As a school librarian, the author has paid close attention to legislation and book banning efforts across the United States over the past few years. Because their focus had been on school libraries, they hadn't really thought about censorship and book banning efforts in public libraries. After speaking out at a library board meeting, the author…

School librarians have a critical role to play in supporting the use of Ed Tech within our schools. It is an ever-changing field. Additionally, it is often the school librarian who has the unique responsibility of introducing and sharing new technology with their school community. However, school librarians also have the added responsibility of…

Openly licensed educational resources (OER) are an untapped opportunity for free, quality resources to expand a school library collection. As with any library asset, they must be evaluated to ensure that they are in fact free and openly licensed. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has created an OER repository and has learned…

Forsyth County Schools (FCS) is a rapidly growing school district just north of Atlanta, Georgia. It has approximately 45,000 students and is one of the top-ranked school districts in the state with a graduation rate of 94 percent and test scores to match this excellent graduation rate. The district has long been known as a leader in the area of…

The purpose of "Choose Privacy Week" is to encourage a national conversation to raise awareness of the growing threats to personal privacy online and in day-to-day life. The 2016 Choose Privacy Week theme is "respecting individuals' privacy," with an emphasis on minors' privacy. A plethora of issues relating to minors' privacy…

School librarians are experiencing upheaval and controversy in education today. They are coping with the implementation of (and battles over) the Common Core State Standards, the uncertain future of their jobs, and the rapidly changing nature of school libraries. Despite the flux and instability in education, the importance of intellectual freedom…

In April 2015, U.S. House Representatives Luke Messer and Jared Polis introduced the bipartisan Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act of 2015, designed to significantly restrict how online education vendors can exploit the personal data of students who use their products. For some, the bill does not go far enough. It is evident that…

In this article, the author states that school librarians can contribute to an atmosphere that supports intellectual freedom by drawing attention to the subtle messages about community values--messages that are communicated by virtue of what is included or excluded from curricular and co-curricular offerings. The author address issues with…

In thinking about teens and online risks, school librarians need to know researchers generally agree that, despite the popular image of pedophiles and criminals lurking online waiting to harm innocent young people, in reality social media use is only about as risky as most everyday social interactions in the offline world (Agosto and Abbas 2013).…

This article addresses the question of what app or website is appropriate for teachers to use for classroom instruction. While most school districts have safety policies related to the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) implemented by means of software and district firewalls, this…

School librarians act as servants of the school community and protectors of students' rights, and it is the ethical duty of school librarians to champion student privacy and resist threats to it. This article addresses the legality of this process based upon the 2007 article "How Does the Family Rights and Privacy Act [FERPA] Affect You"…

The use of electronic reading devices has proliferated in the last few years. These reading devices appear to be particularly popular with young readers. A generation of students that has grown up with computers, cell phones, iPods, and other high-tech devices is more likely to embrace electronic book technology for both their educational and…

Each profession has its own code of ethics. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2008) defines professional ethics as "the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group." The Code of Ethics of the American Library Association (ALA Council 2008) has served librarians for seventy years and reflects the ideals toward which all librarians…

Teenagers will freely give up personal information to join social networks on the Internet. However, a 2007 study by the Pew Internet and American Life project found that most of the 55 percent of teens who place their personal profiles online take steps to protect themselves from the most obvious areas of risk. Parents, teachers, and librarians…