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Palo Alto College LRC (Learning Resources Center -- includes the Library and other services) is dedicated to empowering all persons -- but especially Palo Alto College students -- with insight and understanding by providing access to information within a knowledge context. Consistent with this objective, this Web site has been kept simple so that the visually impaired, using programs such as IBM HomePage Reader, can easily navigate it. It is also hoped that site simplicity enables the use of as wide a range and age of browsers as possible. We do not wish to exclude anyone because they have old equipment or software. Therefore, the following criteria will be used in the design of all web pages:
- The primary purpose of the site is to be useful to students
- The site is a public resource primarily for educational and research purposes
- The site will load promptly, even for the poorest student with a 28k connection and an old computer
- The site will be organized for easy repeat access for homework and research purposes
- The site will be designed to avoid any irritations to the student trying to get homework or research done
- The visually impaired can easily navigate the site
This LRC web site provides information in six major categories:
- Library Catalogs
- A subject index of the web
- Web search engines and search guidance
- Information about the LRC and its services
- A Children's Library site
- Research Tools
The subject index of the Web is a unique contribution to knowledge access. It is an alphabetical index of web sites, chosen personally by LRC and PAC faculty, which are especially useful to community college students. Particular effort has been made to include extensive links for subject areas taught at our college and subject areas needed by all college students. The index is organized alphabetically and in some detail so that it may be browsed, thus facilitating the serendipity of random discovery not easily available through search engines.
Credit for the design and maintenance of this site is listed on a separate credit page. Overall guidance and inspiration has been consistently provided from 1996 to 2006 by Gloria E. Hilario, then Director of Learning Resources.
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