Voice of Freedom

Over the course of my iSchool studies, the themes of advocacy and freedom to read, learn and select materials has become even more important in my life. As I've progressed two main themes have emerged as my truest professional passions. They sit strangely juxtaposed because they are Children's Services and Intellectual Freedom. Those two topics seem distantly related, but I argue that there IS a parallel. The politics of helping children have enough tools to choose wisely. Kids are curious by nature, so it's our professional responsibility to open eyes and ears and embrace the curiosity the at kids bring to every new thing!

to teach or not to teach?!

I have been thinking of a co-worker today. This particular lady is a highly intelligent and equally cynical woman. Today, we were discussing the absurdity of religion and the dangers of assumption. Somehow my thoughts wander to choice and the freedom to decide based on all available information sources. Peculiar, let me assure you! Although my chat with this work friend had noting to do with libraries directly, her resentment of any prescribed religious or political agenda made me think long and hard about the fine line we walk when interacting with patrons. Whatever their information needs, our resources and personal biases, we know only one facet of the question being raised. This one dimensional fact of inquiry necessitates sharing with appropriate amounts of reticence and space for the seeker's own exploration and interpretation. My friend and colleague is now 30 or so, but because of her family's strict code of forbidden and filtered information gathering while she was growing up, this lady is often jaded and distrustful of anyone who speaks or writes with authoritarian airs. Her family's bent toward protection actually created resentment and bias that points toward the opposite liberal extreme. Talking with her, and really listening to her rationale as a adult, makes me painfully aware of the importance of remaining impartial and not "directing" a patron's thinking for them... Every action teaches something; be certain that your actions teach the lessons you wish to convey!

Letters to the Editor (or the library)

Earlier this week as I pondered the freedoms we enjoy, I read a story about budget cuts for the local transit authority and felt my blood pressure rise dangerously. As a person whose disability prevents deriving, I rely on bus services daily. When those services are threatened and then reduced, my freedom to get to work, attend school and support local businesses is diminished accordingly. Lack of access to information poses a parallel threat to freedom, too -- freedom to think, learn, express and share ideas.

Lack of access to vital resources always makes me think because access = advocacy and through consistent effort, change occurs. The same truth can be said of libraries, too.

Let me explain... one of the discussion threads dealt with kids and libraries this week, so you know it caught my eye! As I have grappled with how to respond to the patron who will be receiving a Challenge Response from me, I came to a sad conclusion. Parents will always fight for the best interest of their kids, but the public might not ever be able to do enough to meet every need. NONE of it can stop the reality that bad things exist in a primarily good world. Library policies can seek to provide as structured environment for kids and within that setting, steer them down a road of excited learning. That learning process and sharing of ideas is continual, though. The Library must protect the wonderful power of choice. The cost of rebellion would be higher still. in an authoritarian setting where administration dictates content, the love of discovery becomes lost in political fog. Just today, a friend of mine was asked not to sit on the floor while reading at her local city library branch. (It's assumed that the growing number of homeless people come inside the Library to sit in warmth, causing a policy shift which now restricts a home-owning patron from seating herself on the floor as she prefers.) Who knows?! Rather than banning one group of people or favoring another, sometimes the best we can do is to reach an understood compromise.

When Parents Get Angry...

My most common theme for this blog has been youth freedom and access to services or forms of media in public libraries. My version of Assignment 2 focused on a teen's internet use and the role parents play in policing their child's activities in the Library. I chose to focus on youth issues because I'd love to work in a public library setting with both youth and adults.

This past Friday, the 19th, many of these challenges burst onto the scene of my work as a community college Learning Resources staff member. Our college offers many classes from ESL and GED to college-level; prerequsites for university transfer.
Fresh Start is a high-school completion program for kids between 16-21 who dropped out before graduating and wish to complete high school in a community college setting. Those classes are offered in a cohort style classroom and most of the students are required to use our campus support resources like my office, the Writing and Tutoring Center.

