LISNews: Librarian News

The Houston
Chronicle has a Story on a TX town that is trying to
figure out how to keep books that include vulgar words
out of classrooms.

The district\'s school libraries already require parental
permission for children to check out books from author
J.K. Rowling\'s you know what series. They say they put
the policy in place to give parents who don\'t want their
children reading such material a way to prevent
it.

\"\"In today\'s public schools, there seem to be a
lot of books creeping in that have four-letter profanity in
them,\" board member John Couch said. \"We happened
to discover some in the fifth and sixth grades, and we\'re
concerned that that kind of language is getting past
some of the teachers and into the hands of students.

NY Times has a Story on a new study underwritten by the Alliance for Childhood-- \"Fools Gold: A Critical Look at Computers in Childhood\" – says there is not enough research into the impact computers could have on the developing minds and bodies of young children. Not suprisingly, teachers are not too happy about the study.

\"With some kids, it\'s a way for them to get excited and learn,\" said Beth Lang who teaches second and third grades at Lakewood Elementary School in Overland Park, Kansas. \"To me, it\'s just like a book. It\'s such a part of our everyday use.\"

One of the Alliance for Childhood\'s objectives :\"To reduce children\'s growing dependance on electronic media\". Is that an indication of bias?

Pam Force wrote a fantastic in-depth look at childrens privacy concerns in the library.

How do we define privacy? And what are the problems behind the complex issue of children\'s privacy in the library? Privacy can be defined as the ability to control information about one\'s self. Respecting the privacy of others is tantamount to accepting others as members of the human race. Once gaining privacy was as simple as closing the curtains, but no longer. The internet has made the issue of privacy a very personal one for every individual, not just those who use it. -- Read More

The Christian Science Monitor has a Story on the troubling trend towards simple minded garbage on the net. What is needed, advocates say, is material that is more sophisticated in combining education and entertainment, is increasingly interactive, and involves teens themselves in its creation.

\"Not everyone agrees that there\'s a dearth of good content, however. David Kleeman of the American Center for Children and Media sees lots of high-quality Web sites, games, and interactive content emerging. He says one of the biggest obstacles is simply making children and parents aware of the quality content that is available online.\" -- Read More