Privacy 2.0

I love it when blog posts incorporate video!  I don’t think I’ll ever get into exclusive vlogging, but I do enjoy the YouTube videos or blip.tv clips that people sometimes include with a blog post.

Anyway, Jessamyn West got snagged by Library Journal and was asked some questions about privacy, the (to some people) fetishization thereof, and the role that librarians can play in handling, protecting, and (perhaps) rethinking how we approach privacy and privacy concerns.

I really, really like what she says, especially the part toward the end about moving toward a new consideration of privacy and how we as librarians can approach it.  (Although I’ll be honest, I shuddered a little when she used the term “two point oh,” if only because the term seems so ubiquitous these days. But thankfully, she uses it  — as far as I’m concerned – in the right way and in a different context than what I’m used to.)  I really wish I could have heard what Cory Doctorow and the rest of the panel had to say.  Thankfully the blogs that I follow have been providing some excellent feedback on the ALA conference for people like me who wish we were there.

And as an aside, I really like how podcasts and videoblogs can humanize simple text.  For example, librarian.net is one of the blogs that got me into libraries and blogging, but I never really thought about what Jessamyn’s voice sounded like.  Of course, I’m also one of those people who can’t help but hear someone’s voice when I read what they write, which is, of course, the case with other bloggers that I’ve already met, whether through work, class, or something else. 

I know just about everyone hates the sound of their own voice, but it does make me wonder what some of you other bloggers out there sound like.

Sex Education and YA

Two articles worth reading, especially if you work with teens and young adults:

1. “The mystery and the act: Towards a YA human sexuality collection,” by Tori Weesner, in the online journal Progressive Librarian.
2. “Sex education and the American public library: A study of collection development, reference services, and programming for young adults,” by Rebecca J. Cohen, in the journal Young Adult Library Services.

The really sad thing is that Cohen’s article is from 2008, and it describes many of the same problems and challenges that Weesner describes back in 2000.  Apparently there hasn’t been a great deal of change in how public libraries approach the idea of teen sexuality — and it’s been almost a decade.

Is it a question of personal and professional discomfort with the subject?  Community standards?  Or is it something else that I’m missing?

And with that, it’s time for me to get back to writing my paper about It’s Perfectly Normal.

Wordle: Cymbeline

Yeah, like a lot of other library people, I’ve been having way too much fun with Wordle.  Here’s the text of Cymbeline, one of my favorite plays by Shakespeare.

What I find fascinating about this is that “Imogen” actually appears larger than “Cymbeline” (and larger than any tag for a male character), and it’s actually the biggest word in the whole cloud.  Little wonder then that Imogen is one of Shakespeare’s most fascinating and complex characters (and the subject of one chapter in my honors thesis from way back when).

Revolt

Graffiti on College Street in Auburn, AL.

Internet Privacy

A library system in Ohio is taking aggressive action to combat digital porn in its libraries, possibly installing software which would allow library staff to view a screenshot of what a patron is looking at on their computer, presumably to determine whether it’s objectionable or not.

Elaine doesn’t like it, and neither do I.  And while I agree wholeheartedly with her, my objections also stem from questions about what (and why something) should be considered “objectionable,” since some would consider images from a lingerie catalog perfectly acceptable (they might be mildly provocative but are hardly pornographic), while others might object to the use of the word “fart” in a children’s book.  (See DW’s Guide to Perfect Manners and Walter the Farting Dog as examples of the latter.)

Elaine adds,

… it pains me, because I loved my job at this library and really cared about the patrons I was serving. So, I hate to see them all suffering because of a few bad apples and a director who is more like an overprotective parent than a library professional (think John Lithgow in Footloose).

You can read the full post by Elaine (the Library Gremlin) here.

LOLs

I don’t care what J says.  This is so, so precious.

Thanks to Mel for sending me the ICHC pic.

This is… Facebook?

Now here’s an interesting use of social networking software.  Apparently members of a particular Facebook group — numbering close to 30,000 — jotted “THIS IS SPARTA” in the essay portion of their AP Literature exam books and then crossed it out (as all test-takers are instructed when they don’t want something they’ve written to be counted by test examiners).  From the article:

During the week of exam grading, readers exchanged sightings of the graffito; one table even erected a sign proclaiming, “This is Sparta!” But the most telling detail of this adolescent prank is the cautionary instruction to draw a single line through the sentence.

Talk about guerilla, even if the gesture is, all things considered, little more than sound and fury.  And even as the proud recipient of a five on my AP Lit exam, it’s things like this that make me wish Facebook was around when I was in high school.

The entire story can be read here.  Discovered via Kirsten of Into the Stacks.

Riot Rule #4: “Always be learning.”

Mel has a picture frame on one of the walls in her apartment, with a number of inspirational, motivational, and humorous quotations that she selected and arranged herself. One of my favorites is, “The best reason: we might learn something.”

