Mind Your Business!

Here is a new link:

https://oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/whiteme/Privacy.pdf

I don't know why my links never work! :)

When I was a teenager I used to babysit all around the neighborhood. I will never forget a little blond girl that I was frequently in charge of. She must have been 4 or 5 and she had been in her room with the door closed. So, I knocked to see if she was ok. She responded, “Yes, I just want some privacy!”
A five year old has a full grasp of privacy but the government doesn’t? The article above discussed the responsibility we have as librarians to protect out patron’s privacy. I agree especially when it comes to business trying to collect information to try and sell you something. Nothing irritates me more.
I don’t know when this started but it has been a few years now were retailers ask you for a phone number or zip code when checking out. I feel like yelling, “Mind your business! I just want to buy this shirt!” (Too extreme?)
There are lots of different reasons to collect information but solicitation is not a good one. And the library is no place for it.

Week #4 June 10th

Check out this article:
https://oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/whiteme/Cluck_2C_20Cluck.pdf

I love this article because it is a perfect example of how everything is constantly progressing. The internet was originally developed for information sharing between Universities. As it became more accessible it was a natural choice for public/school libraries collection development. Now that the Internet has developed into an uncontrollable beast, What do we do? It is a library’s responsibility to provide information no matter the vehicle. Unfortunately the vehicle is currently being used by perverts, porn stars, and pedophiles.

If everyone would just play by the rules this wouldn’t have happened! Why can everyone just be normal!( I know there is no real definition of normal.)

So, now that the Internet exists and is available for us in 97% of libraries, the question is, “What can we do to stay ahead?”

Post #3 Week of June 3rd

What is the saying?

"With great power comes great responsibility."

I think that this quote applies to what we are talking about this week. There is so much to cover that I have to use bullet points to keep track of my thoughts so I apologize.

• First, I have been following the case of Megan Meier, a young girl who killed herself because she was being bullied on MySpace. Here is the link to one of the many articles:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/15/internet.suicide/index.html

Just in case, because I know my link didn't work last time, if you visit cnn.com and search for Megan Meier all the articles will come up. This story is heart breaking because it is something so stupid that created such a drastic and permanent response. Being a teenager is hard enough with all this additional pressure created by social networking. Generally speaking, teens don't have the foresight to comprehend the repercussions of their actions. As I say that, the antagonist in the Megan Meier story is actually an mother of one of her friends. It really is heartbreaking because it is so preventable.

• I heard that colleges are now checking the WebPages of applicants for questionable material.
• The pressure to be popular and the need to fit in is only getting worse.
• Parents have a hard job trying to stay up on what their kids are doing, let alone ahead of them.
• I liked the Ad Council’s video about thinking before you post.

Just a side note. As a military spouse, we live in another country and I have lots of updates about my husband (Andy) and I would love to have a Webpage that our friends and family could utilize. Due to OPSEC (operational security) I am not allowed to post anything remotely related to Andy. I have no problem with that either. His safety is first and for most. Just one more layer to this onion.