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Digital Skills Divide

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Progress has been made in closing the digital divide between computer-based tools and infrastructure, but an equally debilitating digital divide in internet literacy affects the American public, according to "Responding to the Second Wave of the Digital Divide," a briefing of local government, public-policy, and library experts held May 6 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

"It's not only the ability to use the computer, to maybe use Google; it's the ability to navigate very carefully and get to the right information," American Library Association (ALA) President Barbara Stripling said. "[It's] the ability to find evidence to support your conclusion, and make sure that what conclusions you're drawing and the new understandings that you're gaining, actually are based on credible, real, and accurate information. That's what we mean by digital literacy skills. And that's what we mean when we say there's a second level digital divide."

During his time at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2009 to 2010, communications and technology policy consultant John B. Horrigan led the development of the broadband adoption and usage portion of the National Broadband Plan, which focused on getting more Americans online access. Today, his work centers on consumers' adoption and use of information and communications technologies. Horrigan stated that while he was at the FCC, 63% of Americans had broadband access at home; that number has raised to 72%.

He said that the digital divide has declined by about 40% since 2009, from 83 million adults who didn't have broadband access at home to 48 million adults today who don't have any sort of advanced online access. Horrigan said the "real emerging issue" is digital readiness, which he said is the capacity for all users to engage with online resources with knowledge about service attributes and use of personal and household data in the various applications we use.

Horrigan conducted a national survey a year ago, and his research, which will be released in the coming weeks, shows that 29% of Americans have low digital readiness, 42% have moderate levels of digital readiness, and 29% have high levels of digital readiness. Horrigan's suggestions on policy steps to promote digital readiness include: pivoting digital divide programs to address digital readiness; developing community tech champions for digital readiness, such as libraries; and engaging the philanthropic community in helping close these gaps via library investment.

Speaker Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of D.C. Public Library (DCPL), has experience addressing the secondary divide. The former chief librarian of Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library, he detailed investing in the physical structure of that library and acclimating its staff to the current needs of patrons. He stated that he has been aware of this divide for quite some time, harking back to a Tufts University study he cited in applying for a $3.25 million grant from the Leon Levy Foundation. This grant financed the Shelby White and Leon Levy Information Commons at Brooklyn Public Library. DCPL opened its $3 million Digital Commons at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library this year.

"If the research for the digital skills divide has been around for years, why is there a renewed focus?" Reyes-Gavilan said. "I'd argue that it's back on our radar because of this problem I'd like to call digital exclusivity. The world has lost its patience with those who cannot navigate the online world. And because those folks who cannot navigate the online world are typically uneducated, poor, or otherwise vulnerable, to many this group is really easy to overlook."

Reyes-Gavilan described a world that has moved away from the labor intensive, but previously necessary, processes of providing information in multiple formats."There's nothing evil, there's not a conspiracy around this," he said. "It's just so much easier for people to work in this exclusive online environment."

To provide a more equal playing field in digital readiness, he recommended designing libraries in a way that increase educational opportunities. "The vast majority of public library facilities are really built for transactions and not transformation," Reyes-Gavilan said. "What we need to do is design our libraries in a way to increase educational opportunities, to focus on human capital development." He suggested that public libraries invest heavily in staff development, to better align their skills with those in demand from their patrons. Another idea was to revisit the job description of a librarian to incorporate the role of teaching. Financial support for marketing would also help.

Stripling had several recommendations to address the perils of digital readiness. She proposed an increase in school library funding, especially in terms of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization on the federal level.

"What we need to do is to ensure that school librarians are included as an essential piece of ESEA reauthorization language," Stripling said. "It is going to provide the kind of federal recognition and support that is going to strengthen school libraries across the country."

She also proposed staffing all libraries with state-certified school librarians, who have been documented as a determining factor in students' increased test scores, as well as personal and academic development. Stripling also stated that classroom teachers and librarians should collaborate more often to provide rigorous academic content complemented by critical thinking skills.

Clarence Anthony, executive director of the National League of Cities, the oldest and largest organization of municipal officials in the United States, noted the often unsung contributions that libraries provide to local municipalities.

"Libraries have always been a trusted center of lifelong learning in cities throughout America," Anthony said. "And we've taken libraries for granted in a lot of ways because we've not told the many stories about the impact of libraries to the community."

Citing his childhood visits to a mobile library in rural Florida, and his struggles as mayor of South Bay, Florida, to provide a library, Anthony provided ideas to cultivate digital readiness on a community level. He proposed using the media to showcase the value of libraries, and suggested creating advocates to defend libraries as cultivators of an educated populous, which leads to job creation through attracting companies and encouraging economic development. This will also require partnerships with local government and schools.

Finally, Anthony contended that library staff should work more to represent their communities, from a cultural standpoint. "People, like it or not, want to see themselves in the library," he said.

Whether by community involvement, renewed infrastructure, or policy shifts, at the center of these proposals is the role of the librarian in reaching vulnerable populations that lack digital literacy.

"My experience is that the school library is the most powerful place for them," President Stripling said. "Because they'll have ready access throughout their academic careers. And the school librarian is the person empowered, who is responsible for training students, for educating students, and the development of those important critical thinking digital literacy skills."

Photo: Michelle Meiklejohn, FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

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Responding to the Second Wave of the Digital Divide | American Libraries Magazine

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Progress has been made in closing the digital divide between computer-based tools and infrastructure, but an equally debilitating digital divide in internet literacy affects the American public, according to "Responding to the Second Wave of the Digital Divide," a briefing of local government, public-policy, and library experts held May 6 at the National Press Club ...

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As Deborah Fallows writes in her March 2016 Atlantic article, "The Library Card," public libraries now offer a diversification of library services, including technology as one area "where libraries function as vibrant centers of America's towns".

That public libraries were a destination for the free use of computers and internet access, were conclusions in the American Library Association's national surveys over a decade ago; specifically, as noted on Public Library Use, ALA Library Fact Sheet 6, in the very first release of the annual State of America's Libraries Report, in 2006, and in the very first release of the annual (but discontinued) Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study, in 2007. Government agencies as well as companies and business centers may have saved money and time by turning their pen-and-paper operations into online electronic processes - but it left the segment of the population without a computer at home behind, who found themselves with few other choices than to use their local libraries' equipment and systems, to complete and send job applications, unemployment certifications, and social services benefits claim forms.

This "digital divide" population segment continues this many years later, if not so much in terms of not having computers than in not having internet access at home. And now it's not just adults who must access the internet for needed services, it's children who must access the internet just to finish their homework, as it is now only available online. Anton Troianovski pointed out this situation in the Wall Street Journal article dated January 28, 2013, The Web-Deprived Study at McDonald's, in which after the schools and then the public libraries close, students still in need of internet access turn to the free Wi-Fi available at fast food restaurants, like McDonald's, which don't close until eleven p.m. or later.

Cheap smartphones and tablets have put Web-ready technology into more hands than ever. But the price of Internet connectivity hasn't come down nearly as quickly. And in many rural areas, high-speed Internet through traditional phone lines simply isn't available at any price. The result is a divide between families that have broadband constantly available on their home computers and phones, and those that have to plan their days around visits to free sources of Internet access.

More recently, the Pew Research Center released a report by Monica Anderson and John Horrigan, dated October 3, 2016, confirming that until the cost for broadband access comes down, the digital divide will persist.

Courts and regulators have increasingly seen high-speed internet as a public utility that is as essential to Americans as electricity and water. But many Americans still do not have broadband at home, and some Americans have turned to mobile devices as their primary gateway to the internet, according to Pew Research Center surveys.

But whether smartphones are an adequate substitute is open to question. Those who depend on their smartphones to go online encounter constraints with data caps and small screens, and the device is not their "go to" tool for personal learning at home.

Instead, those with smartphones but not home broadband rely on a kind of "workaround ecosystem" that is a combination of using their mobile devices along with other resources such as computers and Wi-Fi available at public libraries.

... There are other challenges. For example, 28% of adults have used a smartphone as part of their employment search, and half of those have filled out a job application using a smartphone. But mobile job seekers often encounter difficulties like accessing and reading content, as well as trouble submitting files and documents...

... Public libraries may help fill the online gap among smartphone users who don't subscribe to home broadband services. For public library users, those with smartphones only are somewhat more likely than those with home broadband, by a 34% to 30% margin, to use a library's Wi-Fi, computers or internet connections to get online. Similarly, for those who engage in personal learning activities, the smartphone-only are more likely to do this at a high school, college or community college than those with broadband at home (by a 40% to 24% margin).

Cecilia Kang reported that lack of home internet access is directly responsible for slowing the pace of Detroit's economic recovery, in the May 22, 2016 New York Times article, " Unemployed Detroit Residents Are Trapped by a Digital Divide ".

As one of the country's most troubled cities tries to get back on its feet, a lack of Internet connectivity is keeping large segments of its population from even getting a fighting chance.

Detroit has the worst rate of Internet access of any big American city, with four in 10 of its 689,000 residents lacking broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

While difficulties in connecting to the Internet in rural areas are well known, Detroit is becoming a case study in how the digital divide in an urban setting can make or break a recovery.

Shortly after, Anthony W. Marx, also in the Times, reported the shortcomings at home, in the August 12, 2016 article, " Too Poor to Afford the Internet," noting that some students resort to finishing their online homework while sitting outside of one New York library branch in its off-hours, to catch the Wi-Fi "leaking" from inside.

Our public libraries are charged with providing free access to information, and in recent years we have had to create new ways of doing that. Leaking broadband (frankly, accidentally) onto the branch stoops is not enough.

Marx describes the handful of programs looking to close this digital divide nation-wide, including the New York Public Library Wi-Fi hotspot lending program in the city which is also in rural areas in Kansas and Maine, as well as the FCC expanding its subsidized broadband Lifeline program, and notes that all-city broadband access programs have had mixed success.

I'm aware that the Chicago Public Library now has its own hotspot lending program and that a hotspot lending program targeting teens recently began at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in North Carolina.

But as Marx points out, it's not enough;

...we need help from more than libraries. No child can have equal access to education, nor any worker equal access to a job, without access to the internet and the digital training to use it skillfully. Our federal, state and local policies must recognize there can be no full equality without digital equality.

Works cited:

American Library Association. (2015, October) Public Library Use, ALA Library Fact Sheet 6. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/tools/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet06

Anderson, M., and Horrigan, J. B. (2016, October 3). Smartphones help those without broadband get online, but don't necessarily bridge the digital divide. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/03/smartphones-help-those-without-broadband-get-online-but-dont-necessarily-bridge-the-digital-divide/

Fallows, D. (2016, March). The Library Card. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/03/the-library-card/426888

Geddes, J. K. (2016, September 27). A NC Library Brings Wi-Fi Hotspots to Students in Need. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2016/09/technology/a-nc-library-brings-wi-fi-hotspots-to-students-in-need/#_

Kang, C. (2016, May 22). Unemployed Detroit Residents Are Trapped by a Digital Divide. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/23/technology/unemployed-detroit-residents-are-trapped-by-a-digital-divide.html

Marx, A.W. (2016, August 12). Too Poor to Afford the Internet. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/12/opinion/too-poor-to-afford-the-internet.html?_r=1

Stewart, A. (2016, August 1) Chicago Public Library Lending Hundreds of Hotspots. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved from http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/chicago-public-library-lending-hundreds-of-hotspots/

Troianovski, A. (2013, January 23). The Web-Deprived Study at McDonald's. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324731304578189794161056954

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Libraries and the Ever-Widening Gap of the Digital Divide and Internet Access

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As Deborah Fallows writes in her March 2016 Atlantic article, "The Library Card," public libraries now offer a diversification of library services, including technology as one area "where libraries function as vibrant centers of America's towns".

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Protecting Intellectual Freedom and Privacy in Your School Library

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Participatory Culture & The Participation Gap 

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Participatory Culture & The Participation Gap 

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School Libraries & the Digital Divide

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SCHOOL LIBRARIES BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE. | ALA Libraries Transform

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Designed to increase public awareness of the value, impact and services provided by libraries and library professionals, the Libraries Transform campaign will ensure there is one clear, energetic voice for our profession.

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The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) focuses public attention on emerging civil liberties, privacy, First Amendment issues and works to promote the Public Voice in decisions concerning the future of the Internet.

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The Problem with Student Privacy, and How To Protect It

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Strategies for safeguarding student data in schools and libraries, and student privacy in general, in the information age.

