IPL Kidspace

E-library is a solid resource for all ages.

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About Our Ratings

Common Sense rates it

Seen the site?

details

URL: http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace
Entertainment Value: Medium

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this site is the kids' section of the huge Internet Public Library resource, which is created and maintained by professors and students at library and information science programs. The site is organized by subject and does link to other sites. It may be a bit too cluttered for younger students to find what they're looking for on their own, but for older students, parents and teachers, it's a well-stocked resource. Kids can submit a question (barring medical, legal, tax and personal opinion) to a volunteer librarian and receive a well-researched answer back within about a week.

Families can talk about using reference tools responsibly. Discuss the ethical way to use the information from a site like this without plagiarizing. Also, explore the differences between going to a "real" library and visiting this online library. Does it feel different to read a book online versus in hand? What's the difference? Is one better than the other?

Message
Violence
Sex
Language

Message

Social Behavior:

Encourages kids to dig further into subjects by using the Internet as a research tool.

Consumerism:

No ads, but links to some sites that have ads.

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Some sites in the Health and Nutrition section discuss the use of illegal drugs, but in clearly negative ways.

Educational Value:

Includes many Web-based educational resources for kids, teachers, and parents.

Violence

Some of the links in The World section may include information on war and other topics that include references to violence in history.

Sex

Some of the links in the Health and Nutrition section include information on puberty, sexuality, and other sensitive topics that parents may want to read before or with their kids.

Language

While there's no inappropriate language used on this site, it links to many outside sites.

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Dana Villamagna

IPL KIDSPACE brings the talent of librarians right into the home or school of any student, parent, or teacher looking for some research assistance. The site is divided into two main categories: the general subject categories that include scores of links to approved related sites and features created by information scientists that focus on specific projects such as science fairs, a virtual marine biology experiment, or an authors' page. The Ask an IPL Librarian feature allows users to submit a question and receive a well-researched answer back from a volunteer librarian within about a week; however, it does warn users that it may not always be as timely or thorough, depending on how many questions are in their queue.

Is it any good?

Generally, this is a top-notch site. But some of the pages haven't been updated for a year or more, and design-savvy kids may find it less attractive than other homework help sites. It's still worth a look-see, though, for the uber amounts of research that have clearly gone into compiling all of this information onto one site -- and for the great individualized help via Ask an IPL Librarian.