SLJ's "Surf For" Columnist Speaks
By Gail Junion-Metz -- School Library Journal, 4/1/1997
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When I agreed to write SLJ's "Surf For" column I asked myself and SLJ staffers what the column's focus should be. We decided that "Surf For" should be an "awareness guide" to Web sites. Each month I include short descriptions of good sites related to a specific theme for kids (such as "Fun Stuff" back in July 1996) or for librarians and teachers (such as elementary school resources in March 1997). In other words, I see "Surf For" as more of a "here-are-numerous-sites-to-evaluate-yourself" column rather than one that uses lots of space to describe and evaluate just a few. (See April 1997's column on college and career sites.)
Each month I go through an informal evaluative process when deciding what to include. Kids' sites with truly age-appropriate content rank right at the top of my list. I also look at the reading level of the text, the friendliness of the graphics, the simplicity of the structure, and how quickly the site loads on older computers, common in many schools and libraries. (I've seen too many so-called kids' sites that make kids struggle to find what they're searching for. I don't include those.)
I make it a habit to choose a few good "places-to-start-looking" sites for each column. When there are so many Web sites on a topic, listing a few large "starter" sites with lots of links is a wonderful way to get readers to search further.
I'm on the lookout for sites that take advantage of the unique search capabilities of the Web and make the content "bloom" for staff and kids. I also like to highlight sites whose curriculum-based content can be keyword-searched, or that contains content not yet available in print.
Finally, I like to spotlight sites that make me smile when I discover them. So many that I access are dull, boring, and not creative. When I see sites that kids would love (the kid in me is alive and well) or that provide content for staff in some new or creative way, I include them. Most of my "smile" sites are just plain good. They'd get high scores using the criteria that Ann Symons outlines.
back to main article: Sizing Up Sites
