media center webpages

In today's society, when people need information they usually head for the Internet. Instead of spending hours looking through encyclopedias or phone books for numbers to call, people can jump on the Internet and find what they need in a matter of minutes. Therefore, if a media center wants to get out information and help give students access to a variety of resources, they should create a web page. The majority of media centers have a web page, but it may not necessarily be usable and/or effective. There is no point in having a web page if it doesn't have a purpose or if it can't be navigated.
Through looking at several examples of webpages and through experience with our own media center page, I have created a list of what I think makes a great webpage and what things should be avoided. As I mentioned earlier, the page must have a purpose so all information should be meaningful and useful. It should consist of basic information such as contact information, hours of operation, etc. while also including things such as the media center handbook, resources for teachers, links to helpful sites, etc. The important thing to remember is to keep all of the information updated and present it in an easy-to-use, and easy-to-read format. One of the things I hate most about a webpage is when the links aren't up-to-date or don't work. I become interested in something a link has to offer and then have no way of accessing the information. People will quit visiting the media center webpage if links are always down or inactive.
From what I've read, I do believe that wikis could serve as a great alternative to the normal webpage. I know in our school system, blogs wouldn't work because all types of blogs are blocked, but so far, we are able to access wikis. I like the idea because it will give media specialists the ability to work on it from any location, but more importantly it will be a page that can have multiple contributors. Teachers can help keep links updated, or added to as they find helpful websites, etc. It is a whole lot easier for new information to be found when its not just one person looking for it. I also think the wiki would give a media specialist more freedom in how the page can look. Our county uses NetChalk for all web pages and to me its just boring and somewhat difficult to do. I would love to see what would happen if we started creating these wikis and using them throughout the school.