Bookmarks for Librarians' Internet Toolkit for Kids
Courtesy of the infopeople project.

• Use Their Tools! Speak Their Language! by Marc Prensky
• Born with the Chip by Stephen Abram (.pdf)
• The Kids Are Alright: Millennials and their Information Behaviors by Stephen Abram (.ppt)
• Millennials Rising by Neil Howe & William Strauss
• Creating WOW! Library Services for a New Generation by Richard T. Sweeney (.ppt)
• Marketing the Millennials: What They Expect From Their Library Experience by Patricia M. Duck and Randi Koeske (.ppt)
• Serving 'millennials' is new chapter for libraries by Mary Jane Smetanka
• Teaching the Millennials:.One cynical Gen-Xer’s view by Stewart Brower (.ppt)
• NPR: Testing Computer Literacy (audio)

• BestSearchTools Page - Infopeople
  http://infopeople.org/search/tools.html
  Windows for several search engines, metasearch engines, and subject directories all on one page.
• Boolean Tutorial
  http://florin.syr.edu/webarch/searchpro/boolean_tutorial.html
  A detailed explanation on how to construct a search string using the Boolean operators: AND, OR, and NOT,
• Choose the Best Search for Your Information Needs
  http://www.noodletools.com/noodlequest
  Developed by a K-8 librarian, this tool groups search engines for specific purpose such as: improving searches; finding images, quotations, and biographical information. Also features a tutorial.
• Kid's Tools for Searching the Internet
  http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm
  11 search boxes allowing searches of "kid safe" material either from filtering search engine results or using directories of selected sites.
• Search Engines Quick Guide
  http://www.infopeople.org/search/chart.html
  Tips for entering searches in each of the major search engines.
• TekMom's Search Tools for Students
  http://www.tekmom.com/search/
  A collection of Kid-Safe search tools including subject directories and search engines. Topic specific search engines on encyclopedias, dictionaries, image, and maps are also included in the list. This site is nice because you get a little bit of information about each search box.

• Checklist for Evaluating Web Resources
  http://library.usm.maine.edu/guides/webeval.html
  A one page checklist that is useful for middle and high school students.
• Citation Machine
  A fill-in-the blank for formatting bibliographic information. Choose the format, then fill in the information and the citation will be formatted in either MLA or /APA style. Then the text can be copied and pasted into a word processing document.
• Cornette Library: Web Guides: Citing Internet Resources
  http://www.wtamu.edu/library/webguides/citingweb.shtml
  Provides a list of Web sites that feature directions and examples for citing Internet sources in APA, MLA, Turabian and other bibliographic styles.
• ICYouSee: T is for Thinking
  http://www.ithaca.edu/library/Training/hott.html
  Practical help for evaluating Web sites from the Ithaca College Library.
• Kathy Schrock's ABC's of Web Site Evaluation
  http://kathyschrock.com/abceval/index.htm
  A site that can be used as a tutorial. Features criteria for evaluating web pages and links to web pages to illustrate each criteria.
• The Quality Information Checklist
  http://www.quick.org.uk/menu.htm
  A site from the UK that steps kids through an evaluation process for web pages. Suitable for kids grades 2-8.
• TekMom's Citation Page
  http://www.tekmom.com/cite/index.html
  Clear directions, with examples, on the correct format for citing research sources.

