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December, 1998
Internet Public Library
http://ipl.sils.umich.edu/
GRADE LEVEL: K-12+  |
CONTENT:
The Internet Public Library is an important site for educators. It includes extensive directories of online texts, newspapers, magazines, reference materials; plus an exhibit hall and other special sections.
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AESTHETICS:
The site has an interesting variety of layouts. Each section has its own flavor. The reference section is practical and organized. The pages in the exhibit hall are full of graphics. The youth and teen areas are more casual and fanciful. The site is fun to explore.
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ORGANIZATION:
The site is well-organized with simple navigational links at the bottom of most of the pages. The different sections often have more advanced navigational sidebars to help you get around that area. It's a big site and they've done a phenomenal job of keeping it easy to navigate.
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REVIEW:
The Internet Public Library (IPL) is a product of the School of Information and Library Studies at the University of Michigan. It was begun as a graduate seminar in 1995 and has grown into an enduring presence on the web! The original purpose of IPL was to create a virtual public library to serve the World Wide Web. Click on the New Media Fiction Collection to peruse a set of links to sites that take advantage of the Internet's interactivity and multimedia capabilities! This area is navigable by topic or title. Check out the Science Fair Project Resource Guide for a well-researched list of links that offer help and advice about how to put together a winning project. The Reference Collection is an indexed set of links on the World Wide Web that covers a wide variety of research topics. Be sure to explore the Reading Room. Here you'll find online texts, magazines, and serials. You can access this area either by clicking on Collections or by finding the individual sub listings below it. Also in this submenu is the link to Exhibits, which houses a collection of displays and exhibits submitted by the public. There's some good stuff in here. More good stuff can be found in the Teen and Youth sections of the site. Just click on the either of the icons on the home page and you'll find a gateway into some excellent kid's resources. This site is one of those sites that can be useful in just about any classroom K to post-grad, but that's how libraries are supposed to be, isn't it?
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