I had some trouble finding examples of school library websites that I was excited about. I did manage to find a few, but more often I found websites that had pieces I really liked. I am planning to use Weebly to make my website. It seems to be the one that I can play with the most. I'm a little concerned the website is going to end up looking dry based on what I see with the examples I've found. However, that will just have to be up to me to create a fun and inviting website.
My favorite website example I found was this one http://parkviewlibrary.weebly.com/ because it was bright and colorful. I found the mix of so many different apps on the home page to be very confusing, but I loved the map of "Who in the World is Visiting the Library Today?" and that it separated out the different grade levels. I think it could have done a better job of organizing the links on the home page and on the grade level pages.
On this website http://valenciahighlibrary.weebly.com/, I really like the section on the front page that highlights new books that are available. That is something my librarian is planning to do next year in the actual library, but it would be nice for the students to be able to check those out online as well.
Except for the opening wordle on the home page, this website (http://salisburyelementaryschoollibrary.weebly.com/) isn't all that exciting. However, it is very well organized and offers a lot of good information. This website (http://ensignschoollibrary.weebly.com/) also offers a large variety of well-organized information. Both of these last 2 websites have an added piece of a personal touch from the librarian. The wordle on the home page of the first one is nice. On the second page, the librarian invites everyone in anytime for a chat and offers her own favorite websites on the home page.
The websites you chose are full of great ideas. I totally with you about the variety of apps on the homepage on the Parkview website being a bit confusing or jumbled looking, yet as a teacher of first graders I love this. First graders quickly learn to identify the icons of the apps they are interested in and this type of page is so user friendly. By having the apps that the young ones would need on the front page, I feel like more students would be inclined to use them and the parents of young children would be more likely to encourage their children to visit the library site. So much depends on the background of the students and the age of the students. Still we are faced with a not-so-attractive home page. I'm not sure how to remedy that.
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