MLIS Experience

 Great video focusing on the role of libraries in Social Justice and Civic Engagement!

  One of the topics discussed this week focused on social justice and activism. This spurred another discussion: should social justice be promoted in the library? My opinion on this controversial topic (yes, because everything is controversial!) is YES. However, in my current position as a public school librarian, or any public school, promoting social justice must be done appropriately and strategically. Our politically-charged society tends to anger very easily over social justice issues; therefore, bringing up such a matter in a public school library could be frowned upon, depending on the community it serves. So, out of curiosity, I started researching some of the things libraries can do to promote social justice. A great link/resource I found was through the Massachusetts Library System: What Your Library Can Do - Social Justice and Libraries - LibGuides at Massachusetts Library System, Inc. (masslibsystem.org) I have already incorporated some of these ideas in my school l...

This week in my Social Media and Informatics class, we are supposed to reflect on our workplace social media policy. So, I figured I mind as well just copy and paste the policy below.  It is quite detailed, but at the same time I understand why certain things are in place. After all, it is a public school system and we live in a society in which lawsuits are common practice.  With that being said, the district accounts that are permitted seem to have "Big Brother" watching over them.  Then there is this portion: "Speech that takes place off-site and on an employee’s own time, including posting on personal social media accounts, may be addressed if the District establishes that the employee’s expression infringed on the interests of the District in promoting the efficient and effective functioning and educational purpose of the District. If employee speech or expression would violate law or Board policy in a traditional forum, it is also prohibited in an online forum. Whe...

Over 600 Indian students stranded in Ukraine used social media to make it home After two weeks of rationing food and water as gunfire rained down near their bunkers, hundreds of Indian students made it to New Delhi this week.    Soc Media Ukraine I can't even imagine what it is like right now in Ukraine, and the situation continues to get worse. However, social media is saving lives! If only we could all use social media in a way that helps instead of hinder. 

Recently, civility was discussed in my graduate class, Social Media & Informatics. I was lucky enough to run some of our class discussion board discussions. I walked in being pretty passionate about the topic, as I continually work with adolescents who can’t seem to figure out the importance of being civil to each other online. Take this picture, for example: Looks harmless enough; a couple of people taking a photo. Then it gets posted on social media. How many will compliment them? How many will bash, discriminate, harass, manipulate? No one knows for sure. Will those in the picture handle the possible consequences of their post (good or bad)? This is not just an adolescent issue. But unfortunately, it appears that the problems of civility online have taken a toll on many of my classmates. Reports of harassment, broken friendships, families being ripped apart came up during our discussions. Even worse is that there are no finite solutions to the civility question. How did this...