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John Newman & Amy Ritchie, Bureau of Competition

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Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”)

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COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age.

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The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."

Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.

Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.

Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

School officials with legitimate educational interest;

Other schools to which a student is transferring;

Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;

Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;

Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;

Accrediting organizations;

To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;

Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and

State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

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policy; privacy; academic records; technical assistance; parent rights; student rights; ferpa

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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Home Page.

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This checklist is intended to help libraries of all capacities take practical steps to implement the principles that are laid out in the Library Privacy Guidelines for Students in K-12 Schools.

Priority 1 are actions that hopefully all libraries can take to improve privacy practices. Priority 2 and Priority 3 actions may be more difficult for libraries to implement depending on their technical expertise, available resources, and organizational structure.

Priority 1 Actions

1. Create internal library procedures to protect student privacy based on:

1. school policies related to privacy and confidentiality of student data, especially student circulation records and the use of library resources in all formats.

2. federal laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and state privacy laws regarding library records.

3. ALA and AASL policy statements, online tool kits and Q & A's, guidelines, and other resources provided by national and state library associations.

2. Collect the minimum amount of information necessary about students to conduct library business.

3. Configure circulation software to delete students' borrowing history and retain only necessary records.

4. Ensure any paper records with sensitive information are stored in a secure area and shredded when no longer needed.

5. Train library staff and volunteers to respect students' privacy and the confidentiality of their library records.

Priority 2 Actions

1. Educate administrators, faculty, and support staff about students' library privacy and the confidentiality of student data using a variety of communication methods.
Initiate conversations with the principal, teachers, students, and parents about the need for an official library privacy policy.

2. Add privacy-related resources to the library collection including items related to personal privacy, minors' privacy rights, and privacy as a national and international issue.
Consider creating a privacy information section on the school library web page or a privacy-themed pathfinder (e.g. LibGuide) with privacy resources.

3. Integrate online privacy into library instruction and programming. For example:

1. Introduce students to online privacy information such as secure passwords and web tracking during library orientations and other brief presentations.

2. Celebrate Choose Privacy Week and other privacy-related observances (Data Privacy Day, Teen Tech Week, etc.) with the school community.

3. Create privacy-related displays and set up videos in the library to educate parents during during parent-teacher conferences and other evening school and community events

4. Offer presentations to parents about students' privacy online and other topics of interest to families.

4. Advocate within the school or district for protecting students' privacy rights in learning management systems or other technologies that enable educators to monitor student reading and research habits. Assessment should not include monitoring how students use specific library materials and online resources as part of free inquiry and research.

5. Volunteer to serve on the school's data governance committee. If one does not exist, advocate for its creation.

Priority 3 Actions

1. Work with other stakeholders in the school or district to create an official library privacy policy in regards to student circulation records and the use of library resources.

1. The privacy policy should be approved by the school's governing body (e.g. school board, school committee, etc.)

2. Post the policy in the library and on the library's section of the school website.

3. Promote the library's privacy policy within the school community.

2. Work through school lines of authority to write or adapt a K-12 privacy curriculum and have it formally approved and taught. Collaboratively teach privacy units with teachers using the iKEEPSAFE and/or other privacy curricula.

3. Work with school officials to incorporate privacy protections into RFP's and resulting contracts. Discuss privacy concerns with digital resource and technology vendors, especially in regards to the school's/library's contracts with these vendors.

4. Ensure that all online transactions between client applications and server applications are encrypted.

5. Ensure that storage of personally identifiable student information is housed using encrypted storage.

Resources
ALA/AASL Policy statements AASL Position Statement on the Confidentiality of Library Records (2012) ALA Code of Ethics
Privacy: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights.
Legislation
American Library Association. State Privacy Laws Regarding Library Records.
Federal Trade Commission. Children's Online Protection Act (COPPA) U.S. Department of Education. Laws and Guidance: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) U.S. Department of Education. Laws and Guidance: Family Policy Compliance Office Learning Resources
Choose Privacy Week. Students and Minors' Privacy- Selected Resources.

ALA Privacy Tool Kit.

Questions and Answers on Privacy and Confidentiality.
Colchester High School (VT) Intellectual Freedom LibGuide on Choose Privacy Week
Common Sense Media. Privacy and Internet Safety [Information aimed at parents].

Consortium for School Networking. Protecting Privacy in a Connected World.
Library Freedom Project Teen Privacy Guide
National Cyber Security Alliance. "Privacy Library." https://staysafeonline.org

YALSA Teen Tech Week. http://teentechweek.ning.com/page/faq
U.S. Department of Education. Privacy Technical Assistance Center Teaching Tools Choose Privacy Week Programming Guide and Activities iKEEPSAFE. K-12 Curriculum Matrix
San Jose Public Library Virtual Privacy Lab (modules in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese)

Digital Defenders (free, CC-licensed kids' booklet about privacy)
Advocacy Data Quality Campaign and Consortium for School Networking Student Data Principles EPIC Student Privacy Bill of Rights Student Privacy Pledge Approved January 21, 2017 by the Intellectual Freedom Committee

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Library Privacy Checklist for Students in K-12 Schools

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This checklist is intended to help libraries of all capacities take practical steps to implement the principles that are laid out in the Library Privacy Guidelines for Students in K-12 Schools. Priority 1 are actions that hopefully all libraries can take to improve privacy practices.

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Libraries face a number of challenges in protecting the privacy of users, especially students in elementary, middle, and high schools. School libraries offer print, media, and online content to meet students' educational and research needs as well as to nurture their intellectual curiosity and development. Students' use of library resources is also incorporated into classroom activities, learning outcomes, and assessment.

School libraries typically are integrated into their district's administrative and technology infrastructures. Depending on district administration and outside cooperative technology or vendor agreements, school libraries have greater or lesser degrees of autonomy. A lack of autonomy may make it difficult for librarians to implement policies and procedures to protect student privacy in regard to the use of library systems, applications, and collections. In addition, state and federal laws regarding library records, educational records (e.g., the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the online activities of minors (e.g., the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) have both positive and negative impacts on the privacy rights of students. For example, FERPA defines explicit rights to privacy for students and minors but at the same time grants schools and parents access to, and oversight over, student records that weakens these privacy rights.

ALA issues these guidelines to provide school libraries with information about appropriate data management and security practices in respect to student use of library collections and resources in order to strengthen student privacy protections.
Why Privacy Is Important
Protecting user privacy and confidentiality has long been an integral part of the intellectual freedom mission of libraries. The right to free inquiry as assured by the First Amendment depends upon the ability to read and access information free from scrutiny by the government or other third parties. In their provision of services to library users, librarians have an ethical obligation, expressed in the ALA Code of Ethics, to preserve users' right to privacy. Librarians and libraries may also have a statutory or regulatory obligation to protect library users' personally identifiable information and data from unauthorized disclosure and use.

Students' and minors' First Amendment rights to free inquiry and privacy must be balanced against both the educational needs of the school and the rights of the parents. As students and minors mature, it is increasingly important that they are provided with opportunities to exercise their curiosity and develop their intellect free from the chilling effects of surveillance by educators, peers, parents, or commercial interests. As students begin to participate more fully in the online world, they must develop an appreciation for their own privacy and a corresponding respect for the privacy of others.
Clear Privacy Policies
It is important for libraries to develop privacy policies for student use of library resources that are adopted by both the library and the school's policy-making body. Students should be notified about library privacy policies when borrowing materials or accessing resources for the first time and as appropriate when there is a change in services, policies, or access. Library privacy policies should be made easily available and understandable to students in an age-appropriate manner. Safeguarding user privacy requires that staff keep all in-library use and reference questions confidential and assure that there is no monitoring by staff or peers of what students are reading, viewing, or researching while in the library.
Audit
School librarians should conduct privacy audits to determine the current threats to student privacy and what protections are already in place. The audit should cover the library management system; computer and network use in the library; eBooks and other online content; interactive Web tools; social media; and other technologies such as scanners/photocopiers and surveillance cameras. The results of the audit can be used to help create or revise privacy policies.
Collection and Retention of User Data
Libraries should limit the amount of personal information collected about students. Libraries should collect the minimum amount of personal information required to provide a service or meet a specific operational need. Libraries should not build services or resources using sensitive personally identifiable information that, if leaked or accessed by an unauthorized party, could prove detrimental to the user's privacy.

Personally identifiable information should not be retained in perpetuity. The library should establish record retention policies specifying how long to retain different types of data and specifying methods for securely destroying data that is no longer needed. Retention policies should also cover archival copies and backups.
Encryption
The use of data encryption helps enhance privacy protection. All online transactions between client applications (staff desktop clients, web browsers, mobile apps, etc.) and server applications should be encrypted. Client applications that do not support encryption (such as staff desktop clients) should employ virtual private network (VPN) technologies. In addition, any personally identifiable information and student data housed by the library or school off-site (cloud-based infrastructure, tape backups, etc.) should use encrypted storage.
Data Sharing
Library privacy policies should define when school library records can be shared (and under what conditions) with parents or guardians, school staff and teachers, and third-parties such as online service providers.

Federal laws such as FERPA and COPPA as well as state laws concerning the confidentiality of library and student records may impact if and how data is shared. Because of the broad leeway FERPA gives schools in using student data for internal educational purposes, librarians need to clearly distinguish among library records, educational records, and administrative records in order to provide explicit privacy rights in accordance with professional ethical obligations.

Agreements between school libraries and online service providers should address appropriate restrictions on the use, aggregation, retention, and dissemination of students' personally identifiable information. Agreements between libraries and service providers should also specify that libraries retain ownership of all data and that the service providers agree to observe the library's privacy policies, data retention policy, and security policies. In the event of a data breach, users whose data was compromised should be informed promptly (in the case of minors, the parents or guardians should be informed).

Many service providers have signed the Student Privacy Pledge which indicates a commitment to work in an ongoing fashion to meet and exceed all federal requirements to protect student data. Librarians should make participation in the Student Privacy Pledge a criterion when making purchasing decisions.

In addition, many states are passing legislation that restricts the collection and use of students' data by service providers (e.g. California's Student Online Personal Information Protection Act - SOPIPA). Librarians should only contract with service providers that comply with applicable state laws.
Educational Technology Systems
Primary and secondary schools are adopting learning management systems and other technologies that enable educators to monitor student reading habits (e.g. did the student access/read the assigned eBook or online text?) As a result, school districts are co-opting librarians into surveillance regimes by adopting these types of technologies. Librarians need to advocate for protecting student library use in an age of ubiquitous data logging and surveillance technologies, including learning management systems.
Digital Literacy & Advocacy
School librarians have a responsibility to teach students about their privacy rights, practices they can use to protect themselves, ethical behavior online, and respect for the privacy of others. In addition to educating students, school librarians should become advocates for protecting student privacy and intellectual freedom in the larger school environment. Often school librarians are focused only on user privacy within the library to the detriment of larger privacy issues in their school and district context. Because of their professional training and ethical commitment, librarians are well-equipped to be privacy advocates outside of the school library.
[The Library Privacy Checklist for Students in K-12 Schools is intended to help libraries of all capacities take practical steps to implement the principles that are laid out in this guideline.] Additional Resources Approved April 2, 2016 by the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the American Library Association

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Library Privacy Guidelines for Students in K-12 Schools

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Introduction Libraries face a number of challenges in protecting the privacy of users, especially students in elementary, middle, and high schools. School libraries offer print, media, and online content to meet students' educational and research needs as well as to nurture their intellectual curiosity and development.

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Access to databases from off-campus: your username is the same as the first part of your email address (for example, 15jsmith.). The password is your MAIN Castilleja password (what you use for wifi). If you've forgotten this password, please use password.castilleja.org to reset your password. If you need additional assistance contact the Tech Department or a librarian.

- a digital library of nearly one million images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences. To log-in, use e-mail account/pw combination you used to register while on campus

E-Encylopedias - access to e-books from Oxford University Press and Salem Press. Subjects include both ancient history and recent events.

Gale Databases - comprehensive list and cross-searchable selection of several Gale databases on an array of academic topics.

Gale Virtual Reference Library - access to online reference books in e-book format.

- deep archives of major national newspapers, including articles from The New York Times from 1851-2005 - for more recent newspaper articles, use ProQuest.

Issues and Controversies - in-depth investigations of news and public policy issues.

