Digital Rights

From Boing Boing (via Stephen's Lighthouse)"

Digital Bill of Rights

By Cory Doctorow at 6:00 am Wednesday, Jun 13

The two reps who led the Congressional fight against SOPA have unveiled a draft bill of rights for the Internet. Reps Darryl Issa and Ron Wyden unveiled their proposal at Personal Democracy Forum, and invite the Internet to edit and refine the list on Keep the Web Open.

1. The right to a free and uncensored Internet.
2. The right to an open, unobstructed Internet.
3. The right to equality on the Internet.
4. The right to gather and participate in online activities.
5. The right to create and collaborate on the Internet.
6. The right to freely share their ideas.
7. The right to access the Internet equally, regardless of who they are or where they are.
8. The right to freely associate on the Internet.
9. The right to privacy on the Internet.
10. The right to benefit from what they create.

SOPA opponents unveil "Digital Bill of Rights"

I wonder if this will extend to kids? Certainly doesn't now.

New means of communication are calling for new "rights." This Reader's Bill of Rights for Digital Books from Librarians Against DMR is interesting. And of course, ALA's Freedom to Read Statement needs to be revisited everyone, not just librarians, on a regular basis - the format should be irrelevant to the information it holds. And of course the infamous ...

Seems like over the past dozen years, our fears have outweighted the value we place on rights and freedoms. It's time for the pendulum to start swinging the other direction. How do we make this happen in our schools?

Image source

Guest post from Connie Williams

This response to "At Whom Should Our Anger be Directed" from Connie Williams, a librarian in California who is very active in both state and national library associations, is so thoughtful it deserves its own post. And Connie gave me permission to make it one. Enjoy.

I certainly agree that advocating for a "library curriculum" will be more effective than advocating for a "library program." (See here and here.)  Anyway, Connie's experiences are well-worth heeding. No simple answers here, I'm afraid. But please, share your ideas!

 Oh, some other very good comments were left on At Whom post linked above - worth revisiting. - Doug 

You’ve done it again – set the stage for a fabulous conversation. There’s much to think about.

It’s the mandate thing.  Your words from 2003:

“I don’t think I am overly idealistic in my mandate-free approach to keeping library positions. Two years ago, our district formed a “choice” elementary school of about 90 students. It’s a model for many new schools we are seeing here in Minnesota - very small, project-based, hugely individualized, teacher-led. The first year they chose to staff a .1 media specialist position. The next year they decided they did not need the position. When they struggled that year with many tasks that that person had done the prior year, they reinstated a .25 media position this year.”

I believe that you are (were) indeed overly idealistic in your mandate-free approach to keeping library positions. I have discovered that often, no matter how wonderful a librarian is, how much an integral part of the learning community he/she is, after he/she gets budget cut, the position rarely – very, very rarely – gets reinstated. Schools acclimate to their new situation and then as the years go by, they forget, or they may pine for the “old days” but other priorities take precedence.

I’ve spent the better part of the last 10 years building advocacy actions. Working with colleagues in different venues I’ve helped to create “action advocacies”; I’ve written hundreds of letters, visited hundreds of legislators, produced a CD of library stories. Working again with colleagues I helped to create the California Campaign for Strong School Libraries.  Each and every one of these actions was designed to help others grab onto something and take it to their own local decision makers and lobby on behalf of their students. Because “all politics are local” we thought that by creating local advocacy programs, we could convince decision makers to keep us on.

Through all this, what I discovered:

1. The reality is: When the line item for “libraries” is noticed during the budget meeting, it doesn’t matter how integral the librarian is to the school learning community. When cuts need to be made, the library line item is easy to cross out.
2. To make change, the people in charge have to want that change themselves. Which is why advocacy has to be created in such a way to create the desire for change by those in charge.
3. It takes a special administrator to buck the easy way out of a budget crisis and not cut the librarian. There are many examples of exemplary administrators who have found creative and effective solutions to keeping their libraries not only open, but administered by the library team of librarian and support clerical assistance.

The question of a mandate is not “just” about making sure that every school has a librarian. It’s about creating the kind of schools where the library is the biggest classroom in the school where kids learn not only how to create important things, but how to learn and how to keep on learning long past their school days. It’s about making that shift from “the mandate is to keep librarians in every school” to “the mandate is that every child will have access to a strong school library rich in materials and solid instruction by a school librarian.

Budget cutting a school librarian should be the same kind of difficult decision for an administrator as whether to cut an English teacher or a Science teacher or a Math teacher.

And it’s about defining and spreading the concept of “strong school library” as a library that is staffed with a school librarian supported by clerical assistance with money for materials so that kids, faculties, administrators and parents reap the benefit of a well-administered library.

We keep talking about the “library program”. I suggest that we talk about the “library curriculum”. This is an especially important shift now as we move not only into Common Core [the library should be the ‘core’ of Common Core in every school] and as mandates [their word not mine!]  are coming in July requiring every school to prove that they are teaching positive digital citizenship.

Schools will save money keeping their librarians on staff. Doing so allows the entire teaching staff to receive daily professional development, if needed, in technology, lesson design, research skills, media literacy, digital citizenship and literacy. Schools save money by having their very own teacher on staff to instruct students on digital citizenship, advise on great reading, and provide the knowledge and well organized space for creative learning. Keeping their librarians on staff also means that there will be a ‘big picture’ person on district and site committees, someone to teach parents about things like helping their kids with homework, finding online classes, getting great reading ideas for themselves and their children and helping them work with their children in setting their FaceBook privacy accounts.

All of this…. and administering the library, choosing the important books, databases and digital resources for kids, teachers and parents! Its really a deal. No more pre-packaged “one shot” professional development, cybersafety assemblies, and other ineffective activities.

So… yes. I believe strong school libraries should be mandated. I believe it’s the only way that librarians won’t be cut by administrators who don’t understand, care or are ineffective.

The mandate should, in my opinion go along with other school reforms as part of a bigger push for effective education.

Working with legislators within education, our unions, and other decision-making institutions we must be a part of education decision making by participating on Department [state, local, national] committees.

It certainly won’t happen soon. But by creating the opportunities for us to nudge our way into these committees, persistence and good faith in the process will help us make the inroads we need.

In the meantime, we definitely need to do what you’re saying: to be worthy of attention: be there. Show up to all things educational. Bring handouts. Bring booklists, or bookmarks, or cookies. But be there and put in the work.

You ranted:  here’s mine. :) We want the same thing, really. I guess I’m crazy enough to believe that librarians won’t be kept as long as it’s possible to not keep them. And unless we unite and take action, we won’t be around for very long. California is proof of that.

Never, never assume...

Thanks, Geezer, for sharing this. I believe the moral is especially true if your boss is the CTO.