Alice is on her way...to the restricted section

At Icicle River Middle School, students will now have to get parental consent in order to check out the book "Alice on Her Way" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The board decided unanimously to do what they considered to be a "compromise" by placing the book under parental consent. Dave Winters, who challenged the book's appropriateness is not satisfied with the outcome because "the book is still on the shelf to any child who wants to read a section in the library and put it back."

Well, duh. Isn't that the case with any book anywhere? If "Alice on Her Way" isn't available to the child in the school library, won't Barnes and Noble be a suitable substitute for light aisle reading while Dad is getting a cup of coffee? Is Dad so wildly unaware that middle schoolers already know about the topics covered in the book? Does he know that some middle schoolers 15 and younger have already had SEX? Or at least THINK about having SEX, A LOT?

I'm glad Dave wasn't my father. I would hate to grow up in a household where I was not allowed to read books that touched upon subjects that are relevant to my life and the environment which I live. I am glad that my father didn't try to cram old copies of "Ladies Home Journal" down my throat so I would have a false sense of reality in terms of what marriage would be like, or sex for the first time. Hell, even what it means to be a "normal teenager." Because ultimately, who knows better as to what it means to be a teenager than the parents??

I offer a suggestion to the teens and tweens who want to read the book. The article states that "parents typically give consent by phone." Be a good friend to someone and make a phone call on their behalf. Nothing says true friendship like a dose of intellectual freedom!!!!

Is the NSA collecting your information?

In a Wall Street Journal article entitled, "NSA's Domestic Spying Grows As Agency Sweeps Up Data", a scary topic is discussed. The National Security Agency once confined to strictly foreign surveillance is now collecting data domestically. What kind of information? Well, they can look at your email, Internet sites you've been to, calls made and received on your cellphone, regular calls made and received on land-line phones, financial records (such as bank accounts, wire transfers, and credit card use) and airline information such as where you go and who you fly with. The NSA receives the "transactional" data from other agencies and private companies. The data is then analyzed to reveal suspicious patterns.

A number of NSA employees have voiced concerns that the agency maybe "overstepping its authority by veering into domestic surveillance." The article poses the serious question "Can the government examine such a large array of information without violating an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy?" This question has yet to be answered by Capital Hill. There is much political debate over the need to change the traditional definition of privacy rights. Donald Kerr, the deputy director of national intelligence said, "Since many people routinely post details of their lives on social-networking sites such as Myspace, their identity should not need the same protection as in the past. Instead only their "essential privacy" or "what they would wish to protect about their lives and affairs" should be veiled."

This scares me. Because we, the citizens, are using networking sites on a daily basis, this opens up debate as to whether or not we "deserve" the same level of privacy? The article talks about how the data-sifting takes place. Say for example, a suspected terrorist lives in San Diego. The NSA would begin monitoring that community and collecting and analyzing all electronic communications into and out of the city. If I have a friend who lives in San Diego and I email or call her, my communications would be collected.

I definitely think this article should be read. At this very moment, Congress is debating domestic spying powers and whether or not telecommunications and other companies who hand over information to the FBI and NSA should be immune from liability for assisting government surveillance. It is important we keep abreast on this topic because it affects all of us, you and me, whether or not we realize it.

ALA Censors Anthony Lewis

I just received a press release from the Indiana Library Federation entitled "ALA Censoring Guest Speaker, Critics Say." Critics are charging that ALA is censoring the comments made by Anthony Lewis at the January conference in Philadelphia. He was a distinguished guest speaker at the event. An important part of his speech was his call for the ALA to defend members of an independent library movement who are imprisoned in Cuba. According the the press release, "In a challenge to government control of information, since 1998 volunteers in Cuba have opened more than 200 libraries offering public access to uncensored books. Following secret police raids and one-day trials, several of the librarians are serving 20-year jail terms. Cuban courts have ordered the burning of book collections seized from the independent libraries."

Anthony Lewis spoke to the audience "I just urge you to not take that lightly. I think there can't be anything worse than putting librarians in prison because of their being librarians and giving people books to read."

Human rights organizations Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and International PEN are demanding the release of the librarians. However, ALA has refused to condemn the repression of librarians in Cuba or the book burning. Since the conference ended, no ALA publication has mentioned Anthony Lewis's speech on the issue even though two ALA journalist were present at the talk. Searching ALA Direct will only link you to articles that are over two years old on the subject.

Robert Kent, a spokesperson for the Friends of Cuban Libraries, states, "It is sadly ironic that zealots within the ALA, an organization which upholds opposition to censorship as its highest ideal, are suppressing comments made by Anthony Lewis at, of all places, an ALA conference. Sadder still, many rank-and file ALA members are completely oblivious to this travesty of justice and the need to restore the ALA's damaged honor and integrity.

I had not heard of this controversy at all until earlier this week when my email was bombarded with these press releases. I am appalled that ALA would not only censor Mr. Lewis's comments but ignore the situation in Cuba altogether. We have been learning in this class the importance of Intellectual Freedom and the good work that ALA does in promoting it. Then I read something like this! Jailed Librarians!!! ALA ignores it?? No record of Lewis's speech made public??? It seems to me that ALA is indeed censoring and this should indeed call in to question the ideals and ethics of the organization. If the public can question the motives and opinions of the ALA, can't librarians do the same??

Talking the Language

I saw this comic in the Journal and Courier and immediately thought of this class. It is something that Professor Ball mentioned on the first day of class; how do we process information best? For some people, they need to read it themselves. My husband is this way. He would much rather read it himself then have me read it aloud. He just can not process the information as quickly if he is not in control of it. I like to read information as well. I find that I pay more attention to commercials on television if there is text to be read. I also like pictures to accompany the text if it is something I must learn to do.

Anyway, this comic illustrates one parent's genius way of getting her child to do his homework. She is using his technology to get to him. Brilliant! More and more I see libraries across the United States using technology to draw the youth into the library. Whether it is for gaming purposes like "Guitar Hero" or online computer classes, the good news is, libraries are talking the language of the youth and getting them in the library. Once they are inside, we can see how many more modes of communication they can handle!

Social networking sites--Can you be denied graduation?

I have been looking into social networking articles for our fourth wiki posting and read this article in the Chronicle for Higher Education. Unfortunately, the article can not be accessed online without a paid subscription so if you want to read the article I can send you a pdf file. Two years ago Stacy Synder's profile was found on Facebook by the Millersville University of Pennsylvania's administrators. The photograph showed Ms. Snyder "drinking from a yellow plastic cup." Without a judicial hearing, the administration deemed her unfit to become a schoolteacher and denied her an education degree. They did allow her a degree in English instead. Not surprisingly, Ms. Snyder is suing the school stating that her free-speech and due-process rights were violated. I would say I agree with her. (As a side note I have a problem with her being awarded an english degree as if they were saying, "You are not fit to be an educator but you can be a poet, writer, etc. As if drinking and english go hand-in-hand).

I am concerned by this story because I'm not sure that school administrators should be allowed to suspend you or strip away your degree just because they found a photograph of you drinking on a social networking site. While colleges claim they do not actively search these sites (who would have that kind of time or money) students are still at risk every time they update their Facebook or Myspace page.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is backing Ms. Snyder's case and believes that universities are too quick to punish students for what they read on students' blogs or webpages. I will state that students should be more careful about what they put out there for others to see and read. This, again, comes down to the difference people have in the definition of "privacy." While I understand that school administrators might not want to see photographs of underage drinking or partying; it is not something that is shocking by any means. I see no harm in the photograph found of Ms. Snyder (although I base this on what I have read) and feel that stripping her of her degree was unwarranted. Any thoughts?