- full-text scholarly journal articles from all academic disciplines. JSTOR's coverage extends back to the earliest date of publication of a given periodical, but will not usually include the very latest issues. If you do not have an account with JSTOR, you must create one the first time you visit the site.

- full-text literary criticism, biographies and reviews on more than 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods. Some full text poems, essays, and prose as well.

LitFinder - full-text and index entries for literary works from many genres, including short stories, speeches, essays, and plays - includes brief author biographies and critical treatments, but for full-blown literary criticism and/or biography, visit the Literature Resource Center or JSTOR.

NoveList Plus - a bibliophile's database that will give you book recommendations based on your preferences, from theme to writing style to setting, and includes reviews, booklists, and genre guides.

Noodletools - student research platform with MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian citation building, bibliographies, notecards, and outlining.

- the entirety of the Oxford English Dictionary online. Goes beyond definitions and also provides etymology, first usages of a word, evolution of meaning, and more.

Oxford Art Online - home of Grove Art (images, artist biographies, and encyclopedic articles) and access point for Oxford Companion to Western Art, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.

Oxford Music Online - thousands of encyclopedic articles on music, musicians, and historical periods and the Oxford Dictionary of Music.

- our largest collection of full-text periodicals and newspapers, with most coverage dating from the 1980's to the present. For earlier issues of newspapers, see Historical Newspapers above.

SIRS (Social Issues Resource Series) - a general reference database exploring social, scientific, historic, economic, political, and global issues.

SIRS Decades - 5000 hand-selected primary and secondary source articles highlighting key events, movements, people and places in 20th century America.

SIRS Discoverer - SIRS' more visual interface for beginning researchers.

Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law - essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world, including every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases on slavery.

Statista - portal to statistics, market research, business intelligence and more from both governmental and private institutions. Covers a huge array of topics, and information is often in graphic or visual format.

US History in Context - contextual information on hundreds of the most significant people, events and topics in U.S. History. Includes magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, images, videos, audio files and links to websites.

Teen Health and Wellness - Both a research tool and a self-help resource, this comprehensive database holds a wealth of information about health-related issues.

World Book - the entire World Book Encyclopedia online, in English and Spanish. Coverage of thousands of topics and good for preliminary research or answers to quick questions.

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Access to databases from off-campus: your username is the same as the first part of your email address (for example, 15jsmith.). The password is your MAIN Castilleja password (what you use for wifi). If you've forgotten this password, please use password.castilleja.org to reset your password.

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The year's best databases include resources on congressional research and the ACLU

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Free Databases for California Schools in 2018-19, AASL Social Media Superstars, And More | News Bites

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Information database subscriptions can be prohibitively expensive for school districts, but next year in California, every school will have access for free.

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Check out these resources created by the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation.

Public Library & School Library Collaboration Toolkit

Both public and school libraries are community centers at heart, with the same goal: to provide a safe, welcoming environment for all patrons and access to information in a variety of formats. When public and school librarians and library workers engage in collaboration, community members reap the benefits. This toolkit includes context and suggestions for creating partnerships of all sizes.

School-Public Library Cooperative Programs

List highlighting past successful partnerships between school & public libraries.

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Educator Resources & Technology Training - Google for Education

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Discover numerous educator resources including technology training for teachers, courses, certifications and professional development for educators.

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Librarians as Instructional Leaders | Take the Lead

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In this first article in our series on library leadership, Lilead Fellow Priscille Dando suggests how librarians can connect with principals on instructional challenges.

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American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

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2016-2017 AASL president Audrey Church's presidential initiative focused on furthering administrators' understanding of the key role that strong school libraries and certified school librarians play in student learning. Members of the Presidential Initiative Task Force curated selected quality resources that demonstrate the important instructional role of librarians in 21st century schools. Please utilize these products created by the Task Force to inform principals and other stakeholders that school librarians are learning leaders.

#SchoolLibrariansTransformStudentLearning #AdvocacyBeginsWithEachOfUs

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2016-2017 AASL president Audrey Church's presidential initiative focused on furthering administrators' understanding of the key role that strong school libraries and certified school librarians play in student learning. Members of the Presidential Initiative Task Force curated selected quality resources that demonstrate the important instructional role of librarians in 21st century schools.

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Librarians as Teacher Leaders

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BSEP Office

2020 Bonar Street, Room 325
Berkeley, CA 94702
Tel: 510.644.8717 | Fax: 510.540.5358
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Email: bsep@berkeley.net

Natasha Beery
Director of BSEP and Community Relations

Danielle Perez
Program Specialist

Elizabeth Karam
Senior Budget Analyst

BSEP Links

BSEP Measure Planning 2015-16

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2020 Bonar Street, Room 325 Berkeley, CA 94702 Tel: 510.644.8717 | Fax: 510.540.5358 Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Email: bsep@berkeley.net Natasha Beery Director of BSEP and Community Relations Danielle Perez Program Specialist Elizabeth Karam Senior Budget Analyst

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Presented by Michelle Luhtala, Library Department Chair, New Canaan High School, CT, and Greg Toppo, the National Education and Demographics Reporter for USA Today
Sponsored by Mackin Educational Resources
WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING LISTEN TO THE PODCAST If you attended the live session, you'll be emailed a CE certificate within 24 hours of the webinar. If you view the recording and would like a CE certificate, join the Emerging Tech community and go to the Webinar Archives folder to take the CE quiz.
Let's face it. Fake media is a hot topic in, ahem, the media. But it is also a hot topic in education. In November 2016, the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) published Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning, a study that revealed concerning results. Because students increasingly turn to online news to meet their research needs, it is more important than ever for educators to help them separate truth from fiction. In this session, USA Today Reporter Greg Toppo joins Michelle Luhtala, Library Department Chair, New Canaan High School, CT, to discuss shifting trends in the news business and what teachers can do to help their learners sift through the information pool to find trustworthy journalism.

This webinar is part of a two-part series:
Media Literacy: A Crash Course in 60 Minutes
Teaching Digital Literacy.

Michelle Luhtala is the Library Department Chair at New Canaan High School in Connecticut and was one of five school librarians named as a "Mover and Shaker" by Library Journal in 2015. She is the winner of the 2011 "I Love My Librarian" Award and the Library Association's 2010 Outstanding Librarian Award. The New Canaan High School Library won AASL's National School Library Program of the year in 2010. Follow her on Twitter @mluhtala.

Greg Toppo is the national education and demographics reporter for USA Today. He came to USA Today in 2002 and in 2005 broke the Armstrong Williams "pay for punditry" story that launched a widespread look at government propaganda. Toppo co-led the USA Today team that in 2011 looked at educator-led cheating on standardized tests. The paper's series prompted the Washington, D.C., inspector general to investigate high erasure rates in D.C. schools. Toppo was a 2010 Spencer fellow at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of the book The Game Believes In You: How Digital Play Can Make Our Kids Smarter (April 2015). His first job was with the Santa Fe New Mexican, a 50,000-circulation daily. He worked for four years as a wire service reporter with the Associated Press, first in Baltimore and then in Washington, D.C., where he became the AP's national K-12 education writer. A graduate of St. John's College in Santa Fe, N.M., he taught in both public and private schools for eight years before moving into journalism. Follow him on Twitter @gtoppo.

Join the Emerging Tech community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming webinars, view past webinars, take a quiz to receive a CE certificate for a past webinar, and access free resources.
WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING

For more than 30 years, Mackin Educational Resources has provided library and classroom materials for grades PK-12. Working with over 18,000 publishers and a database of more than 2.5 million printed titles and more than 350,000 digital titles, Mackin supplies print books, eBooks, online educational databases, audiobooks, video resources and more, along with digital content management and custom collection analysis services. A true partner in education, Mackin's continued success and unblemished reputation is known by thousands of teachers, administrators, and librarians across the country and throughout the world.

Listen to the Podcast

We're happy to make podcasts available for selected panel discussions and interviews.
If you would like a CE certificate for this presentation, watch the edWebinar recording and take the CE quiz.

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Media Literacy: A Crash Course in 60 Minutes

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Presented by Michelle Luhtala, Library Department Chair, New Canaan High School, CT, and Greg Toppo, the National Education and Demographics Reporter for USA Today Sponsored by Mackin Educational Resources WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING LISTEN TO THE PODCAST If you attended the live session, you'll be emailed a CE certificate within 24 hours of the webinar.

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Presented by Michelle Luhtala, Library Department Chair, New Canaan High School, CT; with Dr. Brenda Boyer, Teacher Librarian, Kutztown Senior High School, Kutztown, PA
Sponsored by Mackin Educational Resources
WATCH THE EDWEBINAR RECORDING If you view the recording and would like a CE certificate, join the Emerging Tech community and go to the CE Quizzes link in the Community Toolbox.
Get ready to badge your way out of those boring database lessons! Schools are packed with reluctant database users who would much rather get to work than listen to one more database lesson. Well, here is a way to spice up and personalize database instruction. In this edWebinar, Michelle Luhtala, Library Department Chair at New Canaan High School, CT, and Dr. Brenda Boyer, Teacher Librarian at Kutztown Senior High School in Kutztown, PA, share the flipped instructional program that Dr. Boyer introduced to her virtual library students. School librarians, teachers, administrators, and all educators interested in database instruction will enjoy and learn from this recorded session.
About the Presenters
Michelle Luhtala is the Library Department Chair at New Canaan High School in Connecticut and was one of five school librarians named as a "Mover and Shaker" by Library Journal in 2015. She is the winner of the 2011 "I Love My Librarian" Award and the Library Association's 2010 Outstanding Librarian Award. The New Canaan High School Library won AASL's National School Library Program of the year in 2010. Follow her on Twitter @mluhtala.

Brenda Boyer received her PhD in Instructional Design for Online Learning through Capella University. She has been an educator for over 25 years and is the Teacher Librarian at Kutztown Senior High School in Kutztown, PA, as well as the Chair of the Information and Technology Resources Department. Dr. Boyer also has instructed graduate students at both Kutztown University and Rutgers University. She is a co-author of the October, 2014, ALA Library Technology Report: Social Media Curation, Her research interests include online learning, embedded librarianship, and inquiry/research instructional models. Follow Dr. Boyer on Twitter @bsboyer.
Join the Emerging Tech community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming webinars, view past webinars, take a quiz to receive a CE certificate for a past webinar, and access free resources.
Mackin is one of the top providers of library and classroom materials for grades PK-12. Working with over 18,000 publishers and a database of nearly 3 million printed titles, and more than 1.9 million digital titles, Mackin supplies print books, eBooks, online educational databases, audiobooks and video resources to schools around the globe.

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Flip Badge This! Teaching Students to Love Databases

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Presented by Michelle Luhtala, Library Department Chair, New Canaan High School, CT; with Dr. Brenda Boyer, Teacher Librarian, Kutztown Senior High School, Kutztown, PA Sponsored by Mackin Educational Resources WATCH THE EDWEBINAR RECORDING If you view the recording and would like a CE certificate, join the Emerging Tech community and go to the CE Quizzes link in the Community Toolbox.

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The University of Georgia College of Education

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The maker movement and makerspaces have swept the country and grown in numbers in libraries in recent years, as communities and libraries work to support science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education by offering spaces and equipment where users can learn as they create.

American Libraries spoke to representatives from three library makerspaces-Megan Danak, principal librarian at Tampa-Hillsborough County (Fla.) Public Library System's The Hive; Sarah Winchowky, project coordinator at the Free Library of Philadelphia's Maker Jawn; and Innisfil (Ont.) Public Library's Aaron DeVries, ideaLAB manager, and Susan Downs, CEO-about their makerspaces, the lessons they've learned about facilitating making in the library, and what they can see about the future of the maker movement and makerspaces as a more widely expected part of library service.

Each of your libraries has a unique brand for its makerspace. How did you develop the space's identity, and how has it been received by your users?

DANAK: Our main library building has a façade made of recycled pipes in the shape of a hexagon. In our planning process, we made jokes about being worker bees and having a hive mind. It's really easy to use the Hive name in an engaging way-we want it to create a buzz, and it's a hive of activity. We've had a really positive response to it.

WINCHOWKY: "Jawn" is a context-dependent substitute noun that comes from the Philadelphia hip-hop scene and can replace basically any noun. The library wanted something up to date but specific to Philadelphia. We wanted people to come and tinker and not have rigidity to the space. It was difficult at first because many of our school-age users had always been told what to do. Now they love it-there's an unbounded energy that comes out of the Maker Jawn.

