Database Reflection
Rockport Heights Elementary: This is my school's library, and from an outsider's view point it provides very little information or resources to students. There are no listed databases or directions for students to follow. There is a link that will take students and staff to Destiny Discover, however, they will then need login information and most students do not know or have this accessible outside of school. During the school year students have Chromebooks and a Google Classroom account linked to the library and database and apps linked to their Clever accounts and this works great! However, during the summer students do not have their devices and most do not keep their Clever information. Therefore, the majority of students do not have access to resources outside of school hours.
Maple Grove Elementary: The format of this presentation is very elementary friendly, and includes pictures of the apps and databases. All students have to do is click on the picture and it takes them directly to the site.
Richwoods R-VII: This is a small school for grades K-8 with very limited resources. The resources available to students are the AR program and Destiny Discovery which are accessible through links posted on the website. The website also mentions that the library media center is open to the public every Thursday 3:15-5:30 p.m.
Oakville Elementary: The format of this presentation is neatly organized and grouped according to the type of resource. Each resource is then listed by name with a hyperlink attached. There are many resources that students have access to such as: St. Louis County Library, Epic, Tumblebooks, MackinVIA, Explora, and more.
Bowles Elementary: This library also uses Destiny and lists numerous resources. In addition, a list of databases is included with direct links and a description of the content. I think that it is important to provide the description for students so they have an understanding of the databases.
**After reviewing several elementary library websites, I feel that Bowles Elementary provided the most resources and information for students. However, I would have liked to see pictures as shown in the Maple Grove website. I think a combination of the two would make for a wonderful database collection for students.
Fox Middle School: Provides a very simple link to Destiny Discover and from there students can also click and access Explora Elementary, Explora Middle, and EBSCO, but there is no additional information provided for students.
McCluer High School: This was the first website I visited where the username and passwords were clearly visible to the public. A heading at the top of the page states: Click on the dropdown arrows to access username and passwords, and as stated they were all provided. The database resources are listed and contain a brief description of information that can be found.
Liberty Senior High School: This website is very nicely done and is extremely user friendly. First, there is a link to Ask a Librarian for additional help. There is an alphabetized resource list and all resources contain a picture and direct link.
**Liberty Senior High School did a fantastic job presenting their resources and I feel did the best presentation out of all the other high schools I reviewed.
Northwest High School: This website was a little less organized than the rest I visited. It contained pictures of resources with the direct link, but it was difficult to know the resource was used for because little to no description was provided. However, several resources such as Destiny Discover, MackinVIA, and EBSCOhost were available for student to access.
Clayton High School: This format was very simple, and resources were listed in no particular order with little information provided. However, I really liked that a link to a Sora/Overdrive Tutorial was provided.