Being able to manage your online presence is as necessary a job skill in the modern day as being able to present yourself professionally in person. That being said, there is a balance to walk–you want to be professional, but you also want to be welcoming and fun!
One of the websites I explored this week caught my eye immediately. Mashpee Middle High School’s library website uses an interactive virtual environment complete with books, librarian Bitmoji, and more. Beneath those are lots of photos of students with books in the library. These images immediately create a sense of fun and welcoming. We all know how important it is for students to be able to visualize themselves reading, and the combination of virtual environment and real students is engaging and colorful. I notice that the site is a WordPress one as well, which seems very useful for customizing and easy to update (which has been my experience so far on this blog).
The Exeter Junior High School library also uses Bitmojis as icons to help navigate the site, as well as on the home page for fun. I found their site very easy to navigate, which is ideal for junior high students, as well as colorful. It has a very unique sense of identity. I also loved their digital literacy tools, including a video titled 5 Ways to Spot Fake News. These resources are crucial for children growing up in the digital age!
Speaking of unique identity, South Orange Middle School’s library site has tons of personality as well. It seems slightly limited compared to the other websites I viewed–only a few pages, and not very much on them. Aesthetically, it includes the important images of students with books and has a visually appealing layout… But I’m not sure if there’s enough content here. The part of it that I very much enjoyed was the distance learning resources page, which included lots of online resources for students to stay engaged with reading during quarantine restrictions. I also very much enjoyed how the site linked to both their local public library and nearby high school library’s sites; it’s a wonderful promotion and proves that the SOMS librarians are in-touch with their public library’s services as well to best help their students.
July 14, 2020 at 1:55 am
Wow Shannon! We chose to review the same three school libraries! I chose them because I plan to work in a middle school library in the future. What about you?
I agree with so much of your points in your blog. First, the photos of the students were a great addition for students to make a connection and relate. Although, I did notice that SOMS’s site was lacking – especially in juxtaposition to the others. I like how you said it “had personality.” Mashpee and Exeter have an abundance of great links and information (not to mention bitmojis too), so I think those were better. Which was your favorite?
July 14, 2020 at 7:03 pm
I chose them for the same reason, actually. Glad to see someone else going for middle school, I think it’s the rarest desired level among those going for school librarian. I’m also glad you agreed about the SOMS site, it’s good to know I’m not just being extra critical. My favorite was Mashpee because of its use of the bitmoji virtual classroom, super cute and also useful.
July 16, 2020 at 6:25 pm
I didn’t take a good look at the SOMS site when I first looked at it, but I really like the simplicity of it. It’s not as flashy as the others, but I didn’t really feel like any information was lacking. I also appreciate the links to community resources. Librarians can build relationships with outside agencies like the public library to create an even stronger program for their students.