NORWICH – Norwich Middle School Librarian Lorry Chwazik announced today that the 2008 Summer Reading Challenge is going ... digital. For the first time, any student who will be a Norwich Middle School student in September 2008 will be able to complete their Summer Reading Challenge book reviews online by posting to the “NMS Book Review Blog.” The blog, created earlier this past school year, is already used by a dedicated group of student book reviewers who have signed on as authors to the site. “The advantage of writing on the blog,” Chwazik said, “is that students can share their opinions with a global audience, unlike the traditional book journal, which was read only by myself. Even if a student does not want to post a full review, they can always check the site for a book their peers recommend, or they can just add a comment to an already existing review.” The site can be viewed at http://nmsbookreviews.blogspot.com.

Students who wish to sign on as bloggers must meet several requirements, including having both a contact e-mail address and a Google account (which is free). “For safety reasons,” Chwazik adds, “students must also agree to use the site appropriately, and to invent a screen name for privacy issues.”