MEDIA ALERT
Joyce Kelly (jkelly@ala.org)
Mon, 1 Dec 1997 14:44:31 -0500
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 14:44:31 -0500
Message-Id: <199712011946.OAA22673@comet.connix.com>
From: Joyce Kelly <jkelly@ala.org> (by way of mgolrick@sclc.org (Michael A. Golrick))
To: Multiple recipients of list <conntech>
Subject: MEDIA ALERT
American Library Association
Public Information Office
Contact: Joyce Kelly/Linda Wallace
312-280-5043 or 5042
For Release:
December 1, 1997
American Library Association unveils
"cybercollection" of 700+ sites for kids
(Washington, D.C.) -- The American Library Association (ALA)
has launched a new "cybercollection" of links to more than 700 fun,
exciting and useful Web sites for children and their grown-ups.
The "Great Sites" were unveiled today at the Internet/Online
Summit: Focus on Children, a first-ever summit of industry leaders,
educators, librarians, law enforcement officials and family advocates to
focus on enhanced education and safety of children in cyberspace.
ALA's site was featured as an example of the kinds of support
increasingly available for children and adults at libraries across the
nation. The full name is Great Sites: Amazing, Spectacular, Mysterious,
Wonderful Web Sites for Kids and the Adults Who Care About Them.
The site can be found on the association's Web page at
http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/amazing.html.
"This is what librarians do best," says ALA president Barbara J.
Ford. "We help kids connect to quality resources -- only today it's not just
books. The Internet is an exciting new tool that helps us offer both global
reach and local touch."
Links include sites ranging from the Negro Baseball Leagues and
the Electronic Zoo to a Club Girl Tech Game Cafe and the Titanic.
Subjects include standards like the arts, history and science, along with
dinosaurs, games and other kid favorites. Special features include a
Spanish language collection and sites of special interest to parents,
educators, homeschoolers and caregivers. There are links to the Library
of Congress and a growing number of libraries throughout the U.S.
Steven Herb, immediate past president of the Association for
Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library
Association, served as project coordinator. He said selection criteria for
the "Great Sites" combine professional evaluation techniques used by
librarians with new criteria that address the special characteristics of
cyberspace. The criteria, posted on the site, provide helpful insights for
librarians, parents, educators and others on what makes a good Web
site.
The sites were selected by the Children and Technology
Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children. Members
are: Alan Bern, Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library; Jane Botham, Milwaukee
Public Library; Roxanne Hsu Feldman, New York Public Library; Christine
Ginsberg, Darien (Conn.) Public Library; Julie James, Kansas City (Mo.)
Public Library; Monique King, Benicia (Calif.) Public Library, chair; Walter
Minkel, Multnomah County Library, Portland, Ore.; Kay Vandergrift,
Rutgers University (N.J.); and Eliza Dresang, Florida State University,
Tallahassee, ALSC board liaison.
The "700+ Great Sites" builds on a list of 50+ Great Sites for Kids
and Parents that ALA published in June as part of the "Librarian's Guide
to Cyberspace for Parents for Kids." An index of resources for parents
and children, including lists of award-winning books and other materials,
can be found on the ALA Web page at http://www.ala.org/parents/.
For more information, contact the American Library Association,
Public Information Office, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Telephone:
312-280-5044. Fax: 312-944-8520. E-mail: pio@ala.org.
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