I think the debate on where to place certain books in the library has been interesting. I understand that the location is important. We want our patrons to be able to find the books there are searching for. There are purists who feel book collections should be shelved by Dewey decimal number only. There are others with more liberal views on how to make book collections available for easy access. Shelving a book can be a difficult decision and librarians can become passionate about their viewpoints! Because of this shelving controversy, I thought it would be fun to "play with the passion". Here is what I came up with.... I hope you like it!

Literary Divers search local library for missing books

by The Libris Newsroom

Thursday, April 23, 2009, 7:53 PM

By Rhoda Crowell
Rpcrowell433@gmail.com

WEST SPRINGFIELD Literary divers have been searching the West Springfield Public Library this morning for missing book collections. Authorities say Traditional Literature, Graphic Novels and certain fiction books have been mysteriously taken from their shelves. B. O. Grafies, a Library Media Specialist told reporters the books were placed prominently in a display for easy retrieval by patrons. Grafies said “I like to keep these collections out because so many children like to have them in one location. This morning I arrived to find the book displays empty.”
Catalog police were called in to investigate. Further investigation found the missing books were placed in the non-fiction section of the library. A radical traditionalist librarian from a near-by town was taken into custody for the crime. She will plead guilty to transferring the books from their prominent locations in the Youth Room, re-shelving them by their Dewey Decimal number in the Non-fiction sections. Unnamed sources report that she moved the books, claiming the books were going through separation anxiety.

Additional information was not immediately available.

The Future of cataloging

Emerging technology needs to be addressed when discussing cataloging as we are this week in class.
I recently came across this speech given by Deanna B. Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services Library of Congress at the Ebsco Leadership Seminar Boston, Massachusetts January 16, 2005. ttp://www.loc.gov/library/reports/CatalogingSpeech.pdf
In her speech of 4 years ago, Ms. Marcum discusses the growing trend toward using metasearch engines like Google and Yahoo for researching information. She asked her audience what direction library cataloging should head with the emergence of new online applications. She mentions the announcement by Google who began working with Universities to offer a way to search scholarly literature. The result today is Google Scholar. Her concern was how to adapt the metadata stating, "Cataloging now involves identifying metadata that already exist and taking advantage of existing description and access points. Different approaches are needed depending on whether resources are archived or linked and how long they will last. New hybrid systems take advantage of traditional library catalog information along with abstracting and indexing tools and online reference tools." There have been adaptations in cataloging occurring since this speech of course.

Through our reading assignment from Catalog it! A Guide to Cataloging School Media Materials (2nd edition) by Allison Kaplan and Ann Riedling, I found how important such cataloging systems as the Library of Congress are in organizing library collections throughout the United States and the world. The importance of having an accurate record in place for patrons/students to have easy access to relevant research information in imperative to the future of libraries with adaptations to changing internet technology. Most students would say they research data through sites like Google, Dog Pile and Wikipedia because the information is found quicker and easier than through a library catalog. In truth, although Google, Alta Vista and other search engines give them quick information, that information is not always relevant to the subject being searched and often comes with commercial advertisements, forcing people to search the search results for the relevant links. In the end, the "quick search" doesn't very happen quickly at all. Yet students still choose metasearch engines first. Why? Because they are easy to use. Libraries are still key to providing relevant and commercial-free information. Training by librarians and educators in proper researching is key for effective students learning. And accurate, detailed and consistent cataloging is essential for making those libraries the more logical place for finding the information they need quickly and effectively.

Cyber Safety Challenge

Links to Online Safety

On-line Safety is a concern for everyone. We want to explore the new frontier of technology but not at the cost of personal safety. I've gathered these links for your informational needs. Stay Safe!!

Online Safety Links, Guides and Videos

Websites

http://lmk.girlscouts.org/Online-Safety-Topics/Online-Sexual--Predators/The-Facts.aspx Let Me Know is a program between Girl Scouts of America and Microsoft Windows This user friendly section of the site is specifically designed around the subject of “Online predators”.

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/ResourceServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=2954 Keeping Kids Safer on the Internet, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Safety tips for families whose children use online services.

http://www.mcgruff.org/Advice/online_safety.php The McGruff character, from the National Crime Prevention Council, has long been synonymous with child safety. Parents and educators can explore all the different links to this sites but this one is specifically for online-safety.

http://www.netsmartz.org/ Also from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, this site is family oriented and user friendly. There are sections available for children, teens, parents, educators and law enforcement. I especially like the internet safety pledges, they have adjusted them to make them appropriate for different ages and stages of development.

http://www.wiredsafety.org/ This site is the world’s largest internet safety help and education resource. (from her on-site bibliography )The Executive Director of Wired Safety, Parry Aftab, is a security, privacy and cyberspace lawyer, as well as an author and child advocate. Recently more than 90% of her time is donated to Internet issues involving children and adults, ranging from protecting children from sex crimes online to helping adults avoid identity theft and fraud online. Her main focus is teaching good cybercitizenship, especially to young people. The young children friendly section of Wired Safety is http://www.wiredkids.org/wiredkids_org.html.

