The subject of copyright and ethics is probably the most talked about topic in education. Under the guidelines of Copyright and Fair use Guidelines for Teachers, there are rules such as not using a poem over 250 words or only using a portion of a DVD for teaching. But how strict are these rules and how much is only a portion of a DVD and how do you know when to draw the line about what is legal and what isn't? Doug Johnson stated in both of his articles "Beating the No U-Turn Syndrome" and "From Cop to Counselor" that the librarian should discuss with other teachers and administrators what can and can't be done in terms of fair use. In this way, everyone can be on the same page and there's no confusion about what you deem to be the legalities of using materials in the classroom.
Ethics can also be extended to students' privacy rights, as well. Helen R. Adams in Principals and Confidentiality of Library Records outlined a case study in which an administrator requests seeing what a particular student has checked out over the school year. The library media specialist checked out what the laws were regarding students' privacy records. She then discussed it with the principal and asked for a legal court order to hand them over. The library media specialist followed the rules of privacy that is covered in the case study Students' Privacy Rights in School Libraries such as "What is the legislation and school rules about students' privacy?" This article also suggests that media specialists become aware of procedures such as whether or not overdue notices are allowed and whether students are aware of their privacy rights as well as creating advocacy and training for teachers and making sure the technology in the classroom protects the students' rights as well.
I think that ethics and copyright are important and that everybody associated in education should be made aware of and properly trained in both of these matters. But in the matter of students' privacy, I'm a little confused. What if the administrator gives a direct order to hand over the students' list of books that they checked out at the library even after I discussed the legal matters with him (or her) and he doesn't have a court order? Do I have to hand it over to them as demanded or do I have the legal right to refuse him because of the legal issue? I want to follow the rules, but I also don't want to lose my job over it.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Reading Post 5 September 27
Since starting my program, the discussion of tight budgets for the library media center has been a common theme. It was discussed in the SLJ article "Brace Yourself: SLJ's school library spending survey shows hard times aren't over, and better advocacy is needed" that public school libraries have seen about a 4.8% budget drop in the last school year. Because of budget cuts, according to the article, library media specialists have had to cope with stagnant payrolls and lack of trained support staff to keep the library media center at its best.
I had a discussion with a classmate in the spring about the budgets and she mentioned that while her internship placement had created a new library and bought all new books, the library (the books and the center as a whole) is found lacking in giving students the books needed for both classroom and pleasure reading because they never consulted a school librarian (or any kind of librarian) to get the books that students need. It's said in "Budgeting as Easy as 1 2 3" that there is a three step process to budgeting in order to keep it stabilized and implemented in such a way that library media center's running in a functional manner even if the library is on a low budget. These three steps are knowledge (knowing how to build a functional budget), planning (prioritizing what is important to spend hard to come by dollars for the LMC), and implementation (how are you going to keep track of the money, knowing where each dollar is being spent down to the T). If more library media specialists did these kinds of things, I'm sure that we'd make the money go a long way and not only that, cause administration notice our great organizational skills. My first placement showed me how she kept track of her budgeting by using an Excel spreadsheet. It was simple, easy to use, and could easily find where the money was being spent. I was impressed.
Because of the low budgets for library media centers, I always wondered if a media specialist would be able to write grants in order to purchase things that are needed and "Winning Grants" seemed to answer that question. It gave helpful hints on what to do when writing a grant (using simple words to get to the point, etc). The biggest thing I got out of this article was to know what your purpose is and centering your grant around what you need for the media center rather than what you'd like, because after all, you're creating a place for children so that they can study, learn, and read rather than seeing how pretty the library looks. Writing a grant to get a small cafe for the library is inconsequential in comparison to purchasing current books that students want to read, for example.
So all in all, strategic planning is one of the keys to a great library media center. We need to evaluate, identify strengths and weaknesses, and create a plan (and budget) in order to continue developing our library media centers (AASL, Empowering Learners). Because really, without the library media center, how are students and teachers going to be able to implement and create learning without the tools that the library media center offers?
I had a discussion with a classmate in the spring about the budgets and she mentioned that while her internship placement had created a new library and bought all new books, the library (the books and the center as a whole) is found lacking in giving students the books needed for both classroom and pleasure reading because they never consulted a school librarian (or any kind of librarian) to get the books that students need. It's said in "Budgeting as Easy as 1 2 3" that there is a three step process to budgeting in order to keep it stabilized and implemented in such a way that library media center's running in a functional manner even if the library is on a low budget. These three steps are knowledge (knowing how to build a functional budget), planning (prioritizing what is important to spend hard to come by dollars for the LMC), and implementation (how are you going to keep track of the money, knowing where each dollar is being spent down to the T). If more library media specialists did these kinds of things, I'm sure that we'd make the money go a long way and not only that, cause administration notice our great organizational skills. My first placement showed me how she kept track of her budgeting by using an Excel spreadsheet. It was simple, easy to use, and could easily find where the money was being spent. I was impressed.