DOWNS: We were renovating our largest branch, and we discovered one day that that building needed a new roof. We were able to move into a former drugstore, and in that environment we started to do things differently.

DEVRIES: We put a new name-ideaLAB-and logo on the building. We intentionally didn't have "library" on the building at first. When we first had 3D printing in our branches, there were a lot of questions about why it was in a library. When we dedicated space to it and gave it equal status to collections, people stopped questioning it, and they realize how the makerspace and the library can be married.

How are makerspaces like yours changing users' perceptions of the library?

DANAK: There's a lot of push toward entrepreneurial culture in Tampa, but I wasn't expecting so much of the business community to be so interested. Inventors and businesspeople are asking about making prototypes on our machines. The makerspace has a lot of firsts for us in terms of technology, and the first thing that comes out of most people's mouths is, "I never thought this would be in the library."

DOWNS: We like the idea of the community kitchen, where everyone is creating and discussing and arguing together. That's engaged the people who walk through the door and it's created a very different environment than the transactional model of library service that has dominated library thinking for the past 50 years.

How have you worked to engage volunteers to help facilitate making, and what has surprised you about working with community members in this way?

WINCHOWKY: We don't necessarily have a big contingent of volunteers who apply through the volunteer office. But we have people who have been coming to maker programs for a while, and they act as volunteers because they can help other newer makers. We have informal graduated categories so that people who know how to use something can help other people who don't, and we're also working on a badging system when people have learned the processes for using a piece of equipment.

DEVRIES: Anyone who's comfortable in the space is going to become a go-to person for her niche. We've seen that happen in both our hackerspace and the digital media lab-the superstars who are just hanging out with the stuff engage with new people who are just coming to see it for the first time.

DOWNS: We see that as so valuable we don't want to endanger it by over-formalizing it. That sharing is special, and if we put up a lot of rules and position descriptions, we might lose it.

How has the maker movement allowed you to reach out to potential partners? Are there any particular challenges to working with them?

DANAK: The technology is exciting, but we're fortunate in that a lot of what's going into the space already exists in the community. For example, we're giving a venue to the existing local robotics community through our robotics center. We've been trying to make it a space where the community drives what the programming is, rather than the library saying "We're going to do this." We allow the public to book our space, and we're able to reach partners who need a space and show them the resources the library has to offer. We do have some restrictions in how people can use the space, which can be a challenge. For example, they can't charge for events, which some nonprofits want to do. We're working within existing policies and seeing if we may need to adapt them in the future.

WINCHOWKY: We've connected with local groups like the Philadelphia Youth Network, as well as national groups like the Maker Education Initiative. Having partners throughout the city and in different parts of the country helps us to be more useful to patrons and makers-we can connect them to opportunities they may not have otherwise had. Not all organizations have the same goals, so you have to work together to figure out how a partnership can meet the goals of all the partners.

How do you determine what programs and technologies to introduce?

DANAK: We're kind of getting our feet under us in terms of what we have, with a recording lab, digital studio, Adobe software, and 3D printer. We're seeking feedback all the time and hoping to tailor services to what the public wants.

WINCHOWKY: We have several methods: periodically reviewing the needs and interests of the makers, polling maker mentors, collecting suggestions from staff and local and national partners, and responding to new initiatives from the local government or school districts. We've expanded the program into six neighborhood libraries, with an IMLS National Leadership Grant helping to fund three of them. Due to the increase in library sites, we've had to begin more formal documentation so we know where our equipment is and the information that is in our staff's heads. It's not meant to create a rigid "curriculum," but it allows others to see what we offer.

DOWNS: We had a shotgun approach at the beginning, after visiting several makerspaces, but we've realized we need to think in terms of more specific categories.

DEVRIES: Our HackerLab has four categories: 3D design (including 3D printers, design software, and eventually computer numerical control (CNC) manufacturing equipment), vector projects (laser cutting and etching and vinyl cutting), electronics and coding (programming, web design, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi), and arts and crafts (ranging from knitting and quilting to performance). Within those headings, we're working on learning what people most respond to.

What equipment or technology are you looking forward to introducing?

WINCHOWKY: We recently received a grant for intergenerational work. Our audience has typically been school age, but the IMLS National Leadership Grant will help us to get families and other library patrons involved in maker programming.

DEVRIES: One area I'm excited about is electronics and coding. We've often talked about the importance of learning code, but we haven't done much until now. There are great organizations in our area that we're excited to work with as partners.

What do you think is next in the maker movement for libraries?

DANAK: Libraries have always had maker programs, even if they weren't called that. But the perception is going to change as these programs expand. I think that as people come to expect this from a library, it's going to change the face of what we do. It will be like STEM education, which we've now written into our plans because our community expects us to support it.

WINCHOWKY: Not all learning comes out of a book, and libraries looking to have the maker movement flourish need to embrace the informal learning that's taking place. Making is not always quiet or orderly or clean. You also don't need big, fancy equipment in a dedicated space to have a successful program. We're on the floor with the patrons right in the library.

DOWNS: We decided we couldn't build our space on technolust, and we started thinking in terms of critical making and emphasizing STEM (or STEAM) programs. We think that creating an environment for the community to engage in is the next big thing. Formal buildings can sometimes lead to formal behaviors that can inhibit learning. We've changed some job titles and job descriptions because they can be limiting-we now have resident tinkerers and artists-in-residence, and we let them try new things that come with those new titles.

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Making Room for Informal Learning | American Libraries Magazine

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The maker movement and makerspaces have swept the country and grown in numbers in libraries in recent years, as communities and libraries work to support science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education by offering spaces and equipment where users can learn as they create. American Libraries spoke to representatives from three library makerspaces-Megan Danak, principal ...

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Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

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Download the print version of the Teen Space Guidelines (PDF).

Foreword

These guidelines were created in 2011 -2012 by a task force of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) with feedback from the library community achieved through a public comment period in the fall of 2011. Members of the task force were Katherine Trouern-Trend (chair), Audrey Sumser, Kathy Mahoney, Caroline Aversano, Samantha Marker, and Kimberly Bolan Cullin. YALSA's Board of Directors adopted the guidelines on May 24, 2012.

Review Process

In order to finalize the guidelines, the taskforce presented a draft document to YALSA'S Board of Directors in June 2011. At this meeting, the taskforce solicited feedback on the draft

The feedback was carefully considered by the Taskforce; additions and revisions have been made accordingly. This draft document was approved for dissemination via a call for public comments period on Oct. 14, 2011. After the public comment period closed, the taskforce reviewed the feedback received and refined the draft guidelines as appropriate. The Teen Spaces Guidelines Taskforce wishes to thank the library community for their contributions to this document. It is intended that the National Teen Space Guidelines will be reviewed for revisions every five years.

Introduction

This is a tool for evaluating a public library's overall level of success in providing physical and virtual space dedicated to teens, aged 12-18. Potential users of these national guidelines include library administrators, library trustees, teen services librarians, community members and job-seekers hoping to assess a library's commitment to teen services. Not every element of the guidelines may apply to every public library situation, but the guidelines can serve as a place to begin the conversation about what constitutes excellent public library space for teens.

Teens experience rapid physical, emotional and social changes while developing their intellectual capabilities and personal values, understanding and accepting their sexuality, and identifying their educational and occupational options. Libraries are vital to today's teens in order for them to achieve a successful transition from childhood to adulthood. They offer the resources and the environment that foster positive intellectual, emotional and social development of tomorrow's adults. All of these factors contribute to the need for distinct teen spaces, both in-library and virtually. The national guidelines that follow are intended for all library personnel working with and for teens, so they can fully understand the mission of library service to this frequently underserved age group and the importance of dedicated physical and virtual teen spaces for their continued engagement, growth and achievement.

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is to expand and strengthen library services for teens. Through its member-driven advocacy, research, and professional development initiatives, YALSA builds the capacity of libraries and librarians to engage, serve, and empower teens and young adults. YALSA is a subspecialty of the American Library Association, the world's largest and oldest library organization, and a financially stable 501(c)3 not-for-profit.

To learn more about YALSA or to access other national guidelines relating to library services to teens, go to www.ala.org/yalsa.

Guidelines for Physical Space

1.0 Solicit teen feedback and input in the design and creation of the teen space.

A cornerstone of teen library services is the principle that teens must be actively involved in decisions regarding collections, services, and programs intended for them. Their active participation ensures that the evolving needs and interests of teens are being addressed, and they play a key role in attracting peers to the library. Teens become lifelong library users and supporters when they are enthusiastically engaged in planning and decision-making, and their sense of ownership will enhance the quality of their library experience.

1.1 Create a space that meets the needs of teens in the community by asking teens to play a role in the planning process.

1.2 Solicit teen feedback in the design of the space and regarding its use to allow teens to develop a sense of ownership.

1.3 Solicit teen feedback in the development of policies to ensure the space is representative of teen needs.

2.0 Provide a library environment that encourages emotional, social and intellectual development of teens.

Twenty-first century teens have an unprecedented power and enthusiasm in shaping their social and learning environments through the growth of digital communication. These tools have created new social norms and expectations for teens from diverse backgrounds. Public libraries must strive to recreate this online experience by hosting an inviting, high interest, multipurpose physical space for teens. In doing so, the library nurtures teens' values, identity, and the new skills necessary to grow and thrive. The environment should:

2.1 Convey that it is teen-owned and maintained.

2.2 Be comfortable, inviting, open and have a vibrant and teen-friendly look and feel.

2.3 Accommodate individual as well as group use for socializing and learning.

2.4 Include colorful and fun accessories selected by teens. Include up-to-date and teen friendly décor.

2.5 Allow for ample display of teen print, artistic and digital creations.

2.6 Allow food and drink in the space.

2.7 Contribute to a sense of teen belonging, community involvement, and library appreciation.

2.8 Be appealing to both users and non-users and provide resources for customers from diverse social groups, backgrounds and interests.

2.9 Be easy to navigate with clear signage and distinct areas for socializing, entertainment, teen print/digital collections and study and quiet areas.

2.10 Be easily navigable for teens with wheelchairs, walkers and other assistive devices

3.0. Provide a library space for teens that reflects the community in which they live.

Twenty-first century teens have the ability to select and engage in communities of their choice based on interest and identification with cultural, social and knowledge groups. A public library must provide a space for teens that builds upon the culture and size of the teen community and facilitates user-friendly engagement in the space. The space should:

3.1 Reflect the communities the library serves.

3.2 Be proportionate in size to the percentage of a community's teen population.

3.3 Incorporate creative design and signage to make it evident that the area is for teens.

3.4 Be designed and located to accommodate noise and activity away from quiet areas of the library and the children's area.

3.5 Provide easy access to research materials and staff assistance.

3.6 Provide separate rooms for programming and quiet study spaces.

3.7 Encourage visibility for unobtrusive staff supervision.

3.8 Accommodate a variety of uses including leisure reading, socializing, and individual and group activity.

3.9 Provide workspace for the teen librarian.

3.10 Have adequate and appropriate shelving for a diverse collection, displays and exhibit space.

3.11 Designed to be handicapped accessible and in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

4.0 Provide and promote materials that support the educational and leisure needs of teens.

According to Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the mobile revolution has changed people's sense of time, place and presence and has lead to a new media ecology . This sets a new standard for the expected immediacy and availability of desired information in all formats. Libraries have an important role in providing appropriate materials to help teens navigate, consume and create information for entertainment and lifelong skill development.

4.1 Ensure a teen collection development policy is in place that is aligned with the mission and goals of the library and the library's overall collection development policy.

4.2 House materials within the space that address the unique emotional, intellectual, and social maturity of middle and high-school age adolescents.

4.3 Maintain a teen collection that supports and addresses the interests and needs of teens in the community.

4.4 Maintain materials that are evaluated and weeded on a timely basis for condition and relevance.

4.5 Maintain a teen collection that includes a wide variety of formats, including but not limited to:

4.5.a Print fiction and non-fiction

4.5.b. Music, including but not limited to CD, MP3, and other emergent technologies.

4.5.c. Video resources, including but not limited to DVD, Blu-Ray and other emergent

technologies.

4.5.d. Downloadable books.

4.5.e. Downloading stations for in-library use.

