Virtual Libraries: virtual reading rooms

When I first saw the term 'virtual libraries', I thought it was something like a virtual museum, in which you can 'tour' the exhibits online. I wondered how a library would work online....How could you check out a virtual book? What about returns? Would there be virtual fines?

Then I read Holly Gunn's article http://www.accesswave.ca/~hgunn/special/papers/virlib/index.html and she clarified what virtual libraries are and how they function right from the first sentence. "Virtual libraries are organized collections of digital information" (Gunn, 2002).
This made perfect sense as the books, periodicals, journals, encyclopedia and other online resources are not available for physical perusal. The more I looked at established virtual libraries, the more I understood that they were links or portals to a wide variety of information sites.

It seems that my colleague and I have been heading in this direction without realising it or using the terminology! In addition to online databases, we have been working on a wiki to post links to great online resources that we, our teachers or our students have found that relate to what they're doing in class. http://librarianz.wikispaces.com We have a long way to go on developing a more comprehensive listing of resources and looing at other virtual libraries to get ideas for organisation and interactivity. After looking at quite a number of school and public library sites, I can see that there a many possible ways to approach this, incorporating various components from each.

The first thing I noticed on established virtual library sites was the degree of neatness or clutter. It was much easier to read and use the links on sites that didn't try to pack everything in to a small space. I liked the use of colour to catch the eye and to help organise resource categories. Tables were effectively used to separate topics, subjects and/or user groups.

Springfield Township High School Virtual Library (one of the links provided for my Web 2.0 class) has the most fun and visually interesting home page and certainly is a goal to strive for. Have a look and see if you can't resist clicking on all the links! http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/

Some of my other favourites (so far) are:
McClurg Elementary School http://mclurg.rbe.sk.ca/wills The virtual library link is in the side bar on the left. It's clean and neat so it's easy to read and follow. Annotated links lead to attractive wiki pages.

Penn Wood Elementary School has a tidy colour coded layout that includes a section for reading resources and parents. I think it's important in our schools to have parent resources, real or virtual. This site made me consider the font size, as I think that it could be larger. http://schools.wcasd.net/PennWood/Staff/library/index.html

Birch Lane Elementary School has a very simple, but attractive home page.
http://birchlane.davis.ca.us/library/Default.htm

Bessie Chin Library at Redwood High School is packed with all kinds of resource links. To me the site is too busy but it does include some great links to booklists, presentations, and new materials and periodicals in the library.
They have a good tutorial on using the library that made me consider the use of podcasts and video and how to make presentations and a virtual library site generally more interactive and appealing. http://rhsweb.org/library/ Alabama Virtual Library (another site provided for my class) has a fun and visually stimulating video that introduces their library. It's just another example of the many possibilities out there! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2zhiLxCg7w

Talbott Elementary School Library has an unattractive home page, mainly due to the bright red background which I found less inviting and welcoming than paler or more neutral colours. But what I really liked about their site was the number of great specialised encyclopedia and dictionary links that they had. Once I clicked on the 'door' to one of the 'rooms', the links were organised in a tidy table format, with less demanding colours. http://jc-schools.net/tes/library/

Virtual libraries range from simple link listings to complex interactive sites but the most important consideration is our patrons. How can we make our own virtual libraries attractive, interesting and easy to use, providing enough information without becoming daunting or overwhelming? I think that if we start small and simple, and grow from there, we can do it. I know I'll be heading back to Malaysia with new ideas for my school's virtual library. There a plenty of great models out there to help us!