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64th IFLA Conference Logo

   64th IFLA General Conference
   August 16 - August 21, 1998

 


Code Number: 043-113-E
Division Number: III.
Professional Group: Libraries for Children and Young Adults
Joint Meeting with: -
Meeting Number: 113.
Simultaneous Interpretation:   Yes

CHILIAS - The European virtual children's library on the internet - a new service to foster children's computer literacy

Ingrid Bussmann

and

Birgit Mundlechner

Stadtbücherei Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany


Abstract:

logo
CHILIAS - the European Virtual Children's Library of the Future - is a project of the European Commission within the framework of the Telematics Applications Programme 1994-1998 - Telematics for Libraries. Under the co-ordination of Stuttgart City Library, Germany, CHILIAS has created a multimedia virtual simulation of a children's library on the WWW/Internet. CHILIAS has been developed between 1996 and 1998 in collaboration with partners from Finland, Great Britain, Greece, Portugal and Spain. The Internet and multimedia give children new means for acquiring information and learning. These demand a corresponding range of new information-seeking and information-handling skills. CHILIAS contributes to these changing needs with a new service on the WWW/Internet, the Infoplanet Web site which contains pages for children aged 9-12 on authors, books, media and the library. CHILIAS is a user-driven project. Children have played an integral part in the creation of the application. CHILIAS has explored a new role of children's libraries and school libraries to cope with the challenge of the future information society.


Paper

I Introduction

CHILIAS - the European Virtual Children's Library of the Future - is a project of the European Commission within the framework of the Telematics Applications Programme 1994-1998 - Telematics for Libraries. Under the co-ordination of Stuttgart City Library, Germany, CHILIAS has created a multimedia virtual simulation of a children's library on the WWW/Internet. CHILIAS has been developed between 1996 and 1998 in collaboration with partners from Finland, Great Britain, Greece, Portugal and Spain.

CHILIAS stands for: children's library - information - animation - skills. CHILIAS explores new Internet/WWW based children's and school library services for children aged 9-12 years.

"On crossroads of information and culture" is the theme of the IFLA conference. The main challenge of the changing information and media society is not access to information, but the processing of information into useful knowledge and inspiring wisdom. Libraries have a responsibility to enable their users to find their way through the complexity of the new information world and support new ways of learning based on new technology. There are many ways for libraries to meet the challenges of the future and to serve the changing needs of their users.

The project CHILIAS has addressed the needs and requirements of children aged 9-12 years using interactive multimedia and networked information and communication systems.

Children grow up in the changing media world. They are used to computers and multimedia technology. They enjoy the technology as a kind of new tool for playing. But they need support in developing their information skills and new ways of learning. The Internet and multimedia give them new means for acquiring information and learning. These demand a corresponding range of new information-seeking and information-handling skills. Children's libraries and school libraries have traditionally provided a stimulating environment for learning. The traditional library model must be adapted to the networked multimedia environment bridging traditional media and library access and new technology in a creative way. The European project CHILIAS has explored a new role of children's libraries and school libraries providing a new Internet based service to enhance children's computer literacy and the creative use of new technology.

II What has Chilias done?

CHILIAS has developed a new concept that will make European children's libraries and school libraries a stimulating environment for innovative learning and creative use of Internet technology. Chilias has explored a new role of children's libraries and school libraries as active content provider in data networks by publishing new content on the Web, content which addresses children's needs and requirements and provides children adequate information.

CHILIAS has developed four complementary and integrated applications in a WWW environment:

  1. A virtual library - the Infoplanet Website which contains Web pages for children aged 9-12 years on authors, books, media, topics like animals, sports, music and the library in German, Finnish, English, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese.

  2. An interactive application for creative input from children, the storybuilder

  3. A discussion and feed-back tool for use by children, the guestbook

  4. An information skills tool - Infoton.

III The library as a new learning environment

CHILIAS has intended to develop the library as a stimulating environment for innovative learning. For long children's libraries and school libraries have created services and activities to support children's information needs in a creative way, to enhance their imagination and to enlighten their minds. This traditional model of the library can be adapted to the virtual world. The CHILIAS Infoplanet provides new access to information and learning - children learn the use of the Internet and find information they enjoy. Doing the skills exercises they train their information skills. Browsing through the Infoplanet they discover new information about authors and books, music and animals, European cities and countries The virtual children's library - the Infoplanet - provides new animating access to the real children's library showing children what they can expect from their library and raising their curiosity about books, authors, topics. The use of the virtual library is not mainly to find a specific information, although the search function can help in this. The virtual library is like a magazine with a lot of information and lots of links between different types of information, a tool for intuitive learning.

Infoplanet has enhanced the attractiveness of the real library. Testing the Infoplanet in real library use the CHILIAS consortium has observed that many children come to the library because of the Infoplanet. And they normally leave the library with some books. So Infoplanet can support the bridge between traditional and new media.