4.5.f. Circulating hardware, including but not limited to laptops, eReaders, MP3 players and other emergent technologies

4.5.g. Audiobooks and other emergent technologies.

4.5.h. Graphic novels, manga, comic books, and anime.

4.5.i. Video games and gaming systems.

4.5.j. Magazines, both recreational and educational.

4.5.k. Electronic databases and other digital research materials.

4.5.l. Print research materials.

5.0 Ensure the teen space has appropriate acceptable use and age policies to make teens feel welcome and safe.

The teen space is intended for use by customers age 12-18 years old, and its purpose is to centralize the information and recreation resources of this age group while offering teens a safe, supportive, and positive space that is uniquely their own.

5.1 Actively seek teen input in the creation of the teen space guidelines, empowering theteens to serve as valuable resources.

5.2 Clearly state and display guidelines once they have been discussed and determined.

5.3 Ensure that both staff and the public are aware of the rules and expectations for using the space.

5.3 Address common points and behaviors within the guidelines, including but not limited to:

5.3.a Age requirement

5.3.b. Use of appropriate language and behavior, including no fighting, no public displays of affection, and cleaning up one's mess.

5.4 Expect teens to respect themselves and the space and convey this clearly in the guidelines.

5.5 Consider adopting a "teen-only" policy for use of the space to create a space that is uniquely their own. A teen-only space can:

5.5.a. Indicate to teens that the library cares about their unique developmental, recreational, educational, and social needs.

5.5.b. Enable teens to be themselves in a teen-friendly environment.

5.5.c. Help teens feel more at ease in the library.

5.5.d. Help contain noise levels that may be distracting to other patrons.

5.5.e. Contribute to the safety and well-being of teens while in the library.

5.6 Limit adult use of the teen-only space to browsing materials for a period of time not to exceed 15 minutes, adult tutors who are currently working with teen students, adults accompanied by a teen, and library staff. This space can:

5.6.a. Allow teens to feel comfortable in an area where other teens are the primary occupants.

5.6.b. Enable teens to feel safe from risky, adult-initiated interactions.

6.0 Provide furniture and technology that is practical yet adaptive.

The space is designed to accommodate a variety of activities and is flexibly arranged so these activities can take place easily. Furniture, fixtures and technology should be multifunctional and flexible so that as needs and activities change the area can be adapted accordingly. The selected furniture and fixtures should be conducive to marketing library material through displays and arrangements that stimulate discovery and use. Browsing areas for materials should encourage teens to engage in the library at their own pace and comfort level.

6.1 Have shelving for materials in various formats.

6.2 Provide comfortable and durable seating and tables for teens of all sizes and abilities. Include furniture that is wheelchair accessible.

6.3 Include furniture that is easy to move around the space in order to allow for a multitude of group, individual, and programmatic activities.

6.4 Include display equipment such as bulletin boards and display cases.

6.5 Ensure ample trash receptacles are available.

6.6 Provide a reference or information services desk or kiosk, clock, and telephone as well as ample storage for teen librarian's supplies.

6.7 Offer listening, viewing, and downloading equipment for a full range of user abilities/needs. Ensure assistive hardware and software technology is available for vision and hearing disabled teens.

6.8 Be technology rich and include both stationary and portable technology that is easily accessible and exposes teens to a diversity of hardware and software for both entertainment and learning.

6.9 Offer access to current and emerging platforms and tools, including but not limited to social networking and photo-sharing sites, user-driven communication tools for tagging and review sharing, audio and visual production technologies, and interactive Web services.

6.10 Provide adequate lighting, ventilation, temperature controls, and acoustics.

6.11 Include ample outlets to allow for technology owned by the library as well as technology owned and brought into the space by teens.

6.12 Provide adequate network infrastructure.

6.13 Ensure wireless capability.

Guidelines for Virtual Spaces

7.0 Ensure content, access and use is flexible and adaptive

Online communication and engagement is central to the rhythms of teenagers' lives. Many teens have self-structured identities and social environments online and exist in a rapidly converging virtual and physical world. According to Pew researchers, three-fourths of teenagers contribute content online and are key players in the digital information revolution. Traditionally libraries have sought to push information out to library users through librarian-created content, but it is vital in today's world to recognize and adapt to the changing information needs and expectations of our teen patrons. Teens should be active participants in the creation and maintenance of the library's online presence. An attractive and functional virtual space should be designed with teen input, evaluated regularly by teens, have interactive features, and be usable on a mobile device. The virtual space should:

7.1 Support and use social media as a vital means of communication.

7.2 Allow teens to share their work, receive feedback and build community.

7.3 Model safe and appropriate use of social media tools for teens.

7.4 Support collaboration with adults and peers.

7.5 Allow administrative rights and content contribution to both library staff and teens.

7.6 Be interactive.

7.7 Support and feature mechanisms for teens to connect in real time virtually with library staff who can assist them with research needs such as chat, text message, and Skype, among others.

7.8 Support and feature mechanisms for teens to connect with one another through the library website to talk about books, homework, and research.

7.9 Support and provide capabilities for taking part in programs virtually.

7.10 Offer classes, drop-in sessions, and/or virtual instruction to educate and teach use of Web 2.0 tools and other emerging technologies.

7.11 Provide positive online interactions modeled by library staff.

7.12 Include content, photos and videos produced by teens in accordance with the library's photo release policy.

7.13 Designed to be accessible for those with visual, auditory, and motor disabilities. See The Internet and Web-based Content Accessibility Checklist ( www.ala.org/ascla/asclaprotools/thinkaccessible/internetwebguidelines) provided by the Association for Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies.

8.0 Ensure the virtual space reflects 21st century learning standards.

Through interaction and participation in digital media, teens are developing important social and technical skills helping to build a skill set necessary to learn and thrive in today's networked world. As virtual and physical worlds continue to converge, teens need tools, support and resources to harness information in a way that is meaningful to their particular needs and as participants in multiple and diverse social and learning environments.

8.1 Help teens thrive in a complex information environment.

8.2 Expose teens to diverse perspectives, gather and use information ethically and use social tools responsibly and safely.

8.3 Support the development of multiple literacies including digital, visual, textual and technological information navigation and use.

8.4 Enhance teen information literacy skills through opportunities to share and learn with others, both physically and virtually.

8.5 Teach respect for copyright and the intellectual property rights of creators and producers.

8.6 Connect understanding to the real world.

8.7 Help teens consider diverse and global perspectives.

8.8 Engage teens in social and intellectual networks of learning to gather and share information.

8.9 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess.

8.10 Help teens connect learning to community issues.

8.11 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within and beyond the learning community.

8.12 Respect the principles of intellectual freedom.

8.13 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.

9.0 Provide digital resources for teens that meet their unique and specific needs.

21st century teens interact with a range of materials in multiple formats in their school and leisure environments. According to the MacArthur Foundation, we are in the midst of a knowledge revolution that is changing how we approach learning and leisure resources for youth. Libraries need to adapt to this new paradigm and provide resources and support for teen's natural gravitation to digital media platforms.

9.1 Provide general contact information for the library and specific contact information for the teen librarian and teen content creators.

9.2 Feature information about library programs and activities for teens.

9.3 Feature a collection development policy for website content and links that includes a procedure for addressing challenges to controversial websites and a procedure for users to suggest additional electronic resources.

9.4 Feature annotated booklists and book reviews, and/or links to teen literature sites that provide reader's advisory services.

9.5 Promote teen collections and resources.

9.6 Feature informational and recreational links, including the library catalog, databases, and recreational links suggested by teens.

9.7 Feature interactive information of interest and need to teens including, but not limited to, homework help; health and sexuality; financial advice; relationship advice; time management tips; pop culture; college prep.

9.8 Provide opportunities for teens to post reviews of materials.

9.9 Provide links to the library's Teen Advisory Board blog, wiki, Twitter feed, or other means of online communication.

9.10 Feature interactive content that helps teens learn how to use library resources.

9.11 Feature content that is changed and updated frequently.

Resources

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of URLs in this document, please bear in mind that websites change frequently.

American Association of School Librarians. 2007. "Standards for the 21st Century Learner." Accessed May 31, 2012. www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_LearningStandards.pdf.

Apple in Education. "Useful to Everyone, Right from the Start." Accessed May 31, 2012. www.apple.com/education/special-education/

Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies. 2010. "Assistive Technology: What You Need to Know." www.ala.org/ascla/sites/ala.org.ascla/files/content/asclaprotools/accessibilitytipsheets/tipsheets/11-Assistive_Technol.pdf

Bernier, Anthony. 2010. "Spacing Out with Young Adults: Translating YA Space Concepts Back into Practice." In The Information Needs and Behaviors of Urban Teens: Research and Practice, edited by Denise E. Agosto and Sandra Hughes-Hassell, 113-126. Chicago: ALA Editions.

Bernier, Anthony. 2010. "Ten Years of 'YA Spaces of Your Dreams': What Have We Learned?" Voice of Youth Advocates Online. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.voya.com/2010/05/13/ten-years-of-ya-spaces-of-your-dreams-what-have-we-learned.

Bernier, Anthony. 2009. "'A Space for Myself to Go': Early Patterns in Small YA Spaces." Public Libraries 48(5): 33-47.

Bernier, Anthony and Nicole Branch. 2009. "A TeenZone: Humming Its Own New Tune." Voice of Youth Advocates 32(3): 204-206.

Bernier, Anthony, ed. 2012. YA Spaces of Your Dreams Collection. Bowie, Md.: VOYA Press.

Bolan, Kimberly. 2011. "Best Practice in Teen Space Design Webinar. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.ala.org/yalsa/onlinelearning/webinars/webinarsondemand

Bolan, Kimberly. 2008. "YALSA White Paper: The Need for Teen Spaces in Public Libraries." Accessed May 31, 2012. www.ala.org/yalsa/guidelines/whitepapers/teenspaces.

Bolan (Taney), Kimberly. 2008. Teen Spaces: The Step-by-Step Library Makeover. Chicago: ALA Editions.

Braun, Linda. 2010. "The Big App : New York Libraries Take Homework Help Mobile - with a Little Help from Their Friends." School Library Journal. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/887747-312/the_big_app_new_yorks.html.csp.

Braun, Linda. 2006. "Instant Messages." YALSABlog. Accessed May 31, 2012. http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2006/03/12/instant-messages.

Braun, Linda. 2010. "Whose Space Is It?" YALSABlog, Accessed May 31, 2012. http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2010/03/05/whose-space-is-it/

Daly, Erin. 2012. "30 Days of Innovation: Incorporate Art Into Your Teen Space." YALSABlog, Accessed May 31, 2012. http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2012/04/11/30-days-of-innovation-11-incorporate-teen-art-into-your-space/

Duffy, Mairead. 2012. "30 Days of Innovation #5: Changing Your Point of Reference." YALSABlog. Accessed May 31, 2012. http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2012/04/05/30-days-of-innovation-5-changing-your-point-of-reference/

Farrelly, Michael Garrett. 2012. Make Room for Teens: A Guide to Developing Teen Spaces in Libraries. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited.

Feinberg, Sandra and James R Keller. 2010. Designing Space for Children and Teens in Public Spaces and Libraries. Chicago: ALA Editions.

Fialkoff, Francine. 2010. "Third Place or Thinking Space." Library Journal. Accessed on May 31, 2012. www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6716262.html

Flowers, Sarah. 2010. Young Adults Deserve the Best: YALSA's Competencies in Action. Chicago : ALA Editions, 2010.

Ito, Mizuko, et. al. 2009. Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2009.

Ito, Mizuko, et al. 2008. "Living and Learning with New Media : Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project. Accessed May 31, 2012. http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/files/report/digitalyouth-WhitePaper.pdf.

IMLS, 2014 "Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums: Transformative Spaces for Teens." Accessed December 15, 2014. http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/AssetManager/LearningLabsReport.pdf

Jones, Patrick, Mary K. Chelton and Joel Shoemaker. 2001. Do It Right: Best Practices for Serving Teens in School and Public Libraries. New York: Neal-Schuman.

King, David Lee. 2011. "Content Creation, Media Labs, and Hackerspaces." David Lee King Blog. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.davidleeking.com/2011/12/15/content-creation-media-labs-and-hackerspaces/#.T8IwbZlYt2k.

