The Collection
Our digital collection consists of web-based, interactive learning resources gathered from a variety of outside distributors, vendors, publishers and digital learning companies. A majority of these resources have been purchased with grant funding, while a few are available via the open web.
Although the key theme of the collection is “To Kill a Mockingbird” resources, we have included information on other subjects related to Harper Lee’s novel including banned books, segregation, the death penalty and more. The primary objective of this collection is to attract high-school students to the book by providing a meaningful context to the story.
Selection criteria for this collection includes:
Our selection criteria utilizes elements of a framework designed by the American Library Association’s division of Young Adult Library Services. Their “guidelines” for a virtual space include: Ensuring content, access and use is flexible and adaptive; Ensuring the virtual space reflects 21st century learning standards; and Providing digital resources for teens that meet their unique and specific needs (American Library Association).
Our team recognizes the vast collection of print material already available in the library, and this collection is intended to compliment existing resources. Staff librarians have performed extensive research on a variety of resources and selected only the most meaningful and age-appropriate tools for our high-school students. This collection isn’t an online database portal to wordy encyclopedia entries. It’s specially curated to engage 10th graders, many of whom are underserved academically at school. Although we have kept the collection extremely small in comparison to other databases and learning resources, the scope and breadth of the collection is still quite wide with subject matter ranging from segregation, banned books, the death penalty, vocabulary lists and chapter summaries.
Specific examples and user-functions from the “To Kill a Mockingbird Collection” include (Bolan):
The interface, usability and accessibility of our collection are almost as important as the content itself. Although this aspect is addressed in other sections of our website, it’s important to note that a special emphasis will be placed on helping teens find what they need in as few clicks as possible, browse through resources in a way that feels natural and easy, and to always ensure links and portals are active and up-to-date (Beheshti). After reviewing literature on other web collections for teens, we’ve placed an significance on keeping the collection concise and easily searchable as to not overwhelm a teen user who is a first-time reader of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
The collection is open and accessible to anyone with an internet connection. A secondary goal will focus on providing access through mobile devices and ensuring content is accessible via a variety of web browsers and various plug-ins (Java, Flash, etc.) do not hinder a student’s access to the site.
No library card or identification is needed to gain access. However, staff will track web analytics to understand and better serve our users (Beheshti.) Understanding what pages and resources are most or least viewed will help shape the collection over time. This collection is not meant to be static, it is meant to exemplify web 2.0. The users will ultimately determine what is most useful to them.
A final, key component of this collection is user-support. When teens visit the library’s Youth Center and view the collection, staff on hand with intimate knowledge of the resource can provide guidance for users (Mediavilla.) As collection is also available from home or any computer with an internet connection, an “Online Help” feature can connect remote users to a teen librarian in real-time during set hours each week. To meet the quickly-growing demands of mobile users, a mobile-friendly site is in development.
Text on Collections from Roxana
Sources:
Our digital collection consists of web-based, interactive learning resources gathered from a variety of outside distributors, vendors, publishers and digital learning companies. A majority of these resources have been purchased with grant funding, while a few are available via the open web.
Although the key theme of the collection is “To Kill a Mockingbird” resources, we have included information on other subjects related to Harper Lee’s novel including banned books, segregation, the death penalty and more. The primary objective of this collection is to attract high-school students to the book by providing a meaningful context to the story.
Selection criteria for this collection includes:
- user-centered and interactive tools
- up-to-date, timely and modern resources
- appropriate reading levels
- relevance (i.e. subject coverage of the novel, author biography, banned books, segregation and other social issues)
Our selection criteria utilizes elements of a framework designed by the American Library Association’s division of Young Adult Library Services. Their “guidelines” for a virtual space include: Ensuring content, access and use is flexible and adaptive; Ensuring the virtual space reflects 21st century learning standards; and Providing digital resources for teens that meet their unique and specific needs (American Library Association).