But the learning impact of CHILIAS is more than using the application. CHILIAS has been a user-oriented project involving the end-user group children in the project development from the first steps. Children have participated in designing the virtual library and in generating content for the virtual library. Lots of the Infoplanet Web pages have been written by children. The children's library in Stuttgart has created the „Internet-Reporter", library workshops for children to create Web pages. Guided by the librarians, children have designed their own Web-pages on selected topics. And by doing this they have learned how the Internet works and enhanced their computer literacy and their information-handling skills.

In all sites school classes have been involved in the designing process. Teachers and students have been motivated by the libraries to contribute to the Infoplanet.

Stories have been written by children. Children have contributed drawings to the topics, they have created new presentation of books for the Infoplanet, they have presented their town or their country with photos they have taken and information they have written.

And it has been the library providing the facility for digitising the materials and teaching children how to do it. This process of involving children in developing Web pages for the Infoplanet is a crucial impact on a new role of children's libraries and school libraries and on creating the library as a new learning environment.

IV How can other libraries in Europe use CHILIAS

As the Infoplanet is an Internet service all libraries can provide access to the service for their users. In case libraries have homepages for children they can link the CHILIAS URLs to their homepage, so that children can easily use the Infoplanet. The European project CHILIAS will be finished by October 1998. But all sites will maintain the service as integrated part of their library work, as a lively archive of their activities, collecting information about authors and topics, e.g. from library events with authors or children. So the Infoplanet will be regularly updated.

CHILIAS can encourage children's libraries and school libraries to integrate the Internet in their service and to create their own ideas for Internet based work with children.

There might be libraries in Europe which are interested in creating their own virtual library.
So the CHILIAS consortium is developing a commercial exploitation strategy enabling those libraries to use parts of the CHILIAS developments on the base of licensing. This can be the shell, the graphics, the software tools for storybuilder, guestbook and Infoton. The license will include the right of translation for libraries in countries which have not been involved in the project. Offline versions of storybuilder and guestbook are in consideration.

V The general benefits of CHILIAS

The main benefit of CHILIAS is the development of a useful application for European children, the Infoplanet. As pointed out the Infoplanet can support children's information needs and help them to prepare their future role as users of the European information society. As CHILIAS is a WWW/Internet service it is accessible for children all over the world.

CHILIAS can contribute to exchange of ideas across European boundaries and to European understanding. With its six language versions it can support children's language skills and address the challenges of the multicultural society as children in all countries can easily access information about other countries.

Chilias has enhanced the availability and accessibility of children's library services in the participating European libraries. The project has supported children of the target age group to learn about new technology. CHILIAS is only one path on the road to the future role of children's libraries and school libraries in the information society. CHILIAS can encourage libraries to create new multimedia based services and to cope with the challenges of the future.

CHILIAS has established new collaborations across Europe. Teachers and schools have perceived the libraries as relevant partners in the new multimedia area.

CHILIAS has developed new relations to authors and publishers providing them a platform on the Internet. In all sites lots of institutions have been involved in the developing process, library colleges and sports clubs, youth associations and media experts.

CHILIAS has significantly raised the profile of the participating libraries and increased their value and attractiveness in their local communities and in the public.

And again this expertise can encourage children's libraries and school libraries in Europe to prove their position as "signpost on the new cross-roads of information and culture".

And last not least the collaboration between the CHILIAS consortium has been a contribution to European understanding.

CHILIAS will be followed by a new European project, VERITY - Virtual and Electronic Resources for Information skills Training for Young people. Under coordination of University of Sunderland, Great Britain, VERITY has started in April 1998. VERITY will develop a new electronic library service aiming at the needs of young people between 13 and 19 years with a Virtual Librarian, a Referral Service and an information skills package for the target age group.

The CHILIAS Consortium:

Germany:
Stadt Stuttgart- Kulturamt - Stadtbücherei (coordinating contractor )
Ravensburger Interactive Media GmbH

Greece:
Hellenic American Educational Foundation - Athens College Library
Costeas Gitonas School Ltd

Spain:
Diputació de Barcelona - Servei de Biblioteques,

Portugal:
Instituto superior de Estatistica e Gestão de Informação (ISEGI)
Universidade Nova de Lisboa,

Great Britain:
Borough Council of Gateshead - -Libraries and Arts Service,
University of Sunderland Information Services

Finland:
City of Vantaa - Vantaa City Library
University of Helsinki - Vantaa Institute for Continuing Education - Information Technology Centre for Schools, Finland
Association of Finnish Local Authorities -Education, Cultural Services and Leisure Activities Unit, Finland
Akateeminen Tietopalvelu ATP Oy, Finland
University Turku - Department of Education -Centre for Learning Research

The Urls:

http://www.stuttgart.de/chilias/
http://www.atp.fi/chilias/
http://www.chilias.sunderland.ac.uk/
http://www.haef.gr/
http://www.chilias.diba.es/
http://www.chilias.isegi.unl.pt/chilias/