Because of the low budgets for library media centers, I always wondered if a media specialist would be able to write grants in order to purchase things that are needed and "Winning Grants" seemed to answer that question. It gave helpful hints on what to do when writing a grant (using simple words to get to the point, etc). The biggest thing I got out of this article was to know what your purpose is and centering your grant around what you need for the media center rather than what you'd like, because after all, you're creating a place for children so that they can study, learn, and read rather than seeing how pretty the library looks. Writing a grant to get a small cafe for the library is inconsequential in comparison to purchasing current books that students want to read, for example.
So all in all, strategic planning is one of the keys to a great library media center. We need to evaluate, identify strengths and weaknesses, and create a plan (and budget) in order to continue developing our library media centers (AASL, Empowering Learners). Because really, without the library media center, how are students and teachers going to be able to implement and create learning without the tools that the library media center offers?
Sunday, September 16, 2012
September 20 Reading Log
According to the Empowering Learners book, because the school librarian serves as a teacher, information specialist and instructional collaborator, he or she serves as an agent of change in both the library and in education (p. 19). It can be said that in today's school library, media specialists need to be on top of the current technology in order for their library to become effective, appropriate, and appealing to students living in today's technological world.
In "Using Technology to Market Teen Library Programs and Services," Linda W. Braun suggests that we use a variety of Web 2.0 tools in order to make the library website and catalog more dynamic and interactive for students as well as becoming more viral. Using something like a Facebook page can keep students aware of different activities that are happening in the library. In "Why Go Virtual," it is mentioned that today's students have grown up using technology and learn and think differently than kids did even a few years ago. By using different tools that many, if not all of the students have used many times, we are connecting the library and learning to them in ways they wouldn't have been reached otherwise.
Making the library more technologically accessible and appealing to students includes creating a library website that makes students want to come to the library. The article "Your Library Going Virtual" mentions a variety of ideas on what to include in the website. These things include book talks, reading lists, ebooks, and the online catalog. Students don't necessarily want to come to the library just to find a book recommendation or even what's in the library. Giving them access to it in a website gives them an opportunity to see what's available.
While the website may be more interesting for students to use, it's not going to be any use if the website itself is not accessible. In the article about accessible web design, the author mentions that the librarian needs to make the website accessible to all students, including students with hearing and visual impairments as well as making the website look professional, simple and easy to use. This article reminds me of my other class when I had to make a website. If we had pictures, we had to add descriptions for the pictures so that any readers can understand what's being depicted in the picture. The website also needs to be organized in such a way that so that it can be easily found.
I think that if a library considers how students learn in today's world using technology and makes use of the available technology, librarians can make their school library a place where students want to go to interact, learn, and ultimately read.
In "Using Technology to Market Teen Library Programs and Services," Linda W. Braun suggests that we use a variety of Web 2.0 tools in order to make the library website and catalog more dynamic and interactive for students as well as becoming more viral. Using something like a Facebook page can keep students aware of different activities that are happening in the library. In "Why Go Virtual," it is mentioned that today's students have grown up using technology and learn and think differently than kids did even a few years ago. By using different tools that many, if not all of the students have used many times, we are connecting the library and learning to them in ways they wouldn't have been reached otherwise.
Making the library more technologically accessible and appealing to students includes creating a library website that makes students want to come to the library. The article "Your Library Going Virtual" mentions a variety of ideas on what to include in the website. These things include book talks, reading lists, ebooks, and the online catalog. Students don't necessarily want to come to the library just to find a book recommendation or even what's in the library. Giving them access to it in a website gives them an opportunity to see what's available.
While the website may be more interesting for students to use, it's not going to be any use if the website itself is not accessible. In the article about accessible web design, the author mentions that the librarian needs to make the website accessible to all students, including students with hearing and visual impairments as well as making the website look professional, simple and easy to use. This article reminds me of my other class when I had to make a website. If we had pictures, we had to add descriptions for the pictures so that any readers can understand what's being depicted in the picture. The website also needs to be organized in such a way that so that it can be easily found.