Our team recognizes the vast collection of print material already available in the library, and this collection is intended to compliment existing resources. Staff librarians have performed extensive research on a variety of resources and selected only the most meaningful and age-appropriate tools for our high-school students. This collection isn’t an online database portal to wordy encyclopedia entries. It’s specially curated to engage 10th graders, many of whom are underserved academically at school. Although we have kept the collection extremely small in comparison to other databases and learning resources, the scope and breadth of the collection is still quite wide with subject matter ranging from segregation, banned books, the death penalty, vocabulary lists and chapter summaries.
Specific examples and user-functions from the “To Kill a Mockingbird Collection” include (Bolan):
- Interactive chapter summaries with simplified language and read-aloud functionality.
- Interactive map of banned books in the U.S.
- Games that quiz users on vocabulary or book trivia.
- Videos of students reading chapters or important passages aloud from the book, answering questions and facilitating discussion.
- Wikis featuring information about important characters, social issues, themes and more. A wiki can be edited by anyone so it will take the shape of what users want to know. Librarians will monitor the wiki to ensure it is on topic and appropriate.
- Image galleries with the ability to tag and comment.
- Popular blogs from authors, experts on banned books, and citizens who have experienced segregation in Detroit.
- Forums to ask questions and get answers on a variety of topics.
- Hands-on activities targeted towards users of all reading levels and for single users or larger groups.
- RSS feeds to keep up on new posts and content from any device.
- Folksonomies, tagging and tag clouds enabled throughout the website, with “most popular” tags featured on the homepage.
- Ability to personalize the user experience though a “My Profile” feature. Users can connect with others and arrange the collection to best suit their needs. Users will also receive personalized alerts when new content is added (there is functionality to determine what, if any, alerts are received).
The interface, usability and accessibility of our collection are almost as important as the content itself. Although this aspect is addressed in other sections of our website, it’s important to note that a special emphasis will be placed on helping teens find what they need in as few clicks as possible, browse through resources in a way that feels natural and easy, and to always ensure links and portals are active and up-to-date (Beheshti). After reviewing literature on other web collections for teens, we’ve placed an significance on keeping the collection concise and easily searchable as to not overwhelm a teen user who is a first-time reader of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
The collection is open and accessible to anyone with an internet connection. A secondary goal will focus on providing access through mobile devices and ensuring content is accessible via a variety of web browsers and various plug-ins (Java, Flash, etc.) do not hinder a student’s access to the site.
No library card or identification is needed to gain access. However, staff will track web analytics to understand and better serve our users (Beheshti.) Understanding what pages and resources are most or least viewed will help shape the collection over time. This collection is not meant to be static, it is meant to exemplify web 2.0. The users will ultimately determine what is most useful to them.
A final, key component of this collection is user-support. When teens visit the library’s Youth Center and view the collection, staff on hand with intimate knowledge of the resource can provide guidance for users (Mediavilla.) As collection is also available from home or any computer with an internet connection, an “Online Help” feature can connect remote users to a teen librarian in real-time during set hours each week. To meet the quickly-growing demands of mobile users, a mobile-friendly site is in development.
Text on Collections from Roxana
Sources:
- American Library Association, Young Adult Library Services Association. “National Teen Space Guidelines.” 2012. PDF. <http://www.ala.org/yalsa/guidelines/teenspaces.>
- Beheshti, Jamshid. “Teens, Virtual Environments and Information Literacy.” In Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology. Feb/Mar2012, Vol. 38 Issue 3, p54-57, 4p, 1 Diagram.
- Bolan, Kimberly. “Web, Library, and Teen Services 2.0.” Young Adult Library Services. American Library Association. Winter 2012. p. 40-43.
- Mediavilla, Cindy . “Homework Centers.” In Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition. Taylor and Francis: New York, Published online: 09 Dec 2009; 2153-2157.
- Nahl, Diane. “User-Centered Revolution: 1995–2008.” In Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition. Taylor and Francis: New York, Published online: 09 Dec 2009; 5496-5520.