"Learning Space Toolkit." 2013. A collaboration between IMLS, North Carolina State University, brightspot, and Strategy Plus at Aecom. Accessed February 20, 2013. http://www.learningspacetoolkit.org./

Lenhart, Amanda, et al. 2011. "Teen Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network Sites." Pew Internet and American Life Project. Accessed May 31, 2012. http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Teens-and-social-media.aspx.

Library Journal and School Library Journal. The Digital Shift: Libraries and New Media. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.thedigitalshift.com.

Library Roadshow. 2012. "Michelle Shows Us ImaginOn's Teen Space." Video. Accessed May 31, 2012. http://youtu.be/5cubsGMSlnA.

McGrath, Renee. 2011. "Creating a Mobile Booklist 'App.'" Young Adult Library Services 10 (2): 35-37.

McCue, T.J. 2011. "First Public Library To Create a Maker Space." Forbes. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2011/11/15/first-public-library-to-create-a-maker-space/

Microsoft. "Microsoft Accessibility: Technology for Everyone." Accessed May 31, 2012. www.microsoft.com/enable.

KQED. Mind/Shift: How We Will Learn. Accessed May 31, 2012. http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift.

Peoski, Laura. "Where Are All the Teens? Engaging and Empowering them Online." Young Adult Library Services 8(2): 26-28.

Rainie, Lee and Susannah Fox. 2012. "Just in Time Information through Mobile Connections." Pew Internet and American Life Project. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Just-in-time.aspx.

Rainie, Lee. 2011. "Libraries and the New Community Information Ecology." Video presentation. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2011/Apr/Beyond-Books.aspx.

Reeder, Jessica. 2011. "Are Maker Spaces the Future of Libraries." Shareable: Science & Tech. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.shareable.net/blog/the-future-of-public-libraries-maker-spaces.

Search Institute. "Developmental Assets Lists." Accessed May 31, 2012. www.search-institute.org/developmental-assets/lists.

Toppo, Greg. 2010. "Digital LibraryAims to Expand Kids' Media Literacy." USA Today. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-10-09/chicago-teens-build-media-literacy-in-digital-library/50714312/1.

Validivia, Clare and Mega Subramaniam. 2014. " Connected Learning in the Public Library: An Evaluative Framework for Developing Virtual Learning Spaces for Youth." Accessed May 29, 2015. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01616846.2014.910727?journalCode=wplq20

Watters, Audrey. 2011. "Libraries and Museums Become Hands-On Learning Labs." KQED Mind/Shift. Accessed May 31, 2012. http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/11/libraries-and-museums-set-to-become-hands-on-learning-labs.

YOUmedia. YOUMedia Web site. Accessed May 31, 2012. www.youmedia.org.

Ypulse. 2010. "Ypulse Interview: Kim Bolan Cullin: 'Teen Spaces.'" Accessed May 31, 2012. www.ypulse.com/post/view/ypulse-interview-kim-bolan-cullin-teen-spaces

Model Physical & Virtual Teen Spaces

Library: Frankfort Community Public Library

Location: Frankfort, IN

Teen Space Name: The Edge

Virtual Space: http://fcpl.accs.net/teen.htm

Contact: Tom Smith, Assistant Director and Kirsten Weaver, Teen and Outreach Librarian

Library: Waupaca Area Public Library

Location: Waupaca, WI

Teen Space Name: Best Cellar

Virtual Space: www.waupacalibrary.org/teens

Contact: Peg Burington, Director

Library: Newark Public Library

Location: Newark, NY

Teen Space Name: The Teen Spot

Virtual Space: http://newarklibraryteenspot.blogspot.com/

Contact: Elly Dawson, Director

Library: Plymouth District Library

Location: Plymouth, MI

Teen Space Name: Teen Zone

Virtual Space: http://plymouthlibrary.org/index.php/teen

Contact: Cathy Lichtman, Teen Service Librarian

Library: Farmington Public Library

Location: Farmington, New Mexico

Teen Space Name: Teen Zone

Virtual Space: www.infoway.org/TeenZone/index.asp

Contact: Barbara Savage Huff, Youth Services Librarian

Library: Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center

Location: Chicago, IL

Teen Space Name: YouMedia

Virtual Space: http://youmediachicago.org/2-about-us/pages/2-about-us

Contact: Mike Hawkins, YouMedia Coordinator/Lead Mentor

Library: Tacoma Public Library

Location: Tacoma, WA

Teen Space Name: Story Lab

Virtual Space: www.storylabtacoma.org/

Contact: Sara Sunshine Holloway, Librarian

Library: Queens Library

Location #1: Queens Library for Teens, Far Rockaway, NY

Virtual Space: www.facebook.com/queenslibraryforteens

Location #2: Flushing Branch, Flushing, NY

Virtual Space #2: http://queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_id=44&branch_id=F

Contact: Vikki Terrile, Coordinator of Young Adult Services

Library: Detroit Public Library

Location: Detroit, MI

Teen Space Name: H.Y.P.E. (Helping Young People Excel)

Virtual Space: http://dplhype.org

Contact: Lurine Carter, Children's and Youth Services Coordinator

Library: Orange County Library System

Location: Orlando, FL

Teen Space Name: Club Central

Virtual Space: www.ocls.info/Children/Teen/doit/club_central_do_it.asp

Contact: Vera Gubnitskaia, Youth Services Manager

Library: Gail Borden Public Library District

Location: Elgin, IL

Teen Space Name: Studio 270

Virtual Space: www.gailborden.info/m/content/view/1302/905/

Contact: Billie Jo Moffett and Melissa Lane, Studio 270 Co-Managers

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Download the print version of the Teen Space Guidelines (PDF).YALSA's Teen Space Guidelines are a tool for evaluating a public library's overall level of success in providing physical and virtual space dedicated to teens, aged 12-18. Potential users of these national guidelines include library administrators, library trustees, teen services librarians, community members and job-seekers hoping to assess a library's commitment to teen services.

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Help students become informed and effective civic participants in today's digital landscape. This unit is designed to develop students' critical thinking, news literacy, civic engagement, and social-emotional skills and competencies.

Civics & Citizenship

History

Social Studies

Democracy & Civic Engagement

Racism

The resources I'm getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable.

- Claudia Bautista, Santa Monica, Calif

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Facing Ferguson: News Literacy in a Digital Age

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Help students become informed and effective civic participants in today's digital landscape. This unit is designed to develop students' critical thinking, news literacy, civic engagement, and social-emotional skills and competencies.

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Overdrive School & Public Library Partnerships 

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By: Adam Sockel, OverDrive Marketing Communications Specialist Regardless of where you reside in the United States, the end of August represents the same thing to everyone: back to school. Students of all ages will return to classrooms ready to re-engage with curriculum, classmates, and teachers....

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OverDrive Library+School Sharing - Rakuten OverDrive

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By: Adam Sockel, OverDrive Marketing Communications Specialist Regardless of where you reside in the United States, the end of August represents the same thing to everyone: back to school. Students of all ages will return to classrooms ready to re-engage with curriculum, classmates, and teachers....

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East Bay Alternative Book and Zines Fest

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Engaging, interactive lessons help educators equip their students with the tools to evaluate and interpret the news and to learn how to decide what news and other information to trust, share and act on.

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Engaging, interactive lessons help educators equip their students with the tools to evaluate and interpret the news and to learn how to decide what news and other information to trust, share and act on.

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We were guaranteed a free press, We were not guaranteed a neutral or a true press. We can celebrate the journalistic freedom to publish without interference from the state. We can also celebrate our freedom to share multiple stories through multiple lenses.

But it has always been up to the reader or viewer to make the reliability and credibility decisions. It is up to the reader or viewer to negotiate truth.

News literacy is complicated. In our attempts to discern truth, we are confounded by a 24/7 news cycle. News hits us across media platforms and devices, in a landscape populated by all degrees of professional journalists and citizen journalists and satirists and hoaxers and folks paid or personally moved to write intentionally fake news. All of this is compounded by the glories and the drawbacks of user-generated content, citizen journalism, and a world of new news choices.

Professional journalists themselves face new practical and ethical challenges relating to anonymity, privacy and safety, as well as reliability in their attempts to verify sources of breaking news from social media and user-generated content in all media formats. (The Verification Handbooks are a wonderful lens into this complicated process.) The Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics lists four guiding principles; the first of which is seek truth and report it.

Even news that is vetted by editors and publishers sometimes emerges from that process a bit processed, perhaps leaning in a particular direction.

And word choice itself is connected to truth. Over the course of the last decade we've seen professional news organizations and governments struggle with the politics and potential loadedness of words, notably terrorist and illegal immigrant. (See the AP Stylebook Blog and Reuters Handbook of Journalism.)
On news literacy
In its glossary, Stony Brook University's Center for News Literacy defines news literacy as:

The ability to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of news reports, whether they come via print, television or the Internet.

Our kids need new types of filters. Beyond larger notions of information literacy, I see the case for a specific focus on news literacy. Not as a lesson of good vs. bad. Not as an attempt to pitch traditional media against social media or peer review against popular publication. Not through the examination of hoaky hoax sites. And certainly not as a one-of, checklist type of lesson for a 9th grade social studies teacher in September.

We need to teach the important lessons of everyday civics for new consumption and production landscapes. These lessons involve sustained critical thinking, a practice to engage in regularly as we read and view and inquire with learners of all ages acros s disciplines.

A recent Stanford Graduate School of Education report, Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Literacy assessed the news literacy of students from middle school through college.

Students were asked to perform such tasks as: determine the trustworthiness of tweets, distinguish between news articles and opinion columns, identify ads on a news website, compare and evaluate posts from a newspaper's comment section, identify the blue checkmark that distinguishes a verified Facebook account from a fake one, consider the relative strength of evidence presented by two posters in a Facebook exchange, decide whether or not to trust a photo on a photo-sharing website, determine whether a website can be trusted in an open web search, search to verify a claim about a controversial issue, assess the reliability of a partisan website, identify the strengths and weaknesses of an online video. (p. 6) (Note: Most of these tasks could authentically be taught in our libraries during the natural course of any inquiry project.)

The Executive Summary shared disturbing results:

By high school, we would hope that students reading about gun laws would notice that a chart came from a gun owners' political action committee. And, in 2016, we would hope college students, who spend hours each day online, would look beyond a .org URL and ask who's behind a site that presents only one side of a contentious issue. But in every case and at every level, we were taken aback by students' lack of preparation . . .

Never have we had so much information at our fingertips. Whether this bounty will make us smarter and better informed or more ignorant and narrow-minded will depend on our awareness of this problem and our educational response to it. At present, we worry that democracy is threatened by the ease at which disinformation about civic issues is allowed to spread and flourish. (pp. 5-6)

I see a serious need for librarians to build a few seaworthy arks from the news media flood to aid students in discerning credibility, reliability, and bias in context of their information needs and the context of the text itself. I can see us introducing the broad notion of triangulation to children for whom the word may be difficult to say.
What's going on? Fake news
In the weeks leading up to the election we were drawn to stories about Pope Francis endorsing Donald Trump and WikiLeaks' confirmation that Hillary Clinton sold weapons to ISIS.

Fake news is not new. But its potential for virality is and our awareness of it is newly awakened. Some suggested it played a role in the outcome of the election. Google and Facebook both announced that they would try to eliminate fake news from appearing in their result lists and newsfeeds by blocking fake news sources from using their ad networks.

This video TEDEd by Damon Brown offers a student-friendly explanation as well as strategies for analyzing news sources:

And fake news is but one flavor of news that is less than accurate. It is but one bucket into which readers and viewers should sort types of truthiness.

Fake news itself comes in a variety of flavors:

Pure fake news sites use fabricated stories to lure traffic, encourage clicks (click bait), influence or profit using intentionally deceptive, but highly intriguing, often sensational information.

Hoax sites also share false information with the intention to trick readers/viewers

Satirical sites present news with a comical, often exaggerated spin

Born digital images and edited images alter and often misrepresent visual reality

In addition, sometimes journalists just get things wrong. Their sources they choose to interview may not offer truth or a full picture. Stories reported in process lack the wisdom of hindsight and may be missing full context.
Post-truth or truthiness
Oxford Dictionaries recently announced post-truth as its 2016 international Word of the Year. Oxford defines the word as relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

It is well worth noting that the concept is not new. Oxford traces post-truth's history from a peripheral term simmering for at least a decade to its dramatic spike this year: in the context of the Brexit referendum in the UK and the presidential election in the US, and becoming associated overwhelmingly with a particu lar noun, in the phrase "post-truth politics."

