LISNews: Librarian News

Genie from over at virtualchase.com passed along This SFGate Story on Turnitin.com and other sites that check students work for authenticity.

\"Of the papers we\'ve reviewed, about 30 percent are sent back with more than 50 percent of the paper underlined,\" says John Barrie, one of the site\'s founders. \"That leaves a lot of students with some explaining to do.\"

Suprised it\'s so low?

Jeffrey Hastings has written this lengthy essay on being (or not being) a school library media specialist. As always LISNews welcomes all original work. I am quite happy to now have had 2 days in a row with an original essay!

After eleven years as a school library media specialist, I’m considering quitting. I’ve gone back to school once again, completed the courses and taken the test required for secondary language arts certification and am prepared to beat a retreat into the classroom. Though I once felt school librarianship to be my ultimate professional destiny, I now think I’d like to teach high school English.

The teachers who are aware of this think I’m crazy. They wonder why I’d ever ditch the contemplative serenity of the school library in favor of the demanding unruliness of the English classroom. When I told our district personnel director of my interest in a pursuing a classroom post, she voiced the typical reaction: “Okay, Jeff,” she said, “but--I have to ask--my God, why? You’ve got the job all the teachers want.” -- Read More

On the heels of this article, Learning Week takes a look at how \"e-learning\" is changing K-12 education. They\'ll be hosting a live Webcast tomorrow at 1:00 PM U.S. EST on the subject, featuring a panel of Canadian teachers, academics, and software vendors.

A recent interview with Tutor.com honcho John Fallon on library-sponsored online tutoring is now available from the Learning Week archives.

I\'m not sure I understand This One.

A mother accompanies her daughter to the library on a weeknight to help with a research project. The school librarian says the mother cannot stay. The reason, she\'s told, is that parents are considered \"a security risk.\"

\"I\'m not a risk when I\'m at Crawford Stadium, or when in the gym, or even at a concert in the auditorium,\" Zajko. \"Apparently I am only a risk when I attempt to enter the high school library - a library funded and supported by my tax dollars.\"