Chat Room - It's Not Rocket Science

For some reason, when it comes to creating and maintaining Web sites, librarians often don't act like librarians. In fact, many library sites' lists of links to other Web sites are disorganized and lack sufficient information. Below is an example of an all- too-typical page of links for elementary- and middle school-age kids:

Science Sites

Beakman & Jax

NOVA Online

Model Rocket Slides

The Pulley

Einstein—Image and Impact

Derived from an actual list of entries on a library site, the above links resemble a pile of old paperbacks in a thrift store. Would we want our shelves of books to look this haphazard? Here are some suggestions to make your lists of links to Web sites more useful for students and teachers:

• Alphabetize. It seems almost too obvious to mention, but links should be listed in alphabetical order. If a list is broken into topics, alphabetize the topics, and then alphabetize by title the sites within each topic.
• Use the correct title. In the sample list above, "Model Rocket Slides" (www.lerc.nasa.gov/Other_Groups/k-12/airplane/shortr.html) links to a page in the middle of a science site. The actual title of the page, taken from the phrase within the page's <title> tags, is "Short Index of Model Rocket Slides." The neatnik in you may want to shorten a site or page's title, but resist the temptation: it's the equivalent of changing the title of Judith Viorst's famous picture book to Alexander's Bad Day.
• Identify important information in your link. The "Short Index of Model Rocket Slides" page is even more complex than it seems at first glance. The header at the top of the page reads "Glenn Learning Technologies Project," and the URL, or Web address, identifies it as part of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) site. It's only after some exploring that you discover that this page is buried in the site for NASA's Learning Technologies Project in general, and the space agency's Glenn Learning Technologies Project in particular. To be bibliographically responsible, as well as to model information literacy skills for students, this information should be included. But how?
• Annotate every link and include the Web address. Every library Web site should develop its own style sheet—that is, a document that shows staffers how to present information in a consistent, accessible manner.

Let's apply these guidelines to the "Model Rocket Slides" link:

Short Index of Model Rocket Slides (NASA Glenn Learning Technologies Project)

www.lerc.nasa.gov/Other_Groups/k-12/airplane/ shortr.html Part of a NASA education project, this list of links offers quick access to a wealth of information on model rocketry, including software that enables students to create and "fly" virtual model rockets.

The title of the revised entry now doubles as the link, it includes the source of the project and the name of the agency that created the site. The annotation doesn't need to be more than a few words, but the brief description should answer two fundamental questions: What will I find if I visit the site? What makes the site unique, or different from the other sites included in this list?

We'd all like to believe that once library users leave the library, they'll go to our Web site and click on a link. But students often forget or get distracted. But if you add the URL to the link, students can print out a page of annotated Web addresses, take the lists back to their classrooms and type the URLs into their Web browsers.

Let's face it; for many students, research is a struggle. Although they zip to the Net terminals when assignments need to be done, the information they need from those terminals often evades them. A well-designed page of links customized to their assignments and appropriate for their developmental levels may be one of the best services you can provide.