In planning the activities for our summer reading program, I decided that it would be a good idea to have some caterpillars, feed them a bunch of milkweed leaves, let them spin their cocoons, and then watch them turn into butterflies. It’s a cute idea, and it all goes along nicely with both the children’s theme (”Catch the Reading Bug”) and the teens’ theme (”Metamorphosis @ Your Library”), so the whole program has something for everyone. Things started out relatively well, with the arrival of six caterpillars, six milkweed plants, and three terrarium-style “cages” for the critters to call home. A librarian from our Events and Outreach department even personally delivered all the required goods.

And then, one caterpillar died. Then another. And another.

And then people became attached to the remaining caterpillars. Members of the staff even gave them names.

Then two more died; so long, Princess Mia and Soda Pop.

Which leaves us, sadly, with one single caterpillar.

So now Dylan the Caterpillar has been moved from her original home in the staff break room to the Help Desk, where patrons and staff alike can watch her gnawing away at milkweed and apparently having a good time. Or at least as good a time as a caterpillar can have.

With five caterpillar deaths on my hands, do I consider this program a success? Maybe not in the conventional sense. But if nothing else, it’s been a learning experience. Even if I didn’t successfully raise all my caterpillars to butterfly maturity (and believe me, as the “caterpillar killer,” I had some crazy guilt-drenched nightmares), I still learned that I should be more cautious about any library programs that, say, involve living things.

In the meantime, I’ve seen a few parents lift their small children in their arms so that the kids can get a better look at Dylan and her little caterpillar life. So even if Dylan is the last of her kind, at least the program hasn’t been a total bust so far.

The point is, if I can walk away from this knowing that I shouldn’t have done something or that I should have done something differently, then all things considered, I’ve garnered some kind of professional and personal gain. Even when we make mistakes, we can’t beat ourselves up too badly as long as we learn from them.

On a somewhat related note, keep in mind the 80s-movie wisdom at the end of Say Anything, when Diane Court turns to Lloyd Dobler and says, “Nobody thinks it will work, do they?” and Lloyd, without missing a beat, responds, “No. You just described every great success story.”

School’s (not) out for summer

Looking back through the posts that I’ve written so far, I’ve noticed that I haven’t said much about school. This is kinda strange, considering that I’m enrolled in two classes which (in addition to having a full time job and trying to have a life) take up a lot of my time. Just to give you some context about my education and about how at least several hours of my week are spent, here’s the lowdown on my summer semester.

This summer semester, I’m taking two classes. One of them is “Information Policy,” a core course required of all MLIS students at FSU. So far, it’s been pretty interesting. We’ve covered some basic concepts about cyberspace and law, as well as issues surrounding patents, trademarks, and copyrights. I actually managed to make my professor laugh at one point when I explained the distinction between an idea and the expression of an idea with the analogy, “I can copyright a love song, but I can’t copyright love.” Sure, it’s a bit romantic, but I think it makes the point pretty clear.

The other class that I’m taking is “Information Needs of Children,” which involves reading a number of children’s books (both picture books and chapter books) and studying some basic issues about child development, both psychologically and socially. It’s pretty fun so far, and I figure that I’ve already got a decent background in the field since picture books are about the only books that librarians actually have time to read when they’re at work (since it takes maybe four to five minutes to read them). I am, however, a little antsy about the culminating project, which is essentially a massive topical bibliography. I had thought about doing one on “Death and Dying” (i.e., books and resources helpful for grieving children and their parents), but since the professor provides a link to an existing resource on this subject, I’m thinking of doing one on “Art and Artists.” If nothing else, it gives me a chance to wax poetic about Warhol and Kandinksy and Pollock.

I’m managing to stay afloat so far, even if a lot of the work is getting done close to the last minute. The real challenge will come in the fall and the spring, when I’ll be taking three classes each semester instead of two. I’m a bit nervous, but, needless to say, I’ll be glad when this is all over with.

“Revolution in the Stacks”

Interesting piece in this month’s Governing Magazine, on how some public libraries are embracing a new role as a place where patrons can create media, among other innovations. Appropriately titled “Revolution in the Stacks,” Christopher Swope examines several innovative library strategies, including the PLCMC’s Loft for teens and young adults, the Maricopa County Library’s de-Deweyed branch, the Contra Costa County Library’s “vending” machines, and the Hennepin County Library’s interactive online catalog.

From the article, regarding recent PLCMC initiatives:

Not long ago, libraries enjoyed something of a monopoly on the public’s access to information. It was a benign monopoly, of course. But closed stacks, endless lists of rules and the shushing librarian all became symbols of a stuffy order that served institutional interests. Now, the Internet is forcing libraries to change that mentality — and quickly.

On a related note, am I the only who’s profoundly jealous of the PLCMC? I mean, I’m happy for them and all, but it’d be nice if all libraries could do things as cool as what they have going on in Charlotte.

Discovered via LISNews.