On Friday afternoon, two male Fresh Start students were interviewing me about our servces and how our Center collaborates with campus instructors when... AN IRATE MOTHER BURST IN! I do mean IRATE; and she literally ran inside our large, open, "learning commons " style Tutoring Center. The woman babbled her name too fast for me to comprehend and demanded that her daughter be included in the interview I'd been giving the two male Fresh Start students. (It turns out that the absent daughter was also a Fresh Start 17-year-old girl who was not faring well in class.)
Somehow the girl had convinced her mother to convince/demand that she be part of the group..." The guys held their ground and calmly, politely explained that this angry woman's daughter had not shown up for any group meetings or assisted with any of the project. The guys were willing to let the daughter participate -- IF she'd do so!

The whole episode escalated very fast and I felt really unprepared for all of it... First of all, I don't have any authority to speak to a parent of any student because we deal with the registered student rather than a parent, even if the student is under 18. Yelling, angry, defensive parties don't make any progress. The woman thankfully managed to calm herself enough to listen begrudgingly as I told her her that the daughter and classmates needed to work through this dilemma (with the Counseling Center's aid perhaps??) They agreed! I have no idea how the confrontation resolved itself, but all parties trooped off to the Counseling Center.

As I thought through these events, I realized that no environment is free from strife. Even though the College offers resources like Tutoring, students must take the initiative to benefit from the resources they're being offered. So much for a college environment being more mature, or adults handling themselves acceptably in public!!

Policing or Protecting?

Many times as I wrote the paper for my chosen intellectual freedom challenge, I found my self asking "is this protecting some freedom or policing to make sure that my idea of what's right aligns with the patron's?" ACK! None of this can be taken lightly. James LaRue's real-life explanations in the Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges supplemental text have helped me greatly. Until he mentioned the history behind several generations of modern America, I never would've have seen such a profound correlation between my generation (at 30) and my parents' generation (at 60). We value different principles! Those elements MUST be considered when interacting across generational lines. In an era where respect for authority doesn't always start at home, nor does the presence of any institutional class hold water, recognizing and responding to these ideological clashes is more important than ever!

Reading LaRue's timeline of the last generations and the names attributed to them like: Builders, the Silent, Boomers, Generation X and the Millennials helped me contextualize each era name and time period with people I know. Having context and then using those clue s to consider the outcome increases the likelihood that my work in a sticky situation might end well for all parties. Even when I cannot identify with a particular concern, knowing enough history to listen respectfully and see the story in its full can't be a bad thing...

Choosing a challenging topic

There are multiple avenues from which to choose, but I keep finding myself drawn to kids' information access rights. I am more than a bot perplexed by this since I don't have kids of my own, but I feel a great deal of empathy for the young student who is trying to learn and explore. There were a few times n my youth when I either didn't like the response my family gave, or I wanted to know more without asking them... Both of those emotions are part of the developmental process that a strong community fosters. That's my passion, I think: advocating so that everyone can have a voice!

I've spent time this weekend reflecting on the sheer volume of choices kids have, and I'm afraid that the tools they have for making mature, thoughtful decisions are becoming harder and harder to find in the instantly available online blur we now call life.

My favorite SuperBowl ad featured a kid who's mom welcomed her boyfriend inside, offered the man and snack and then walked into another room... The little boy, who is 3 or so I guess, watches his mom disappear and then appraises her staring boyfriend. In a matter of seconds the boy observes and comments: "You keep your hands off my mama... You keep your hands off my Doritos!!" The little guy needed to make a split-second choice and he did; sadly TV commercial ease doesn't parallel real-life. If spoofs regarding relationships are making their way into Doritos ads, how can we help young patrons navigate the rapidly muddying waters more wisely than ever?!

Kids, Internet Access and Alphabet Soup... Oh MY!

I am boggled by the sheer number of readings related to children's internet use rights and protections. These privacy barriers and protections are meant to accomplish one goal.

