Web smarts

http://www.awesomelibrary.org/

WHAT: In the oceans of mediocre material on the Internet, Awesome Library is an islet of clarity and coherence.

BEST POINTS: The site's best point is its navigability. The way the home page's 18 main topics are arranged is easy to understand. Under each topic is a list of related professional papers and periodicals, lesson plans for teachers, and a list of additional links. Topics include, among other things, social studies, foreign languages, family issues, and information for principals.

In the languages section, for example, a list of everything from hieroglyphics to Mandarin is included. Click on the Hmong-language link, and it takes you to another extensive site called yourdictionary.com. (This provides dictionaries for more than 230 languages).

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The private Evaluation and Development Institute compiled the Web pages, with help from federal funds.

All pages have been reviewed for child safety and quick downloading. Students, teachers, and librarians have recommended many of the sites. While all the information is credible and well researched, some of it may be out of date.

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Publishing Society