Pffft, who needs a website

I think an elementary school library can definitely function without a webpage. As a parent I can function the next day after pulling an all-nighter with my sick child. Of course, neither is ideal or best practice for long term health of the system. This is a digital world now, our patrons are digital natives and there should be a digital presence for the school library.

As for what I consider the most important elements of an attractive, useable school library homepage ... this is something I struggle with. I'm all about providing information and resources to support people in their learning and teaching but too much info can be worse that too little information as far as I’m concerned. Much like library shelves that are overcrowded. Books circulate better when the patrons can see them and easily navigate through the collection. Websites that are filled from edge, to edge, to edge with information, links, buttons, colours can be overwhelming and information becomes obscurred where you can't see the trees for the forest. Oh, and another thing ... while I love having a scroll mouse and look oddly at the person who does not own a scroll mouse in the year 2010, I hate scrolling, scrolling, scrolling ... raw-HIIIIDE ... *cough* er, well *ahem* ... I hate sites that are just one long page of never ending scrolling, especially the blog-style ones that require you to scroll for "pages and pages" just for one narrow 2" column. I would rather follow links to other pages than scroll through the never-ending page. Just like short articles in magazines will get read far more frequently and in greater quantity by me than one long article. Buttons, tabs, links ... I'm not picky, just give me something that I can clicky!

This leads nicely into what is my biggest struggle, which comes from the consideration of my preferences and needs versus those of the library patrons. I need a page that is clean, clear and can be navigated quickly so I can get in, get my info, get out and get on with using the information I just retrieved. I don't like sites that are solely driven by Flash media and other such busyness. For one, the flashing drives me nuts, but the practicality of it when we are using a district network that is overloaded on outdated machines, the experience can be downright painful and the source of much frustration.

For example, the McKillop Library site that is modelled after a Star Trek computer is cute and fun but would drive me around the bend with all the flashing and movement on the site. I get distracted by shiny things on a regular basis, I don't need help from a website's design where I'm trying to find information. That said, the kids would probably love it. Then again, I also think about what kind of image the library is portraying. This site doesn't present as very "businessy" or informational but rather game-like, which isn't to say that all the "right" information is there but it's just my perception. So again, I struggle with my preferences versus that of my patrons ... either that or perhaps I'm just becoming a bit curmudgeonly in my ever advancing age. Learning shouldn't, be uptight and rigid and full of bowties and calculators. It should be fun and exciting and invigorating ... but it also shouldn't be Chuck E Cheese or the County Fair all the time either. I also wonder about the upkeep on a site like this. Is there any difference than any other site? Is this a temporary theme for the library, if so, is it easily changed for the next theme? I just don't know enough about the mechanics of websites as yet. (The site: http://mckilloplibrary.edu.glogster.com/mckillop-home)

Then there is the other end of the spectrum of the sites listed, represented by something like the Cold Springs site (http://www.coldspringschool.net/Classrooms/jpedersen/Mrs.-Pedersen.html). It's organized, but BORING! (at least to look at). There is far too much text on many of the pages, especially for a K-6 school. Needs more white space, larger fonts, less text and, quite frankly, even I think it needs more fun. Then I take a closer look and see that this is obviously done on a school-wide site, possibly even district software, so there may be many limitations as to what can be put up, which provides consistency of design with the rest of the pages from the school, but can contribute to limitations due to a one size fits all design and also district policies can contribute to this.

I'm about to be learning how to do a homepage for our library using our district software. The little experience I've had with it to date has shown it to be somewhat limiting. I could not for the life of me figure out how, or get anyone to help me, put a podcast up on the website. I'd have had to link to an external site, which is apparently frowned upon (but I'll find out more about that soon).

I do thing Joyce Valenza has nailed the very basic categories that could be present, and perhaps SHOULD be present on a library website. For my small elementary school I think basic information on the home page as to the days the TL is in the building, the hours of the library, policies and such are important. Even a schedule of what classes are when so parents and students can double-check from home are important.

I think some links to wonderful web resources that our district subscribes to and other reputable resources like the local public library to aid students in their research and studies, as well as teachers for their teaching, would be useful as a one-stop source for reliable information. Of the sites that I investigated I really liked the idea of separating resources in to grade level or primary, lower intermediate, upper intermediate and professional resources using tabs or buttons. This would provide shorter lists for each group, though some of the resources would possibly repeat, especially the lower level students wouldn't need to try and wade through a longer list. For the younger grades especially, icons would be something that I'd like to see so that they can navigate visually rather than having to be able to read.

Our district also just learned a bit about Shelfari, so that is something I could see using for new book purchases, Battle of the Books, Red Cedar or Young Readers' Choice Awards type things ... also linking to personal staff Shelfari to promote the fact that we all read and like a diverse range of material.