Saturday, 25 May 2013

Digital materials/resources and emerging technologies


Review and electronic resource for children -  WHO NEXT............ ?





The Geelong Regional Library Corporation subscribes to a wonderful website “Who Next,” this is a website that I often suggest to the school children I visit. "Who next" is an invaluable tool for parents, teachers and librarians to help children explore the world of reading. As the award winning author, Alan Gibbons, says “A reading child is a successful child" Geelong Regional Library Corporation created goals within their Reading Revolution library plan to encompass 

 "love of reading in all people from an early age, we inspire the search for knowledge and we foster a spirit of discovery and enlightenment" (GRLC, 2008).
  
In my role as Children's and Youth Services librarian I facilitate school visits to the library, often primary and secondary students will voice their annoyance in having a favorite authors who haven't written for so long and they have nothing to read. This website provides the reader with an wonderful opportunity to type their favorite authors name into the search bar and it will come up with suggestions of authors who write similar. The website has four age groups 5-7, 8-11, 12-14, 15 + in which you can browse. It also provide the opportunity to search by genre and theme graphic novels, short stories and titles for dyslexic or struggling readers, prize-winning children’s books and other useful links. Most of the authors listed have written several books. Who Next tries to include books that are easily available, so you should be able to find the recommended titles in either a library or available from a bookshop/online supplier.


The links that have been made between authors are of genre and theme, and also of styles of writing, or similar aspects of characterization and settings. Of course no author writes exactly like another and readers will not agree with all the choices. Questioning Who Next...? may be one of the pleasures of using it, and a source for discussion and debate.

"Here's the key idea: Give kids the books they want to read. If the books are good ones—cool ones, funny ones, fat ones, skinny ones—our kids will thank us. Maybe for the rest of their lives" (Patterson, 2011). This is why this website is so appealing, our role as librarians is to promote literacy, to keep children and youth reading, there is nothing worse than having a favorite author and you have read everything they have written. Instead of waiting for the author to write a new book check this site out you never know you might find a fabulous new author to enjoy.



Geelong Regional Library Corporation, (2008). Reading Revolution Library Plan. p. 2 Retrieved from
http://www.geelonglibraries.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/governance/GRLC_LibraryPlan_online.pdf

Patterson, J. (2011). 3 Secrets to getting kids to love reading. Knowledge Quest. 39(4). p. 78-79 Retrieved from EBSCOHOST

Who Next (nd). Retrieved from http://www.whonextguide.com/account/regex_login






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