This special section was developed by the Youth Services staff to help kids of all ages find their way around the Internet. Parents, teachers, and other grown-ups may find these links useful, too.
We've even created a special page with Internet search tips and examples to help you find all the web stuff you're looking for! For other resources and links, check out Homework Help and Homeschool Resources.
Skokie Public Library and the Youth Services staff remind everyone that a safe surf is a smart surf.
Please note: The Youth Services staff makes every effort to select websites that are suitable for children; however, the Library has no control over individual website content, sponsors, or advertisements. We encourage parents to explore and enjoy these websites with their children.
Web resource 
Available with Skokie Public Library card 
Available in Library only
Internet Use and Safety
Skokie Public Library and the Youth Services staff remind everyone that a safe surf is a smart surf. Check out these websites for some important information about responsible Internet use and general safety guidelines.
Internet Safety
Information from Skokie Public Library
This page from the Skokie Public Library Youth Services Department provides online safety tips, tools, and web links for students, parents, and educators.
ChatDanger: How to Keep
Safe in Chat Rooms
Get smart about online chatting with this website designed to let kids and parents know about the potential dangers of unmoderated Internet chat rooms. Content is based on the real-life story of a teen girl and her family.
The Core Rules of Netiquette
This introduction to Internet courtesy and the "do's and don'ts" of online communication provides both summary and detailed information about Netiquette and behaving properly online.
Jo Cool or Jo Fool for Kids
This online game teaches kids how to be savvy about websites. Topics
include how to judge websites for their content, the basics of responsible
Internet use, personal privacy, online marketing, and ethics. The site also
includes a Teacher's section and downloadable
Teacher's Guide.
Note: Teacher's Guide requires Adobe Reader
The Online
Safety Quiz
An interactive quiz that teaches the basics of Internet safety.
Police
Notebook: Internet Safety for Kids
An easy-to-read collection of notes, advice, and warnings about surfing the Internet. Includes information about Internet privacy, proper use of passwords, and common Internet safety rules.
SafeTeens.com: Protecting
Your Privacy
An introduction to Internet privacy and the right of all people to keep personal information private. Explains why some websites ask for personal information and the importance of ignoring "spam" (unsolicited commercial email, or "junk mail").
TekMom's
Technology Buzzwords for Students
Find definitions for all kinds of computer words, how to use the words in sentences, and links to more information.
Search Tips and Tools
These websites will teach you about different types of search tools and how to use them to find information on the World Wide Web.
Filamentality: Searching Tips
This quick-and-easy web page provides a short introduction to search engines, how to use them, and some tips for successful Web searching.
Four Nets for Better Searching
"Start Narrow. Use Exact Phrases. Trim the URL. Seek Similar Pages." This website describes how these four tips for searching the Internet will guide you toward helpful websites and information.
Illinois Clicks! Homework Help: Internet Search Tips & Tools
A collection of links to websites about searching the Web. Topics include tips, tools, tutorials, and website reliability.
Welcome to the Web: Searching the Net
Designed especially for children, this hands-on lesson is a fun way to learn how to track down information on the Web using search engines. To learn what to do with the information you find, check out Welcome to the Web: Researching on the Net for tips about copying, pasting, and printing Web pages.
Search Indexes
A search index is a collection of websites that have been reviewed and selected by grown-ups who care about children. This is a good place to start if you need to find information about just one part of a very large subject (for example, one of the fifty states or one of the American presidents). The following search indexes have been selected by the Youth Services staff for their usefulness and kid-friendly content.
Awesome Library
An organized collection of 19,000 Web resources that have been recommended by students, teachers, parents, and librarians. All Awesome Library resources meet the following standards: child-safe content; useful for teachers, students, parents, and librarians; actual documents, projects, pictures, and discussion groups; timely information; pages load quickly; and only a small percentage of expired links.
Dewey Browse
This Internet search index is arranged by the Dewey Decimal Classification System. The site was created by a school librarian for students in grades Kindergarten through twelve.
