Web Site of the Month: Vancouver Public Library Kids' Site

www.vpl.vancouver.bc.ca/branches/LibrarySquare/kids/home.html

Every successful public library youth services site serves several audiences—parents, teachers, and the kids of various ages themselves—and Vancouver (BC) Public Library (VPL) has provided something for each of them. The VPL Kids' site includes links and library service information for adults, and a well-designed selection of links for kids and teens, along with a library tutorial aimed at giving students basic information literacy skills.

Hot Links: The VPL site, which began in 1996 as a list called Hot Links, was redesigned in 2001 into its current form, which uses templates for the pages. This enables staff—primarily Yukiko Tosa (yukiktos@vpl.ca), the children's AV/technology librarian—to add new links and remove old ones easily. Within the links lists, Canadian Web sites are indicated with a Canadian flag icon.

Skills Tutorial: The site recently launched a library skills tutorial (click on "Library Info" to access it). With Canadian school libraries so poorly funded and understaffed, the tutorial was developed at the request of teachers who want their students to get a leg up on research, and provides an introduction to information literacy skills.