Virtual Library Research Paper

Component 1 PGE #2 Virtual librarian In a time of ever diminishing funding for print resources that significantly contrasts to the ever-increasing knowledge base, librarians can directly address these burgeoning current needs by building their own virtual libraries. Creating a virtual library is one of the main outreach vehicles connecting the school to the greater school community. After our library portal went online its traffic statistics have marked exponential growth; and, the degree to which the site supports the efficient functioning of the school as a whole has mirrored this growth. This PGE component will cover the broad range of possibilities I have both encountered and embraced along the journey. As teachers and library

Students have at their disposal, a greater range of resources than ever before. The KMS virtual library, since it's inception, has been on the first page, #2 and #3 in a Google search for “middle school virtual library”. This demonstrates the successful community outreach and usage of the web site. The web site is a repository of links to a broadly diverse collection of information for use by the whole community. Modern library resources include a whole range of elements, many listed in both Student and Teacher Tools, from ebooks, to academic databases, to course enhancement platforms, providing students with a place to learn new skills and to apply their learning in interactive ways. Available on the home page are direct links to grades, credit recovery classes for students who have fallen behind, various online learning web sites, specific pre-screened links for individual subject study, a cataloged list of all the books in the KMS library collection, a broad array of Student (and Teacher) Tools that are in use daily, etc. The site is very active and can and is modified with little notice for specific

This mission is accomplished by providing intellectual and physical access to materials in all formats, by providing instruction to foster competence and stimulate interest in reading, viewing, and using information and ideas, and by working with other educators to design learning strategies to meet the needs of individual students. A school virtual library is meant to engage students and to provide them with skills necessary to effectively function in academic life so that students can learn to independently research and expand their reading and writing via virtual library resources. Materials are selected to meet the wide range of students individual learning styles. Information literacy is a key component of, and contributor to, lifelong learning. Information competency and literacy extends learning beyond formal classroom settings and provides practice with self-directed investigations as individuals move into internships, first professional positions, and increasing responsibilities in all arenas of life. Because information literacy augments students’ competency with evaluating, managing, and using information, it is now considered by several regional and discipline-based accreditation associations as a key outcome for