• Ask Jeeves for Kids
  http://www.ajkids.com/
  The popular natural-lanugage service designed for kids.
• Awesome Library - K-12 Education Directory
  http://www.awesomelibrary.org/
  The Awesome Library organizes your exploration of the World Wide Web. It contains 14,000 carefully reviewed resources, including the top 5 percent in education. Started from a U.S. Department of Education project in 1995.
• Berit's Best Sites for Children
  http://www.beritsbest.com/
  Berit's Best Sites for Children lists a thousand top-notch fun and educational sites.
• Blue Web'n
  http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/
  Blue Web'n is an online library of 1947 outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (tools, references, lessons, hotlists, resources, tutorials, activities, projects). You can search by grade level (Refined Search), broad subject area (Content Areas), or specific sub-categories (Subject Area). Each week 5 new sites are added.
• Education World
  http://www.educationworld.com
  Claims to have a data base of 500,000 safe web sites. The subject directory is at the bottom of the home page.
• Great Sites from ALA
  http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/amazing.html
  700+ great sites compiled by the Children and Technology Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.
• IPL Teen Division
  http://www.ipl.org/teen/
  This section of the Internet Public Library focuses on teen interests.
• IPL Youth Division
  http://www.ipl.org/youth/
  Internet Public Library Youth links.
• Kid Info
  http://www.kidinfo.com/SchoolSubjects.html
  This site, developed by a classroom teacher, is organized into 12 subject areas, and includes sections for reference resources, search engines and fun sites.
• KidsClick! Web Search
  http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/
  Over 5000 evaluated sites in this directory. KidsClick! was created by a group of librarians at the Ramapo Catskill Library System and is modeled after the Librarians' Index to the Internet but with the focus on kids.
• Librarians' Index to the Internet - www.lii.org
  An excellent subject directory that includes resources from the "Invisible Web". Though not designed with kids in mind, the links in this subject directory are chosen and annotated by librarians. If your first results aren't satisfactory, try to broaden your search strategy.
• Multnomah County Library - Homework Center
  http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us/lib/homework/
  The Multnomah County Library Homework Center, an Internet subject directory, consists of Web sites and web pages that specifically concentrate on K-12, homework-related subjects. Web resources included on this site are reviewed by librarians from Multnomah County Library.
• Surf the Net with Kids Archive
  http://www.surfnetkids.com/
  Welcome parents, kids, teens, grandparents, K-12 teachers, librarians and the incurably curious. I am Barbara J. Feldman, a syndicated newspaper columnist, mother, wife and Net surfer supreme (not listed in order of importance, of course).
• Yahooligans!
  http://www.yahooligans.com/
  Yahoo's directory for kids.

• All The Web
• AltaVista
• Google
• MSN
• A9.com
• Vivisimo
• Yahoo! Search

Homework/School Assignment Sites

• AltaVista Translations
  http://babelfish.altavista.com/
  Translates in 7 different languages.
• American Memory from the Library of Congress
  http://memory.loc.gov/
  Digital collection of photographs, documents, sound recordings, movies--over 7 million U.S.historical items.
• Biography.com
  http://biography.com
  A searchable data base of 25,000 biographies of famous people sponsored by A&E Television. Search by name and ethnicity.
• CIA -- The World Factbook
  http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
  Country facts from the CIA
• Dino Directory
  http://flood.nhm.ac.uk/cgi-bin/dino
  From the Natural History Museum in London, a database for dinosaurs accessed through an A-Z index, country, size of dinosaur, and time period. Provides brief information for each animal: meaning and pronunciation of the name; taxonomy; period; size; diet; location. Click on the black and white image to access a full color picture.
• 50 States and Capitals
  http://www.50states.com/
  Links to information on each of the 50 states which may include: state bird, flower, song, tourism, size, population, political representatives and more.
• HomeworkSpot.com: Homework Help, Science Fair Project Ideas, Math Help, Homework Helper
  Organized by grade level: elementary, middle, and high school. Includes reference links to other homework sites, and links for parents and teachers. Other features include: thematic collections; virtual field trips, and activities such as SAT practice.
• IPL--Literary Criticism
  http://ipl.si.umich.edu/div/litcrit
  Besides literary criticism, this site features biographical information for American and British authors. Links organized by author's last name; title; or literary period.
• IPL POTUS -- Presidents of the United States
  http://www.ipl.org/ref/POTUS/
  This site provides not only biographical information for U.S. Presidents, but also election results, the cabinents, some original documents, and sound files.
• IPRC Infosite - www.drugs.indiana.edu
  Information about drugs, including alcohol and tobacco. Also a section on drug related issues such as: drug testing, legal issues, and work place issues.
• Freevibe
  http://www.freevibe.com
  From the Office of National Drug Control Policy, this visually appealing site designed for teens offers interactive activities and games. Includes a bulletin board area where teens can share information, and descriptions and slang terms for drugs.
• Mythography--Exploring Greek, Roman and Celtic Myths and Art
  http://www.loggia.com/myth/myth.html
  Includes both information and examples of art; definition of terms, and bibliography of print resources. Unfortunately, this site loads very slowly.
• NewsLink-newslink.org
  U.S. newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV. Newspapers organized by state as well as national titles. Magazines sorted by these categories: popular; news/opinion; business/professional; computing; entertainment; and lifestyle.
• The Nine Planets
  http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/
  The Nine Planets is an overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of each of the planets and moons in our solar system. Each page has text and images, some have sounds and movies, most provide references to additional related information.
• SIECUS
  http://www.siecus.org/index.html
  This site is maintained and sponsored by SIECUS (Sexuality, Information and Education Council of the United States), an organization whose goal is to provide information and education about sexuality. Curriculum resources (School Health Education Clearinghouse button) are included as well as a separate section for teens. Just click on the "For Teens" button.
• Successful Science Fair Projects
  http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/fair.html
  Outlines the process kids would use to create a science fair project.

