Engaging New Picture Search for Kids at Library

By Stephanie Bents
Youth Services Librarian

The Rapid City Public Library is happy to introduce the KidsOnline picture-based catalog.  This new feature meets the information needs of young library patrons through engaging subjects and images. The Picture-It! feature offers easy-to-understand images to help aid your children in their  library search.  By clicking on a picture, you are led through a list of images and results that open up more search possibilities and is geared toward young and emerging readers.

The images in the pic­ture catalog allow younger readers to navigate more smoothly when compared to a traditional catalogue search.  Children are more apt to work within catego­ries when the pictures show them exactly what they need to locate the information they require.

Searching on KidsOnline also allows young library patrons to conduct a regular or advanced keyword, title, subject, or author search from the home page or from any Picture It! page, taking users right to relevant results.

Your children will say ‘wow’ when they first see it.  They will see their interests covered in the pictures without advanced or complicated searching.  For example, they can find Cinco de Mayo in the Holidays category, Endangered Species in the Environment section, or Marine Life under Animals.  This search option really empowers children to be able to master the search skills they will need for using more complicated catalogs, databases, and search engines during their adult life.

KidsOnline also allows the Rapid City Public Library to customize our catalog with ease and continue to make the catalog more useful and relevant to our patrons as the community grows and changes.  We can include adding award-winning authors, annual books lists or topics to match local school reading assignments as well as local authors, and subjects of local interest. The customized catalog will reflect local children, teacher and community needs. 

The Rapid City Public Library also offers a variety of weekly Storytimes for families, Discovery Day programs for children on no-school days as well as monthly gaming events, so KidsOnline has been a great opportunity to supplement our existing services and meet the specific needs of our young readers. The Rapid City Public Library wants to encourage literacy, self-sufficiency, community engagement, and most importantly – a love of reading in our adult and youth patrons.