ALA Unveils *cybercollection* of 700+ Sites for Kids

[Stephanie Stokes]

American Library Association
News Release 
For Release:       December 1, 1997

Contact:  Public Information Office

Joyce Kelly/Linda Wallace
312-280-5043/42
pio at ala.org


American Library Association ALA Unveils *cybercollection* 
of 700+ Sites for Kids

           (Washington, D.C.) --  The American Library Association
(ALA) has launched a new *cybercollection* of  links to more than 700
fun, exciting and useful Web sites for children and their grown-ups.

	 The *Great Sites* were unveiled today at the Internet/Online
Summit: Focus on Children, a first-ever summit of industry leaders,
educators, librarians, law enforcement officials and family advocates to
focus on enhanced education and safety of children in cyberspace.

	ALA's site was featured as an example of the kinds of support
increasingly available for children and adults at libraries across the
nation. The full name is  Great Sites: Amazing, Spectacular,
Mysterious, Wonderful  Web Sites for Kids and the Adults Who
Care About Them. The site can be found on the association's Web
page at http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/amazing.html

	"This is what librarians do best," says ALA President Barbara
J. Ford. "We help kids connect to quality resources -- only today it's not
just books.  The Internet is an exciting new tool that helps us offer both
global reach and local  touch."

	Links include sites ranging from the Negro Baseball Leagues
and  the Electronic Zoo to  a Club Girl Tech Game Cafe and the  Titanic.
Subjects include standards like the arts, history and science, along with
dinosaurs, games and other kid favorites. Special features include a
Spanish language collection and sites of special interest to parents,
educators, homeschoolers and caregivers. There are links to the Library
of Congress and a growing number of libraries throughout the U.S.

	Steven Herb, immediate past president of Association for
Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library
Association, served as project coordinator. 

            Herb says the selection criteria for the "Great Sites" combine
professional evaluation techniques used by librarians with new criteria
that address the special characteristics of cyberspace.  The criteria,
posted on the site, provide helpful insights for librarians, parents,
educators  and others on what makes a good Web site.
	
	The sites were selected by the Children and Technology
Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children.  Members
are: Alan Bern, Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library; Jane Botham, Milwaukee
Public Library; Roxanne Hsu Feldman, New York Public Library;
Christine Ginsberg, Darien (Conn.) Public Library; Julie James, Kansas
City (Mo.) Public Library; Monique King, Benicia (Calif.) Public Library,
chair; Walter Minkel, Multnomah County Library, Portland, Ore.; Kay
Vandergrift, Rutgers University (N.J.) and Eliza Dresang, Florida State
University, Tallahassee, ALSC board liaison.

	The *700+ Great Sites* builds on a list of 50+ Great Sites for
Kids and Parents that ALA published  in June as part of  the *Librarian's
Guide to Cyberspace for Parents for Kids.* An index of resources for
parents and children, including lists of award-winning books and other
materials, can be found on the ALA Web page at
http://www.ala.org/parents/.

	For more information, contact the American Library
Association, Public Information Office, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL
60611.  Telephone: 312-280-5044.  Fax: 312-944-8520. E-mail:
pio at ala.org

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