Maps and Images

• AltaVista - Image Results
  http://www.altavista.com/http://www.altavista.com/image/default?avkw=rftc
  Alta Vista Image finder search form.
• CIM | Copyright Implementation Manual
  http://groton.k12.ct.us/mts/cimhp01.htm
  Designed for librarians, students and teachers for the purpose of explaining the fair use of copyrighted resources.
• DiscoverySchool's Clip Art Gallery
  http://school.discovery.com/clipart/
  Hundred of orignial clip art images arranged by subject. Also includes suggestion of how to use clip art and instructions for copying, downloading and pasting.
• Google Image Search
  http://google.com/imghp?h=en
  Easy to use, Google's image finder boasts over 330 million images. Advanced features offer limiting by size, file type, and domain. A filter for "mature" content is the default.
• Multimedia Fair Use Guidelines (CCUMC)
  http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/ccmcguid.htm#2
  Guidelines developed during the Conference on Fair Use. This page outlines when and for how long students and teachers may use digital images from the Internet in their educational projects.
• PCL Map of the World Collection
  http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/Map_collection.html
  Most useful for the historical maps this site features.
• Pics4Learning
  http://pics.tech3learning.com/
  A site offering free photographs that are arranged by subject categories. Because the images are donated by teachers, students and photographers, the images are free of copyright restrictions. Also includes lesson plans for using photos.
• World Atlas.com
  http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/world.htm
  Countries of the world: maps, flags, information, weather, local time and date.
• Xpeditions @ nationalgeographic.com
  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/
  Black and white maps printed in either in PDF or GIF format from this site. Includes detailed lesson plans and activities for the classroom. The list of geographic links selected for being the best online sites for teaching geography for kindergarten through college level students.

Fun for Kids

• FunBrain.com - The Internet's #1 Education Site for K-8 Kids and Teachers
  http://www.funbrain.com/
  Links to games organized by age and categories: Numbers; Words; Universe, and Culture. Click on "Search for Games". Can search by subject: History, Math, Language Arts, Science, Music, Geography, and Art.
• IPL KidSpace
  http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/browse/fun4000
  This list of links is geared more toward educational type activities. Short annotations for each web site.
• KidsClick! Online Games - http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/searchkids.pl?searchtype=subject&keywords=online+games&title=Online+Games
  Over 100 links to online games listed in alphabetical order by title. Includes brief annotation and indicates reading level.
• KidsPage! Games
  http://www.multcolib.org/kids/games.html
  Developed by librarians from Multnomah County Library, the games are organized under these categories: arcade; word; brain teasers and riddles. Includes a section for preschool and kindergarten children such as: matching; alphabet & numbers; coloring; and animals.