DMOZ Open Directory
Project: Kids and Teens
An Internet directory created especially for children and teenagers. Includes sites designed specifically for children and/or teens as well as sites designed for general audiences. Does not include sites that are designed primarily to sell merchandise, sites that use profanity or obscenity, or sites that contain sexually explicit content.
Fact Monster
Reference materials, fun facts, features, and individual homework help for kids. Includes access to the full range of Information Please almanacs, as well as encyclopedia, dictionary, and atlas resources. Includes a free Homework Center where kids can find direction on common homework topics and submit questions to homework helpers.
Internet Public Library Kidspace
A collection of Internet resources and sites selected especially for children ages 4 to 11, parents, teachers and others interested in the literature and information directed to and about children. Includes sections devoted to reference, computers/internet, reading, math, sports and recreation, art and music, science, the country and the world. Also includes a teacher/parent section.
KidGrid
A searchable index of direct links to kid-friendly Internet sites. Includes a special search index just for preschoolers called Fun-Time Playground!
KidsClick!
A search index designed to help students find age-appropriate websites. KidsClick! is not an Internet filter, but rather a way to guide children to “good” sites rather than blocking them from “bad” sites.
netTrekker
netTrekker is a special search engine geared for students from kindergarten through high school. It searches over 180,000 educational websites to find information, and includes interactive timelines and a "Famous Person Search." For teachers, lesson plans and state-specific learning standards are also available.
Super-Kids
A searchable guide to finding stuff on the web. Includes an introduction to HTML for kids.
Search Engines
A search engine is a tool to help you sort through the millions of pages on the World Wide Web. When you type a search request, the search engine provides a list of websites that match your request and links to take you to those sites. The websites you find on a search engine are not reviewed or selected by humans; they are selected by a computer program and a robot. The following search engines have been selected by the Youth Services staff for their usefulness and kid-friendly content.
Alta Vista
An Internet search engine that provides quick access to web pages, images, audio, video, news, and much more. Includes Babelfish, a free language translation service that can translate words, sentences, and entire web pages into several languages.
Chatterbee's Invisible World Wide Web
The "Invisible Web" is used to describe thousands of online databases that don't usually come up when you search the Web with common search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Ask Jeeves. This website provides links to several Invisible Web search engines, some of them specialized to search only certain subjects (such as animals or science).
Intelibuzz
A filtered search engine for kids of all ages. Provides access to a large assortment of information, resources, and website listings that have a "family-safe" rating.
Meta-Search Tools
A meta-search tool is a search engine that searches other search tools (try saying that ten times fast!). When you type a search request, the meta-search tool will provide a list of results from several search engines and indexes. The following meta-search tools have been selected by the Youth Services staff for their usefulness and kid-friendly content.
Ask Jeeves for Kids
A "natural language" search tool just for kids. Ask a question in plain English and "Jeeves" will help you find a website that has the answer. Includes educational resources to help with homework and school projects. Also includes fun games and activities.
Dogpile
A meta-search tool powered by "Arfie" the cyber dog. Arfie fetches search results from several search engines at the same time, returning many results from across the Internet.
Kid's Search Tools
A one-page search tool to help kids search Internet dictionaries, encyclopedias, and websites. Includes a search tool for teachers, too.
Databases for Kids
A database is a collection of information that is organized to be searched by using a computer. The following databases have been selected by Skokie Public Library staff for their usefulness and kid-friendly content.
Student Databases from
Skokie Public Library
Skokie Public Library's website is just a mouse-click away from many databases, some of them made just for kids. The Library staff has carefully selected these resources because they're filled with good stuff: information, pictures, facts, figures, maps, ideas, and special helps. You can get to most of these databases from computers in the Library or from home if you have a Skokie Public Library card.
ThinkQuest Library
The ThinkQuest database is filled with more than five thousand fun, educational websites that have been created by kids, for kids to use and learn.