server

4. Set up the technical procedures.

5. Decide what you want to include on your site and begin gathering information.

6. Design the site- organization, number of pages, how they will connect, etc.

7. Ask colleagues, students, and friends to test run the site looking for anything that is difficult

    to understand. Ask for feedback.

 

 

 

 

 

Things to Remember about the

Design of the Web Page

 

 

•  Writing is not the only way to communicate on a web site! Add images, animation, sound, music, and video to communicate information.
• Use graphs to convey complex data
•  Make your information scannable… People do not come to the internet to read… they come to learn, answer a question, or solve a problem and quick access to information will keep patrons returning.
• Indent the content to make headings and subheadings easier to scan.
• Keep paragraphs short.
• Bullet lists of information
• Display different types of information in different fonts.
• Don’t overwhelm younger children with large, complex websites.

• Don’t choose a color scheme because its pretty- make sure you can read from the colors too!

 

 

 

Ways to Attract and Keep Visitors Coming Back to the Web Site:

·         Make sure the webpage is prominently linked on the
            school web page and teacher web pages.

·         Feature the URL on any handouts that go home from the
           library, on any business cards, and mention it on your
           voice mail.

 

 

My Ideas for What Could or Should be on a Media Center Webpage:

The basics: school name, mailing address, library phone number, name of media specialist, hours of operation, date the website was last updated.

Website features: Library news, media center handbook, calendar, OPAC, What’s New!, Upcoming Events, Parent  Section with Parent Volunteer Information, Reading Lists, Virtual Library Tour Video, Let’s Share Our Ideas!,

Links I Might Have: Weather, Fun Sites, On-line Databases, Book Reviews, Teacher Web Pages or Class Wiki

 

I personally think a blog or a wiki cannot beat a well-developed media center website! I think this is a format that all patrons are familiar with and will keep returning to as long as it is not only functional but also creative and fun!