Copyright Project Update

For my copyright project, I found a CD ROM that I had with a text book I used in an Educational Technology course as an undergrad at Lenoir-Rhyne that has all the information you would ever need to know about copyright law. The book is called Intel Teach to the Future. The CD ROM has all these different modules that will take you though how to use various software programs in the classroom. It's really a useful tool. One of the modules contained a PowerPoint presentation created by someone from the Institute of Technology who had researched the topic and created the presentation specifically for this program. She has all the information about fair use in there as well. I'm taking this information and condensing it into a brochure that I'm creating in Publisher. I'll be anxious to share what I learned tomorrow at dinner. I'm looking forward to class at Carrabbas. :)

Controversial Issues Project Finished

Our group finally finished our controversial issues project just in time for the online class meeting. I'll have to say, I really enjoyed working with my group members. They were all very responsible in getting their part of the project done. We all worked together nicely and I look forward to working with those girls again in the future. As you know, our project was on banned books due to sexual content. Noel did the historical research, I believe Leigh researched middle grades banned books, Veronica did elementary level, and I took high school. It was interesting to see how views and opinions had changed over the years. What was considered to be risque and obscene in the 1960s is only PG at worst today. It's kind of sad in a way, that the innocence of the country is lost. I learned though my research that people who fought for the freedom to read these banned books really went through a lot of shame and discrimination. Some teachers lost jobs, etc. I think there's a fine line that we need to walk when it comes to censoring and banning books. I'm middle of the road on most issues and this is no exceptions. We need to keep in mind what is age appropriate for our youth, especially when it comes to controversial issues like drugs, sex, gangs, violence, etc. However, we also need to give them the freedoms that we all share in this country. We cannot shelter our children forever, but we can protect them from reading things that are going to lead them down the wrong paths. I also believe that public libraries should have less censoring, of course, but enough so that I'm not afraid to bring my son inside. If they are going to have materials that are not suitable for children, they should have restrictions on who is allowed to check those materials out. Some may say that's the parents job, but I'm here to tell you that many parents today don't do their jobs. I just had a sixth grader tell me to day (11 years old) that he just recently saw the lastest horror movie, Saw 5. It's all blood and gore and murder and if you ask me it is not for children's eyes. He told me that his parents don't care and take him to all the new horror flicks. This proves my point: If their parents aren't going to look out for them, we have to. I can't have that on my conscience. I know that we have freedoms in this country and that's what makes this country great, but we need to protect our children at the same time. (Not to mention, it's not doing us any good to look at things that are obscene or violent or sexual in nature either. My preacher always says: "If you don't want your kids to see it, what business do you have watching it?")

Controversial Issues Project Class Meeting

Our class met 2 weeks ago to present our controversial issues projects. It was pretty interesting meeting online for the first time. We certainly had our share of glitches. It seemed like we spent the first hour saying, "can you hear me? I can't hear you. Can you hear me now?" I felt like I was in a verizon commercial. We did get to see one project on gang violence and the group really did a great job. I enjoyed their presentation very much. I was just a little disappointed because they were the only ones to present. The other class members were finished, but at least one person from every group couldn't get their sound or mics to work. It was frustrating to say the least. Even so, I do hope we can have more online classes in the future. I really enjoyed going to class from my home. It was a learning experience I enjoyed, even with all the problems we encountered. It's really amazing how technology can bring people together.

Weeding Project

I recently completed my weeding / replacement project and it took much more work than I thought it would. Librarians really have their work cut out for them. The weeding part is not really the difficult part, it's really just tedious and time consuming. However, the challenge lies in finding materials to replace the old ones with. It seems as though everyone has a different opinion on these new books sometimes. You kind of have to make the call based on the reviews, or at least that's what I relied heavily on. It was also a little disheartening; I felt like I made the wrong choices, because I had a difficult time finding the books that I chose as replacements in local public libraries. I tried, though, to pick books on similar topics (I chose the biography section so it wasn't that difficult). However, the question that was always lurking in the back of my mind was, "if this book wasn't circulated enough to be kept, is it really worth it to purchase another one on the same topic?" Also I wondered if that person who was the topic of the discarded book was historically significant enough to be kept in the library. It seems to me that librarians really need to be a jack of all trades because their job requires that they know a little about a lot of topics and subjects (or a lot about a lot). It is really a huge responsibility to keep the library up to date and to purchase the best materials to keep the patrons interested in coming back.

This week's guest speaker

Last Tuesday we had a guest speaker (Karen Lowe) who spoke to the class about collection development. She mainly talked about how to develop a five-year plan to update the materials on your shelf. I learned a great deal from her and it seems like the only logical plan for librarians on a tight budget. However, I did feel somewhat lost as she discussed the categories of the Dewey Decimal System. I don't know how I'll ever learn all those categories. Also, how can you judge what category a book will belong to without reading it (just by looking at its cover)? I guess that's where the annotations and reviews come in when you are reordering. The process for weeding and replacing materials that she mentioned really didn't seem too tough. Parts of it did seem somewhat tedious, but not so overwhelming anymore. I really feel like I learned a lot about how a library is run!

Creating an annotated selection tool list...

Last week we started looking at various selection tools for building library collections. I didn't know there were such publications out there. I also didn't realize how specific and specialized some of them were. Some were very helpful and others were not of much use to me. I looked at one book that was limited to American history for senior high school students. While this was an excellent resource for the particular audience it served, it was very narrow in scope. I'm looking forward to finding out more about the online journals and other publications that also serve as selection tools. We are required to locate 10 and evaluate them before next class. This project will definitely be a useful resource to me when I begin to build my own collection and select my own materials.