Ask Expert Sites

• Ask An Expert Page
  http://njnie.dl.stevens-tech.edu/askanexpert.html
  From New Jersey Networking Infrastructure in Education. Links to people that can be emailed for answers to questions in specific subject categories. There is a commercial version of this "Ask an Expert" site from Pitsco.
• Ask Dr. Math
  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
  Ask Dr. Math is a question and answer service for K-12 math students and their teachers. A searchable archive is available by level and topic
• The MAD Scientist Network
  http://www.madsci.org/
  The MAD Scientist Network is a collective cranium of scientists providing answers to your questions. For good measure we provide a variety of oddities and other ends as well."

Reference

• Bartleby.com: Great Books Online
  http://www.bartleby.com/index.html
  Searchable site for books on English language usage, quotations, and other popular reference works as well as works of verse, fiction and nonfiction from well-known great authors.
• Britannica.com
  http://www.britannica.com/
  The full online version of this Encyclopedia Britannica is only available through a subscription. However, this version still provides a wealth of reliable information.
• Fact Monster
  http://www.factmonster.com
  This is the kids' portion of the Information Please Web site. It offers access to dictionaries, today in history, word of the day, sports, people and homework help. Lots of "safe" information that's offered by the Infoplease people as well as links to reviewed Web sites.
• KnowPlay
  http://www.kplay.cc/reference.html
  This ready reference site features five sections: Reference (dictionary, thesaurus; quotations, rhyming, etc.); People (locates e-mail and phone information); Maps (driving directions); Local (movie and dining guide, weather, city guides, elected officials, and a pollution report, all of which are searched by zip code.
• iTools
  http://www.iTools.com/research-it/research-it.html
  A one-stop reference page with links to search engines, dictionaries, encyclopedias, currency convertor, driving directions, and Internet technical tools.

Tutorials

• APlus Research & Writing for High School and College Students Home Page
  http://www.ipl.org/teen/aplus
  Developed by the Internet Public Library, this site is aimed at high school and college students. Includes a step by step guide to reseaching and writing a paper; how to find information on both the Internet and a library; and links to other online resources for research and writing.
• TILT
  http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/nf/intro/internet.htm
  TILT(Texas Information Literacy Tutorial) is designed for first year college students, but is certainly appropriate for high school students. The purpose is for students to learn research skills by completing three online modules.
• Tutorials at HTML Goodies
  http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/
  For students who want to create their own web pages using HTML. A comprehensive tutorial beginning with the basics and covering everything else including how to register a web site with search engines.
• Web Search Strategies
  http://home.sprintmail.com/~debflanagan/main.html
  A clear, well-organized tutorial site that provides practice for search engine techniques. Describes the differences between a search engine and a subject directory.
• Webmonkey For Kids
  http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/kids/
  Developed by Lycos, includes a step by step process for creating web pages. For teachers, a guide to structuring lessons incorporating the teaching of designing and creating web pages.