Back in 2005, Stephen Colbert introduced the Word truthiness, now defined by Wikipedia as a quality characterizing a "truth" that a person making an argument or assertion claims to know intuitively "from the gut" or because it "feels right" without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.

While we need to reject the notion of relying solely on from-the-gut verification systems, it is important to recognize that we are not always looking at a binary situation.

Credibility decisions are complicated. Most news is not simply fake or true. News from traditional sources can be suspect as well. Professional journalists engage in rigorous fact-checking and adhere to sets of professional ethics, but they are not entirely immune to bias or agenda or the pressures of a deadline. A single story may tell a part of a larger story at the moment of its publishing. Of course, traditional newspapers feature writing of all sorts-straight reporting, editorials, features, columns, advertisements and comments in their digital versions. Several traditional news sources are to various degrees either right or left leaning. While some admit their bias, others do not.

It is impossible to dismiss the complication that our political news consumption habits have shifted. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit and Tumblr played huge roles in disseminating political information during the past election season. A May 2016 Pew Research Center study found that a majority of U.S. adults - 62% - get news on social media, and 18% do so often. In terms of the total population, this translates to social media news reaching 67% of U.S. adults. The two-thirds of Facebook users who get news there, then, amount to 44% of the general population. Consider this results of this report in the context of with the decline of the newspaper industry also documented by recent Pew Research Center data.

Some Rules of thumb:

Check About and About me pages: Clicking on or investigate authors names to consider their credentials in context should be a regular part of the research journey. (See other tricks below.)

Interrogate urls: We see quite a bit of domain manipulation these days. For instance, what looks like an .edu domain, followed by .co or "lo" is likely a fake or deceptive site. If you are you seeing a slightly variant version of a well-known URL, do a little investigating.

Suspect the sensational: When we see something posted that looks sensational, it is even more important to be skeptical. Exaggerated and provocative headlines with excessive use of capital letters or emotional language are serious red flags.

Go back to the source: When an article mentions a study, if you can, go directly to the source and check its bona fides as well.

Go back to the story again (and again): When was the story written? What is its context? Breaking news will continue to break. Early reports are built from limited information so you'll want to watch a story grow into a fuller picture.

Think outside the reliability box: The old checklist-type tools we used to evaluate websites do not necessarily work. ACRL's Framework reminds us that the notion of reliability can be fluid. Experts know how to seek authoritative voices but also recognize that unlikely voices can be authoritative, depending on need. On Twitter's 10th birthday this year, Poynter, the respected journalism portal, listed 10 Twitter How Tos -guides for using Twitter for journalism from its own archive. Students can benefit from these tips too.

Triangulate: Try to verify or corroborate the information in multiple sources, including traditional media and library databases. You can begin to rule out the hoaxes by checking out sites like the nonprofit, nonpartisan FactCheck.org, or popular sites like Snopes or Hoax-Slayer.

What exactly are you reading?: Even when you find yourself in a traditional news site, identify what type of writing you are reading. Is it news reporting, or a feature story, or an editorial, or work by a guest blogger, or a review, or an op-ed or a disguised ad, or a comment?

Check your own search attitude and biases: Is your search language biased in any way? Are you paying more attention to the information that confirms your own beliefs and ignoring evidence that does not?

Use a little energy: Have you simply satisficed or have you done your due diligence in seeking and validating the best possible sources across media sources?

Stop before you forward (or use): When you see a widely shared or forwarded link, be suspicious of a hoax or a fake story. Can you verify the information outside of the social media platform on which you discovered it?

Be suspicious of pictures!: Not all photographs tell truth or unfiltered truth. Images are normally edited or process, but sometimes they are digitally manipulated. Some are born digital. A Google reverse image search can help discover the source of an image and its possible variations.

Remember Time Magazine's darkening of the OJ mugshot?

Remember Sandy?

Infographics are carefully constructed visual media messages. The data, the evidence, the sources, and the arguments they present beg careful deconstruction, scrutiny and analysis. (See my post.)
Some news literacy vocabulary to introduce in talking about credibility:

cloaked sites appear unbiased and professional but actually advocate on behalf of an organization or cause while concealing their true sources of funding and purpose.

confirmation bias: the tendency to believe information is credible if it conforms to the reader's/viewer's existing belief system, or not credible if it does not conform

container collapse: my own term for our trouble discerning the original information container, format or information type-blog, book, pamphlet, government document, chapter, magazine, newspaper, journal, or section of the newspaper or magazine or journal-once publishing cues are removed and every source looks like a digital page or a printout.

content farm or content mill: a company that employs a staff of freelance writers to create content designed to satisfy search engine retrieval algorithms with the goal of attracting views and advertising revenue.

In news media an echo chamber is a metaphorical description of a situation in which information, ideas, or beliefs are amplified or reinforced by transmission and repetition inside an "enclosed" system, where different or competing views are censored, disallowed, or otherwise underrepresentedecho chamber: "." (Wikipedia)

fact checking: the act of verifying assertions either prior to publication or after dissemination of the content

filter bubble: When search tools present with the stories we are likely to click on or share based on our past activity, potentially affirming our biases, we need may be experiencing what Eli Pariser calls a filter bubble,

herding phenomenon: as more journalists begin to cover a story, even more journalists are likely to join the herd, imitating the angle the story initially took rather than developing alternate or original approaches or angles.

native advertising: paid, sponsored content designed to look like the legitimate content produced by the media outlet

satisficing: a portmanteau of the words satisfy and suffice introduced by Herbert Simon in 1956 to refer to the tendency of people, bounded by time limitations, to select good enough information over optimal information

sockpuppet: an online identify created to pose as a party unaffiliated with the media puppeteer in order to deceive.

triangulation or cross verification: Researchers establish validity by using several research methods and by analyzing and examining multiple perspectives and sources in the hope that diverse viewpoints will can shed greater light on a topic.

virality: the rapid circulation of media from one user to another. When we forward sensational stories, often from social media without checking their credibility in other sources, we increase their virality.

Resources for a post truth teaching toolkit:

ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual: Though aimed at university students, this important document reframes the way we consider authority and is well worth examining with high school students and faculty. The Framework recommends the following student dispositions:Learners who are developing their information literate abilities

develop and maintain an open mind when encountering varied and sometimes conflicting perspectives;

motivate themselves to find authoritative sources, recognizing that authority may be conferred or manifested in unexpected ways;

develop awareness of the importance of assessing content with a skeptical stance and with a self-awareness of their own biases and worldview;

question traditional notions of granting authority and recognize the value of diverse ideas and worldviews;

are conscious that maintaining these attitudes and actions requires frequent self-evaluation.

False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and Satirical "News" Sources: a dynamic Google Doc filled with tips from Melissa Zimdars, Assistant Professor of Communication and Media at Merrimack College.

The Center for News Literacy from Stony Brook University's School of Journalism, offers an impressive Digital Resources Center that includes

Ripped from the Headlines: Fresh news literacy lessons, based on the latest news, ready to use in class

Course Pack: organized around eight major concepts, the 14-module curriculum takes students from the first information revolution of Johannes Gutenberg's printing press to the Digital Age of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook. Each lesson stands alone or can easily be integrated into your program. Don't miss the very useful new Glossary.

Get a Global View: Instructional resources from the Center's international partners

DIY News Literacy Lessons: Inspiration and lessons templates for creating your own instruction around news literacy concepts.

News Literacy Project: Begun by an LA Times investigative reporter and supported by several newspapers and news organizations, the NLP is an innovative national education program that equips middle school and high school students with the tools to be smart, active consumers of news and information and engaged, informed citizens. Don't miss the four modules, lessons and Check Tool in the Checkology Virtual Classroom.

NewseumED: Learning tools on media literacy. Don't miss the Resources for Promoting Dialogue Post Election and Today's Front Pages

Center for Media Literacy: Dedicated to leadership, education and professional development, the pioneering CML offers a free Global OnRamp (in multiple languages) built around its research-based framework and five key questions for deconstructing and constructing media.

Media Education Lab: Teaching Resources: The University of Rhode Island's Harrington School of Communication and Media offers a wealth of resources. Don't miss Mind Over Media, a crowdsourced website that contains diverse examples of contemporary propaganda on a wide range of social, political, economic and environmental topics, as well as the six-lesson CCSS-aligned high school curriculum unit on contemporary propaganda.

Frank Baker's Media Literacy Clearinghouse: Don't miss the Media's Role in Politics

Verification Handbook for Investigative Reporting: Aimed at professional journalists, but very useful for high school, this companion to the Verification Handbook for Emergency Coverage, which addresses breaking news, provides the fundamentals of online search and research techniques for investigations and takes a deeper into techniques for user generated content investigations

Time For Kids shares a video News Matters in which 6th graders discuss what they are learning about critical thinking and the news. critically about the information they come across.

Project CORA: Community of Online Research Assignments an open access resource for faculty and librarians

Fake News vs. Real News: Determining the Reliability of Sources NYTimes Learning Network

SchoolJournalism.org: News, Journalism and Media Literacy: This rich portal, administered by the Reynolds High School Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, contains a wealth of resources and suggested tools for teachers of journalism and the rest of us. Check out the interdisciplinary News Literacy Model Curriculum and Lesson Plans as well as the Six Principles of News Literacy

Teaching Information Literacy Now, from SLJ Librarian of the Year finalist, Laura Gardner

Fake 'News' in a 'Post-truth' World from reflection from Professor Judi Moreillon who shares: Fake "news" and a "post-truth" world call all school librarians to step up and lead

Resources for building a news literacy toolkit

FactCheck.org: Annenberg Public Policy Center's nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. Check out the post That Chain E-Mail Your Friend Sent to You is (Likely) Bogus. Seriously, for its Key Characteristics of Bogusness and the Viral Spiral page for claims previously checked

Washington Post's Fact Checker: The purpose of this Web site, and an accompanying column in the Sunday print edition of The Washington Post, is to "truth squad" the statements of political figures regarding issues of great importance, be they national, international or local.

PolitiFact.com: a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics, run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times. (Note: I discovered their truth-o-meter after I created the little image for this post.)

Snopes: Since way back in the 90s, Snopes has been dispelling urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.

Hoax-Slayer: Australian Brett Christensen has been debunking email and social media hoaxes and spam since 2003

Craig Silverman's BuzzFeed blog: The founding editor for BuzzFeed, Canada has been writing for many years for a variety of publications on media accuracy and verification issues.

Whois Lookup: This tool allows you to investigate the domain behind a website

CRAAP Test: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose posted by the Meriam Library, California State University, Chico.

Kathy Schrock's 5W's of Website Evaluation

Does This Website Smell Funny to You? Amy Gillespie's FART test posted in Knowledge Quest will grab middle schoolers' attention

Evaluating Sources Using the RADAR Framework: RADAR stands for relevance, authority, date, relevance, rationale. Mandalios, J. (2013). RADAR: An approach for helping students evaluate Internet sources. Journal of Information Science, 39(4), 470-478.

Previous NeverEnding Search posts: Other favorite resources:

Abilock, Debbie. (2012). True-or not?. Educational Leadership, 69(6), 70-74. Debbie shares her quick and dirty rules of thumb-digital reading strategies, in fact-that will intrigue students, spark their curiosity, and serve as sensible entry points to more sophisticated analyses of ideas. Don't miss the section on Weighing Truths in Wikipedia.

Stanford History Education Group. (2016). Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Literacy.

Stebbins, Leslie F. (2015). Finding Reliable Information Online: Adventures of an Information Sleuth. Rowman & Littlefield.

Stevenson, Sara. (2016). Information Literacy Lessons Crucial in a Post Truth World. Knowledge Quest.
And finally . . .
Nurturing information literate, responsible, active citizens is what librarians do. There are no guarantees of truth from any source. We teach students to be discerning consumers of information. We teach them to deconstruct media messages and construct their own messages. We teach them to interrogate their sources. As the landscape continues to shift, librarians must update our own skill sets and toolkits to guide students in navigating a growingly nuanced universe of news. We must also examine and recognize our own biases so that we are open to contrary and conflicting ideas. This is our banner to wave, our curriculum to co-teach.

Of course, following the paths I've described for critical vetting of the news is work!

This is a new landscape from the one we taught in even five years ago. We need new compasses for navigation.