Selection Tools Project

I really enjoyed the guest speaker in class tonight. I really gained some insight as to how a public library is run. It sounds like such a great job. I would love to have the responsibility of developing a collection for the library. I am also considering possibly getting my MLS in public libraries as well as school libraries. It is only one class and it would open many more doors for me. I am looking forward to evaluating some of the tools that are used to help librarians select materials for the library. The skills I am learning in this class will be useful to me in the field. Nina made the selection of materials seem easy, especially with all the resources that actually annotate, review, and even show the cover of the book. These databases even show what all she had purchased in the past. It was also interesting to learn that Wal-Mart has the best prices on most DVDs and movies. I know that I may have only certain sources that I can order from when purchasing for the school library. I liked the fact that you could get away with ordering more diverse materials if you worked in a public library. I do not like the hours, however. I believe I do want to stick to school libraries, even though the pay is not as great. Once I research and create my annotated list of selection tools, I'll post which ones I found to be the best!

Collection Development Policy Analysis and Controversial Issues Projects

I just finished my collection development policy analysis for Catawba County Schools. I found the policy to be fairly comprehensive because it included most of the elements I selected for a good policy. The class brain-stormed some criteria for a good policy and I selected what I felt was the most important criteria. I then evaluated the policy for my school system to see if it measured up to the criteria selected. The only places it fell short were procedures for weeding materials and for budgeting money to select new materials. I do understand why the policy couldn't include budgeting information, though. Because the policy is meant to cover every school in the county, it would be impossible to include specifics on budget information; every school has a different allotment of money for technology and instructional media resources. Also, principals have the final say in how the money allotted to their school will be spent.

With regard to the controversial issues project, I've decided to change my focus. This isn't a big deal, because I hadn't really started the project yet. It's not that I haven't tried, it's just that I couldn't the specific material I was looking for. Our group decided to research banned books on sexuality in libraries. We split the focus among the group members. I believe Noel took pre-k, Leigh took middle schools, and Veronica took elementary. I originally had books banned from public libraries, however when I went to search for books banned from public libraries, I wasn't having any luck finding any. In fact, I couldn't find a mention of any books banned from public libraries. (I'm not saying there aren't any, I just couldn't find any on any of the online lists.) Because of this, I decided to switch my focus to books on sexuality banned from high school libraries. I've read many of those already, so it won't be difficult for me to research the history of the book and explain why it was banned in my presentation to the class. The toughest part is just finding time to meet with my group to coordinate this project!

Confused...

Okay, I must say that I am registered for two classes this semester and while they are focused on very different topics, they are the same in the types of assignments that are required. Both require us to meet with groups (the same groups in each class). Both require us to post to discussion boards. Both also require us to post to blogs on a regular basis. I am getting confused on what to post to where and when! I'm not sure if I'm supposed to blog about meetings, interviews, projects, etc. Also, if I'm supposed to blog about those things, what am I supposed to post to the discussion boards? How often do I need to post? I also felt like I was supposed to meet with my group members for something for this class (5010) and I forgot what it was. They said no when i asked them. We talked though, and we are all getting a little mixed up about what to do where and when. Dr. Nita... if you read this, please help!

Controversial Issues: Books on Sexuality in Libraries

I've done some research on this topic and found that countless books on this topic or even touching on this topic have been banned from both public and school libraries. Usually books that have been banned from schools have been "taught" by teachers first in English classes and parents have objected to the material being taught. Most libraries and librarians support your freedom to read, but realize that all topics aren't appropriate for all audiences.

Books may be banned for the following reasons: they are sexually explicit, contain offensive language, are unsuited to a particular age group, have an occult theme, are violent, they promote homosexuality, promote a religious viewpoint, or are anti-family. Some of the books that have been banned over the years include: 1984 by George Orwell, Another Country by James Baldwin, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Sallinger, and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

Some books that were considered to be offensive in the past are no longer offensive today due to the fact that our society's values and standards have changed. For example, The Catcher in the Rye, a classic coming of age novel, was banned for profanity, sexual references, and undermining morality. Some also considered it to be blasphemous because of the repeated use of the Lord's name in vain. Today, however, the book is one of the most "taught" pieces of literature in American public high schools. I read the book for the first time after graduating from college and found nothing particularly offensive (with the exception of the profanity). In the 1960s, in a different world, with different values, however, I suppose it would be.

On the other hand, a book like Lolita would still be offensive today to many, even though it is written well and a very respected piece of literature. From what I remember of this book, it is about a middle-aged man sleeping with a 12-year-old girl. In my opinion, this book most definitely doesn't belong in a classroom or a school library because of these sexual themes. However, in a public library, it may be appropriate because it is considered to be a classic, well-written, well-respected piece of literature (even though it is controversial).

Most research that has been done on the topic of how children and teens are affected by the topic of sexuality in various media sources concludes that fictional stories do have some influence on teens decision making, especially if they can relate to the character in the story. Teens who are unaccepted socially are particularly vulnerable. Most school systems teach abstinence, therefore fictional stories that glorify sex are unacceptable in the school setting. Teens are trying to learn who they are and the kind of person they want to become. They can be easily influenced by fictional characters that they identify with.

So, the question remains, do books with sexual themes belong in libraries? I suppose the answer depends on who the audience is. In our textbook, it talks about building your catalog to fit the needs of the whole community it serves. Therefore, I guess we just need to use a little common sense. If the community you serve is children in a school setting, books on sexual education may be acceptable, but fictional books with sexual themes may not. However, in a public library, if there was a demand for these books within that community, there should be no reason why books with sexual themes should not be a part of the "adult" section of the catalog, especially if the books are classics or are considered to be a part of the literary cannon.

1st Blog for Lib5010

This is my first blog for LIB5010. I'm setting this up to make sure it works okay!