Sites to Know for Education

• Book Talks--Quick and Simple
  http://www.nancykeane.com/booktalks
  Features author, title, subject and interest level indices; online book review sources; FAQs; and booktalking tips.
• History Channel.com
  http://www.historychannel.com/
  Many different features on this web site including: message boards, searchable databases, forums, speech archives, interactive timeline and other specialized content. Suitable for grade 6-12 students and teachers.
• Internet History Sourcebook Project
  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall
  Primary source documents organized by three main time periods: Ancient; Medieval; Modern. Features links to historical texts in the public domain or free of copyright restrictions. Also, links to other web sites that feature historical documents.
• The Learning Page...especially for teachers
  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/index.html
  Offers lessons that use primary source materials for American history. The materials were culled from the American Memory collection.
• NARA--Digital Classroom
  http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/index.html
  From the National Archives of the United States, many resources for teachers including lesson plans that are connected to National History Standards, and activities to introduce students to the concept and use of primary source documents. Also offers worksheets for analizing different formats such as photos, cartoons, sound recordings, etc.
• Recommended Literature: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve
  http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/literature/index.html
  An annotated list of titles recommended by the California Department of Education. Click on "Search List" to search by author, title, grade level span, language, culture, genre, classification, curriculum connection or award.
• S.C.O.R.E.
  http://www.score.k12.ca.us/
  SCORE (Schools of California Online Resources for Educators), organized into the four core subject areas, Mathematics, Science, History/Social Science, and Language Arts, includes links to California State Standards and Frameworks. Each subject section is searchable and includes lesson plans and other resources. Lessons, written by teachers, indicate grade level, and are connected to Calif. Standards.
• A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust
  http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/
  Site organized by timeline, people and the arts relating to events leading up to and including the holocaust. Includes primary source material, lessons (organized by grade level), and other activities.
• U.S. Historical Documents Archive
  Selected original documents organized by time period and type (speeches & songs; inaugural & farewell addresses; state of the union speeches).
• The WebQuest Page
  http://webquest.sdsu.edu/webquest.html
  WebQuest is a model for student Internet research projects. Teachers use this model to encourage students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information while completing a project .
• YALSA - Booklists
  http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Our_Association/Divisions/YALSA/Bookli sts_and_Book_Awards/Booklists_and_Book_Awards.htm
  Book lists compiled by YALSA featuring award winning titles as well as other categories to help librarians, teachers, and others select appropriate titles for young adults. Includes lists for annual award winning titles, reluctant readers, and college bound students.

Keeping Current

• Search Engine Watch: Tips About Internet Search Engines & Search Engine Submission
  http://searchenginewatch.com/
  Tips and information about searching the web and articles about search engines. Offers a free newsletter.

K12 Librarians Mailing Lists

• Childlit
  http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~mjoseph/childlit/about.html
  Child_Lit is an unmoderated discussion group convened for the express purpose of examining the theory and criticism of literature for children and young adults.
• PUBYAC
  http://www.pallasinc.com/pubyac/
  PUBYAC is an Internet discussion list concerned with the practical aspects of Children and Young Adult Services in Public Libraries, focusing on programming ideas, outreach and literacy programs for children and caregivers, censorship and policy issues, collection development, administrative considerations, puppetry, job openings, professional development and other pertinent services and issues.
• Stumpers-L
  http://domin.dom.edu/depts/gslis/stumpers/
  STUMPERS-L is a networking resource for reference questions that have people stumped. It is assumed that all questions posted to this list have been thoroughly researched through the usual sources; library, specialists, other Internet resources, etc. There is a searchable archive.

Web site updates

• Librarians' Index to the Internet
  http://lii.org/search/file/mailinglist
  Subscribe to a weekly annotated list of Web sites selected by librarians.
• Network Nuggets Subscription Information
  http://www.cln.org/lists/nuggets/subscribe.
  Subscribe to a weekly thematic list of Web sites selected by this Canadian educational Web site.

Graphic Novels

• Comic Books for Young Adults
  http://ublib.buffalo.edu/lml/comics/pages
  Designed to introduce librarians, teachers, and parents to the benefits of comic books. Includes recommended titles, a list of publishers, and Internet resources as well as other information.
• The Librarian's Guide to Anime and Manga
  http://www.koyagi.com/Libguide.html
  Defines "anime" and "manga "and includes recommended titles for these two formats.
• Recommended Graphic Novels for Public Librarians
  http://my.voyager.net/~sraiteri/graphicnovels.htm
  Compiled by a public librarian in Ohio.
• Artbomb.net: A Graphic Novel
  http://www.artbomb.net/home.jsp
  Defines graphic novels (graphically), and features reviews for graphic novels. Click on "BROWSE BOOKS" to select a category, and then on a title for a short review. Reviews of graphic novels with a section for "kid friendly" novels, and a subject index.
• No Flying, No Tights: A Website Reviewing Graphic Novels for Teens
  http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/publish/rebrennr/304LE/gn/
  A web site that reviews novels for teens.