Just as many of the readings have suggested, kids need to be guided and aided as they learn and develop the skills needed to analyze their world intelligently. These intentions of guidance and protection are good to the core. However, the zealous effort of shielding and protecting may sometimes also block needed content. Examples of this became appearant through the use of filtering software. Taken in one context "breast" has a sexual connotation. In other applications, "breast + cancer" = a legitimate search query that should not be blocked.

Filtering should occur to protect young minds from graphic violence and lewd material, but blocking any and connotative language impedes the patron's right to seek information and gain knowledge.

Personal opinions need to stay HOME

Policy used for Scenario 5 in the upcoming assignment
ALA code of ethics, Article 1V states " We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources"

Allow me to be personal for a sentence or three, please. I am a Christian and recognize that this is MY personal belief. However, I respect and have learned from many people who share different religious traditions. In fact, my own belief has been challenged and then strengthened as I have built relationships with others so that I can learn about them and their ideas. Libraries are supposed to be places that foster and support the free exchange of ideas.

Therefore, I have 2 questions about the strength of diversity in a library collection. I have noticed an increase in the number of Muslim people in my surrounding community. I work for a community college that has a very strong Muslim presence now. We would do a disservice to that community f we did not offer people the chance to learn about the tenets of Islam and the peaceful foundations that most followers of Allah cling to! In times when terror and national security are tense and unrelenting, fear does nothing to alleviate pressure. the best hope is to offer places for discussion and shared knowledge. Marie Curie once said, "Nothing is to be feared, it is only to be understood."

If you think you recognize parts of the above from our discussion board, you're right! Scenario 5 is difficult for me to answer. That question says that the library has received a small donation and that a co-worker want the library to purchase a Muslim holiday book. There is some discussion about Jewish and Christan holiday books as well, but the person is firm in their desire to see a Muslim book chosen.
Two questions entered my mind right away. They are: 1) Did the donor specify how their gift ought to be distributed? and 2) what is the current depth of holiday titles available? After answering those questions and seeing what "gaps" should be filled in, then the selector ought to consider which titles would benefit the entire community best and make those purchase decisions.

This scenario has reminded me that no matter how much I would LOVE to fill a library with just my favorite writers and thinkers, the people around me deserve breadth before depth so that they can choose their passions just as I once did! Without exploratory freedom and variation that leads (hopefully!) to distinction, informed opinions cannot be formed. Biased learning is dangerous. Believing only one side of an issue is foolish, because single sides collapse under pressure and are often difficult to intelligently defend. I am often grateful for moments that allow me to encounter something outside my sphere of current understanding. Whether or not I agree matters less than the chance to consider and become wiser via the experience itself.

Advocating for Youth

Of the many themes that were present in this week's large chunk of reading, I couldn't help but appreciate the importance placed upon the Library Bill of Rights focus toward advocacy for teens and kids. No, this does not means that librarians act in place of parents, but it does mean that librarians foster a young persons learning so that the individual can grow intellectually and have the maturity to relate thoughtfully to their rapidly-changing social surroundings.

Oh freedom! Dangerous freedom... You are truly a double-edged sword.

Catherine's lectures reminded us of this, and yet, the need to champion your causes of expansion and exploration are too enticing to resist. The other side of intrigue, however, is fear. Fear shelters and prohibits. That isolates and destroys rather than building and encouraging an open exchange of ideas and views. If youth never see debates and hear discussions, then how can they ever learn to defend or modify their beliefs when new information is unveiled? Such ignorance of lack of strategy stifles growth. To NOT equip the young with these needed tools is foolish and irresponsible. YES, there will be controversy. It is worth the risk, though. The alternative is ignorance and a lacking ability to learn from the past. Those potential consequences are far too great to ignore...

Welcome to Kjersti's Winter 2010, LIS 551 blog

I will be recording my thoughts and ideas here each Sunday during the quarter. Come back again soon!