IPL Kidspace
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
E-library is a solid resource for all ages.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 10 and Up
The good stuff
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Educational value:
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of IPL Kidspace was written by Dana Villamagna
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
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- 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?
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More on IPL Kidspace
What’s the Story?
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.
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