Videos and podcasts

http://www.wiredsafety.org/wiredlearning/videos/4P/Privacy.mov Patty Atfab narrates this EXCELLENT Quicktime clip on internet privacy (geared towards parents)

http://www.wiredsafety.org/wiredlearning/videos/index.html Wired Safety has a series of video clips to illustrate and teach about internet safety. The first section 4P’s discusses Predators, Pornography, Privacy and Piracy. Included is a clip “Chrissy’s Story” about a girl who, when she was 13 years old, was approached by a predator via the internet. An introduction to the 4P’s and credits are also included in this section.

The second set of short clips entitled “You never know” illustrates an online conversation from a variety of viewpoints, there are clips where the main character is a boy and a girl. The person they are chatting with includes everyone from brothers to prisoners to a nun monitoring the school computers.

There is also a series produced by High school students about Kacie Renee Woody, the first minor killer by an on-line predator on December 3, 2002. What follows is a heart-wrenching four part article by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette about the abduction and murder of Kacie Renee Woody.

Pamphlets and guides

http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguide.htm The Federal Bureau of Investigation offers a parent’s guide to internet safety. This guide was prepared from actual investigations involving child victims, as well as investigations where law enforcement officers posed as children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUyQI0USNSY Google and Common Sense Media have combined forces to talk about internet safety. This is good to show teens but really would be most appropriate for parents.

http://www.wiredsafety.org/parent.html Wired safety Parents information guide. This guide answers questions like: What if I find out my child’s a bully? Is there software I can us to track what my kids are saying and doing? There are also questions and answers about e-spam and pop-ups. This guide also comes in pdf form. From this site you can also navigate to other areas of wiredsafety.com and its affiliated websites and blogs.

The issue of safety really hit home this week. Our church had an emergency meeting last Sunday. Since I'm on the Pastor Parish Relations Committee and I am the Charter Organization Representative for the Cub Scout pack that uses the church, I was asked to attend. The meeting was to discuss information discovered about a person who has been attending some of our church functions. There hadn't been any concern until this man was found trying to lure two of our young boys away from their mother to go outside with him. Another church member saw what was happening and followed them out. The church member suggested they go back inside with their mom. The mother was uncomfortable with the situation and voiced her concern with a church trustee. Upon research, it was found that this man was a level 3 sex offender who was not supposed to be anywhere near children. He is the worse offender our town has had, according to a police detective called in to investigate, with multiple sexual crimes against young boys. SCARY!!! Our church has a policy of inclusiveness but we also have a duty to protect our youth. Since this man violated his parole by trying to approach these boys, we now have a no trespassing order against him at our church. The public library and Boys and Girls club (across the street from where he now lives) have also set up no trespassing orders. But this is just one of 28 level 3 sex offenders who live in our town.
The subject of child safety, both on the web and in our communities is a real concern for everyone. Like I've been researching this week with the Internet safety assignment, there are those out in our communities who will exploit the trust of ourselves and our children to their our gains. We, as parents and educators, need to be aware of what is out there and how we can help those we've been entrusted to protect.

Internet Safety: Information for Parents video

This video brought to you by Google and Common Sense Media is a great introduction to parents on tips for internet safety for their children. I'll probably use it in my assignment this week: Internet Safety.

I thought about taking this assignments from a students point of view; use it as part of a Girl Scout project, and I will definitely be talking to "my girls" about this subject. Our Troop has a wiki for communication now and many of our girls are accessing the internet regularly for the first time. Internet safety is a subject it's imperative to discuss. However, most of the students have already been exposed to some sort of information through the school's computer teachers and librarians. Parents, on the other hand, have had mixed communication about the subject; many adults having more questions than the kids. If we can educate the parents to set guidelines and be aware of online safety, it can reduce the parent's fear and will help open communication with their children about this concern. Online safety begins with the parents.

Spreading the World to teachers...

We've been learning about an endless list of web2.0 applications but how can we get the word out to teachers and students that these applications are available... and in most cases, free!
My choice for spreading the world for this weeks assignment was via a website. I found a free website application called weebly. I like the website idea for this because it gives me the option of adding new sites as I find them. I also added a comment section to collaborate with those who find my site.

http://organizeyourstudents.weebly.com/