Site of the Month-The Well-Connected Library
Walter Minkel -- School Library Journal, 3/1/2001
Lawrence (KS) High School Library
Lawrence , KS, is the childhood home of poet Langston Hughes and the site of the University of Kansas and the Haskell Indian Nation's University. It is also the home of the Lawrence High School (LHS) Library, the first school library in Kansas to automate, back in the '60s. The LHS Web site, under the guidance of librarians Martha Oldham (moldham@usd497.org) and Arla Jones (arlakan@usd497.org), is filled with great resources for its students.
Points of Interest: The home page links to book reviews written by students and a "bibliography guide" with sites that help students write papers. "Teacher Picks" lets faculty share their favorite books with students, and the "Helplines/Hotlines" page lists the kinds of community resources that other high schools might shun, such as the contact numbers for Alateen and for Passages, a gay/lesbian/bisexual youth group in Kansas City.
School News: The Web site often acts like a newspaper for students. "Our public-relations program includes posters, trivia contests and bookmark contests, puzzles, and honors to our students. We carry our digital camera everywhere," says Oldham. "We want our students to think the library is a 'cool' place to be, [and] our circulation statistics have improved 158 percent in the last three years." Jones and Oldham emphasize that parents are also familiar with their site. "We publish Web information in all of the newsletters that go home," Jones says.
Newbery News: The library took the spotlight recently when Arla Jones served as a member of the 2001 Newbery Medal Committee. When the awards were announced, a story about Jones appeared in the local newspaper. The site also featured a slide show of Jones giving a presentation to a sixth-grade class about the Newberys, one of many she gave last year. Oldham says: "We feel that it is important for everyone (students included) to see who decides what books get awards, instead of some anonymous 'academy' like the Oscars."
