Our school has a website, Facebook page, and Twitter account, but all of these are run by our Communications department and staff don’t have a lot of input into this. As a department, we use Destiny to share out our databases and to create collections of resources, but it is very limited in what we can share (only our resources and databases we use) and the look and layout. And although collections are great, I find it very cumbersome for community members to have to search through. Plus, we have no way of sharing news or upcoming events with the community.
We know most people want to have an easy search for information and this is where I think a library website is critical. Community members shouldn’t have to read a message sent to them and then click links to different pages to get everything they are looking for. A library website would create a ‘one stop shop’ that has all of our information together, in a visually appealing and dynamic way.
Share books within the collection (Screenshot taken from Scotch libraries)
Using Symbaloo to share databases and online links (screenshot of ZIS Research Hub page)
Clear headings with drop downs so the pages isn't too cluttered (screenshot from Brisbane Grammar School)
We have had a subscription to Libguides for a couple of years, but it was only used in our high school. Our upper Primary/ Middle School Librarian has begun developing pages for the classes she works with and my goal is to develop this for my students as well as the parent community. This will be a site that will need regular updates, but I think that if I can get the framework going this year, it will be something I can maintain going forward. This week I have been looking at different school library websites to consider what I think is most important to share with my patrons and ways to layout the site. I’ve also begun watching the tutorial videos on Libguides to learn how to use the site.
For now, I know that I want to include the following on my pages:
New books that have been purchased as well as book recommendation pages (to go along with our paper brochures)
Links to databases that we use
Information about our space )our hours, what we offer, etc) and catalogue (how to access it, set up a family account, how to videos for using the accounts).
When relevant, links to websites or resources that support a current unit of study.
Eventually, I want to include news that highlights events we have had/ upcoming events, as well as highlight learning that has been taking place in the space. I’m also thinking about how to share teaching resources with staff so that they also begin to use the site. It is going to take time to set up, but I think if I can get the main framework set up, I can continuously develop the site into something the community goes to first when looking for information about our library.
References:
Banks, Marcus (2017, December 19). Ten reasons libraries are still better than the internet. American libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/12/19/ten-reasons-libraries-still-better-than-internet/
Brisbane Grammar School (2022, March 18). Library: Home. BGS library. Connecting learning and ideas. https://libguides.brisbanegrammar.com/libraryhome
Harker Libraries (2022, March 18). Lower school library. https://library.harker.org/lowerlibrary
Inter-Community School Zurich (2022, February 28). Learning resources home. https://icsz.libguides.com/c.php?g=662718
Scotch College. Middle library - reading. Library.Scotch. https://library.scotch.wa.edu.au/middle/reading
Shekou International School (2022, March 2). Online reading: Home. https://sis-cn.libguides.com/onlinereading
Springshare. Get help with libguides, cms, & e-reserves. https://ask.springshare.com/libguides/
Zurich International School (2021, October 5). ZIS ls research hub: Home. https://libguides.zis.ch/research
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteThis is such an amazing idea to undertake. It sounds like the library website will be such a powerful learning tool. It might be neat to consider from the very beginning how students can contribute to the creation of content for the website. My guess is that there are many students who may not be traditional library users that would be very eager to help with this project. Cheers,
Soren
That's an interesting idea Soren and I will pass it on to our Upper Primary/ Middle School and high School Librarians. As I don't work with these students or even connect with the HS in any way, I don't know what's possible, but I know there has been some movement to have them more involved in the library.
DeleteYou have a strong foundation here for your final project. You have identified a need and considered a responsive format to serve your school community. I appreciate your goal of getting the main framework set up now and over time creating plans for continuous development. A website is a living document. Getting it built is a huge first step. Understanding that it will continue to develop will ensure that it remains current and relevant to the needs of your community. You are doing important work. Can’t wait to see the results!
ReplyDeleteHello Darcy,
ReplyDeleteYes, the huge amount of time needed to first set it up is the reason we don't have anything beyond Destiny in the first place, so I am excited to be able to make this a focus. It is one of the things I think we need the most, but have been overwhelmed with everything else we need to do in a shirt-staffed library. I really hope this first step gets us on track to make it a focus.