I think that if a library considers how students learn in today's world using technology and makes use of the available technology, librarians can make their school library a place where students want to go to interact, learn, and ultimately read.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Reading Log 2 (For September 13)
When considering the library media center, it can be agreed upon that having a media center that is warm, welcoming, a place where students can relax, study, socialize, and check out books. Appearances are everything. A library that looks dark, dirty, and outdated is never going to be used by students and teachers, let alone have anybody step foot in it. This is what the articles "Cafe Social" and "Do You Really Want Your Library Media Center Used?" addresses. Debra Lau Whelan explains in Cafe Social that most library media specialists agree that image in the library is crucial into getting students to use the library and by having a cafe within the library like in Barnes and Noble really gives a huge boost to the school library's image. One library media specialist states in the article that because she has a Starbucks-like cafe in the library, the library has been constantly busy and not only that, she has been giving 90 minute book talks in the auditorium to attract more interest in the books.
Ruth Clark Cox ("Do You Really Want Your Library Media Center Used?") emphasizes the curb appeal of having a relaxed atmosphere in the library. She states that "Most of us with a Barnes and Noble bookstore in our communities have experienced relaxed atmosphere and wonderful odors from the snack bar" (16). This can be done, she said by meeting teacher and students' needs by improving the access for student and teacher use. This includes being aware of the students' learning needs as well as making it accessible for students with physical disabilities, as stated in the article Making the Library Accessible.
I agree that the library media center needs to be easily accesible with a warm environment that draws students in. I even think that having a little cafe in the media center would be a wonderful asset for the students to use. At the same time, it depends on how willing the people in your school are willing to accomodate for these kinds of things as well as any budget costs. "Cafe Social" mentions that many librarians don't like the idea of having a cafe because their afraid of "messing the library up." Even the article "Consideration On Facilities" states that any facilities comittees need to have at least the principal, teachers, library aides, etc, which suggests that others might have difficult time approving a cafe or anything that makes the library welcoming. This is why library media specialists need to come up with detailed plans and reasons for changing the library to what they want it to look like to help improve circulation and library use.
Even having rules and procedures such as the ones outlined in the Elementary Library Routines wiki can help the library run more smoothly. If you were to have a cafe or have an atmosophere like Barnes and Noble, having set rules and procedures can help a library media specialist's request to improve the library. A library media center is there for students to pick out books, whether they're to read or study and we can't have that unless we make it a space where everybody can use.
Ruth Clark Cox ("Do You Really Want Your Library Media Center Used?") emphasizes the curb appeal of having a relaxed atmosphere in the library. She states that "Most of us with a Barnes and Noble bookstore in our communities have experienced relaxed atmosphere and wonderful odors from the snack bar" (16). This can be done, she said by meeting teacher and students' needs by improving the access for student and teacher use. This includes being aware of the students' learning needs as well as making it accessible for students with physical disabilities, as stated in the article Making the Library Accessible.
I agree that the library media center needs to be easily accesible with a warm environment that draws students in. I even think that having a little cafe in the media center would be a wonderful asset for the students to use. At the same time, it depends on how willing the people in your school are willing to accomodate for these kinds of things as well as any budget costs. "Cafe Social" mentions that many librarians don't like the idea of having a cafe because their afraid of "messing the library up." Even the article "Consideration On Facilities" states that any facilities comittees need to have at least the principal, teachers, library aides, etc, which suggests that others might have difficult time approving a cafe or anything that makes the library welcoming. This is why library media specialists need to come up with detailed plans and reasons for changing the library to what they want it to look like to help improve circulation and library use.
Even having rules and procedures such as the ones outlined in the Elementary Library Routines wiki can help the library run more smoothly. If you were to have a cafe or have an atmosophere like Barnes and Noble, having set rules and procedures can help a library media specialist's request to improve the library. A library media center is there for students to pick out books, whether they're to read or study and we can't have that unless we make it a space where everybody can use.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Reading Log #1 (September 6)
Organization and structure seems to be the running theme in this week’s articles. Running an effective library media center doesn’t just mean having one that is organized and making it look appealing to the eye. While we need to be aware of this, we also need to collaborate with teachers and administration in a way that is open and respectful so that the media center can become an efficient place that everyone can use as a learning place and not just somewhere to find “sources” for their research project. This includes keeping up with the latest materials and books to incorporate into the library such as Web 2.0 tools and other technology for teachers and students to use. If your collaborators don’t have the tools they need, it’ll be unlikely they’ll come to the library let alone communicate with you about any educational needs.
This goes for students, teachers, and library media specialists in the form of classroom management. Media specialists should communicate clear rules and expectations for the library media center and enforce them in such a way so that students (and others) know how to behave while in the media center, but not enforce them in such a way that they become intimidated and never want to come back again.
So management in all forms is a running theme in these articles, communication goes hand in hand with the management. Without effective management of the materials and students who come into the library, we would have disorganization and little interaction going on, but without the effective communication to keep this management going, we won’t get the library to where we want it to be, and that is the center for reading and learning on all levels.
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