I do not believe we can stem the tide of fake news and truthiness and political memes and viral rumors and quick rushes to judgment. I do believe that together we can build a few arks.

Welcome to the brave new world of truth.

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Truth, truthiness, triangulation: A news literacy toolkit for a "post-truth" world - NeverEndingSearch

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We were guaranteed a free press, We were not guaranteed a neutral or a true press. We can celebrate the journalistic freedom to publish without interference from the state. We can also celebrate our freedom to share multiple stories through multiple lenses. But it has always been up to the reader or viewer to make [...]

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Cultivating a space in the library that teens can activate and own sends teens a strong signal they are valued and welcome. Teens (defined here as those ages 13-18) are usually scrutinized closely because of expectations that they will cause trouble. They are often held to different behavioral expectations than other patrons-a group of toddlers or genealogists will be greeted with smiles and nods, but a group of exuberant teens is likely to get thrown out.

On an instinctive level, teen services librarians know that it is important to provide teens with dedicated space in the library. As their advocates, teen services librarians must be able to:

articulate why a dedicated teen space is important

make a case for teen space to managers, coworkers, and community members

express how space is a link to effective and efficient services, programming, and overall service equality

Teen services librarians should not focus on the physical features of a teen space but rather on the service reasons behind the library's decision to offer dedicated space to teens.

The meaning of space

Space is power. The allotment of space in public buildings clearly illustrates which groups matter and which groups do not. In Transforming Young Adult Services (ALA-Neal Schuman, 2013), Anthony Bernier notes that although many library systems recognize the need for dedicated space for teens, there is very little research on young adult (YA) spaces in public libraries, despite growing interest in the topic over the past dozen years. Attention has focused on how teen spaces look and the features they include. However, without adequate grounding in research, the construction of new spaces and remodels of existing spaces often do not take into account the unique needs of teens and the way they desire to actively and naturally use space.

Designing teen spaces isn't about tables, chairs, and trendy lounge seating; it's about intention and usefulness. Because there are no best practices, practitioners must rely on convention. If there is no clear vision for the space beyond warehousing YA fiction or equipment labs without context, the result may be teen library space that is not sufficiently welcoming, or that discourages engagement, participation, and teen ownership.

Teen participation

A cornerstone of teen library services is the principle that teens must be actively involved in decisions about their library experience. The Young Adult Library Services Association's (YALSA) Teen Space Guidelines suggest that teens be included in planning and be given decision-making roles in the development of their space. The active participation of teens ensures that their evolving needs and interests are being addressed and that they will play a key role in attracting peers to the library.

Teens who are enthusiastically engaged in planning and decision making are likely to develop a sense of ownership of the library that will enhance the quality of their experience. This begins with the space intended for teens in the library.

YALSA's guidelines for the development of teen library spaces suggest libraries should:

create a space that meets the needs of teens in the community by asking teens to play a role in the planning process

solicit teen feedback in the design of the space and its use to allow teens to develop a sense of ownership

solicit teen feedback in the development of policies to ensure the space is representative of teen needs

Encouraging and cultivating teen participation in the development process begins by involving teens in focus groups and asking them what they want. Although teens are allowed to use public spaces like city parks, they are generally not allowed to direct their design, decoration, or use or to ultimately determine how the space is experienced. A teen library space can be a public space developed in partnership with the intended users. Providing a participatory space for teens offers them a tangible venue to begin to take ownership of the library-teens can plant their flags and mark territory within the public space-and to customize it in a way that is different from other public venue experiences and opportunities and that is uniquely theirs. Ultimately, it allows teens to achieve a more empowered conception of citizenship.

The analog display wall

In recent years, the idea of teen participation has primarily been associated with the use of technology and the web, but this participation can manifest through low-tech, low-cost means. Something many libraries are doing is displaying teen-created art in a teen space. Examining this practice through the lens of user participation can help teen librarians understand and apply a participatory context to such activities.

An analog display wall is a low-tech method that encourages teen participation. It is a wall in a teen space where any teen can display his or her artwork. There are supplies readily available for teens to create drawings, and they can choose to draw and then to display their artwork on the wall.

This type of display differs from a wall where only sanctioned or adult-selected art is permanently installed, or one on which a group of teens have created a mural, which becomes static once completed and which may give any teens who were not involved in the project a sense that they are visiting someone else's space.

If teens are constantly creating and changing what is on the wall, will it look as an adult would like it to look? Probably not. But it will always reflect the users' tastes, interests, and desires. This isn't about adult aesthetics but about teen participation. When libraries set up teen spaces that look too perfect or pristine, they eliminate possible avenues for teens to explore, create, and participate in immediate, spontaneous, and unexpected ways.

Big picture models: affinity spaces

An affinity space is a place where people affiliate with others based primarily on shared activities, interests, and goals. The library can function as an affinity space where formal and informal activities are based on the interests teens bring to the library. These activities occur in a peer-to-peer manner, with teens functioning as innovators and experts in their areas of interest, and library staff functioning in the role of facilitators. Libraries that cultivate teen affinity spaces create venues focusing on the relationships teens have with information and one another, and on the creation of content, artifacts, and knowledge.

Teen services librarians should look at library spaces for teens in a new way. Many times, the teen services portion of the physical library is first to manifest changes in service delivery models and advances in public-facing technology for a given clientele group, as in Charlotte Mecklenburg (N.C.) Library's ImaginOn and Chicago Public Library's YOUmedia spaces. These groundbreaking spaces anticipated the shift in use of library spaces and functions that are only now beginning to manifest in adult, family, and all-ages spaces in the form of content creation labs, makerspaces, and fab labs.

What teen services should strive for is not a fab lab but a fab library. The key to a successful library teen space is not features, but experiences. This shift in the physical space offered to teens mirrors the way teens naturally use space. The affinity space should accommodate and foster activities that teens automatically engage in like socializing; working together in groups sharing ideas, resources, and content; group play; peer mentorship; and creating things like artwork and digital content. The teen space is a place where teens bring their interests to explore, rather than having sanctioned interests imposed upon them.

This affinity space creates avenues to teen participation in the development and implementation of teen programming for themselves and their peers. In this way, the physical space helps in the development of teen programming and activities.

Teens-only space

Teen services librarians may find that an existing teen space does not function well because it is not reserved for use by its intended clientele. Ideally, teen services space should be dedicated for use by teens. Teen services librarians may experience resistance when proposing that the library provide a space that is "teens only," or that it change policy to reserve an existing teen space exclusively for teens. The desire to avoid confrontation may lead libraries to not designate a space "teens only" because they don't want to have the inevitable conversations about why the library provides a space for this target age group.

YALSA's guidelines are a good starting point that can begin a discussion about, and evaluation of, a public library's success in providing physical space dedicated to teens. YALSA's space guidelines describe the benefits of reserving a space where teens are the primary occupants and where they are buffered from threatening adult-initiated interactions. Use of the teen-only space should be limited to adults browsing materials for a controlled period of time not to exceed 15 minutes, tutors currently working with teen students, and library staff. Or a teen library space can allow adults to access the YA collection that is housed there.

A teens-only area sends the message that the library values teens by reserving a space in the library where they can take ownership.

Although YALSA guidelines suggest that adults accompanied by a teen should be allowed in the area, this suggestion is problematic. The presence of parents, for example, can significantly change the dynamic of the space. Parents should be advised that the area is for teens only, but they are welcome to drop in periodically to check on their teenaged children.

Beyond what is suggested by YALSA, a teens-only area sends the message that the library values teens by reserving a space in the library where they can take ownership. The library can further cultivate teen participation if it develops the space and allows it to evolve.

Teens-only time

The realities of square footage keep many libraries from reserving an area solely for use by teen patrons. The solution to offering a teen space might be to allow adults and children to use the teen space for a portion of the day. This way, during the times when teens are in school the area can be used for other purposes. This might be a solution for small library locations where the teen space is carved out of a general space-allow for general public use of the space during school hours and create signage and policy that define teens-only times in the space (usually after-school hours and weekends during the school year and most days during the summer).

This solution works only if staff members manage the transition from "everyone's space" to teens-only space at the designated time. A designated teens-only schedule will not succeed if there are no procedures in place, or existing rules are not enforced to ensure that adults or children aren't occupying the area during the time periods reserved for teens only. If teens arrive and the space is filled with adults and children, they will be unlikely to use the space.

Pitfalls and bad habits: Teen space, not tween space

Older children ages 9-12 (sometimes called tweens) are aspirational teens, and they often want to emulate teen culture and engage in teen activities. Although older children may not feel at home in the children's area, allowing them to congregate in the teen area is a disservice to the teens for whom the space is intended. A sign that reads "teens" or "teens only" may serve to attract older children and indicate to them and their parents that the space may be intended for their use.

If older children are permitted to congregate in the designated teen space, the library has, in effect, developed two children's spaces: one for younger children and one for older children-with teens being marginalized. Just as teens will avoid a designated teens-only space if it is filled with adults, they will not use the space if it is filled with older children.

The same steps used to keep adults out of a teen space should be employed by staff to keep the space free of older children. Inform older children and their parents that the area is a teens-only space and kindly but firmly ask them to respect that the space is reserved for teens. Remind them that when they turn 13 the space will be theirs.

A space without staff

A library doesn't truly have a teen space if it does not have a teen services librarian. Creating a space merely for the sake of having a space is not an end unto itself. It is what happens in the space that is important. Experience trumps the fancy stuff. Staffers are there to facilitate the experience regardless of any bells, gizmos, and whistles.

It is not uncommon for the library to build a teen space but not allocate funds to staff the space with teen services librarians and paraprofessionals. The most well-appointed teen space will turn into a wasteland if there aren't appropriate staff members to activate it through programming or consistent engagement with teen users, but even the most humble teen space can function if there are staffers present to foster teen participation and engagement.

Don't segregate the teens

A dedicated teen space is not an opportunity to enforce what Bernier refers to as "age apartheid." It is not a license for staff to segregate the teen population or to keep them away from adults who may find their presence distasteful.

Providing a dedicated space for teens in the library setting may be viewed as a means to solve the perceived problem of teens being present in the library by relegating teens to a single area. So while the result is a teen space, the motivation for its creation may be a negative one-to segregate teens. A dedicated teen space shouldn't be considered a way to segregate teens from the general population but as a place to showcase teens' achievements and recognize their contributions.

There are situations where libraries have shut their doors during after-school hours because of teens or require teens to be registered by parents and to sign in and out of the library during each visit, sign in and out of a dedicated teen space, or attend mandatory orientation with their parents before accessing specific features of a teen space.

In addition to real privacy issues, these types of registration requirements serve as barriers to teen access to the public library or portions of the public library. If teens must attend a library orientation with a parent to gain access to a portion of the public library building, that becomes a real obstacle to teens who can't seek or get parental buy-in for their use of the library.

When library administration paints all teens as troublemakers and threatens to deny them access to library services, it is a clear case of discrimination. Subjecting teens to a higher standard in order to access services or participate in activities-if they must attend an orientation, provide identification, register, or are otherwise subject to restrictions that do not apply to other population groups-constitutes a form of age-based discrimination. It is necessary to deal with individual cases of disruptive behavior. However, the library must examine whether its policies and procedures contribute to a situation where restricting access to an entire age group seems to be a reasonable remedy.

Shortly after opening, Chicago Public Library's YOUmedia space dropped its original requirement that teens attend an orientation before using sound-recording equipment, because they realized that teens wanted to use it immediately instead of waiting up to one week to go through a scheduled orientation. The library realized that teens were eager to begin experimenting and tinkering with the equipment. Those teens who had more than a casual interest were likely to return to attend advanced classes. Today's discourse about library service to teens emphasizes self-directed out-of-school learning, which requires dropping old attitudes about restricting resources to certain times or to an initiated few. The library must promote a teen services culture of yes.

JENNIFER VELÁSQUEZ is a lecturer at San José State University School of Information and coordinator of teen services for San Antonio Public Library. She is the recipient of the 2005 New York Times Librarian Award and holds a master's degree from Rutgers University School of Communication and Information.

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A Place of Their Own | American Libraries Magazine

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Cultivating a space in the library that teens can activate and own sends teens a strong signal they are valued and welcome. Teens (defined here as those ages 13-18) are usually scrutinized closely because of expectations that they will cause trouble.

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A zine, short for fanzine or magazine, is a DIY* subculture self-publication, usually made on paper and reproduced with a photocopier or printer. Zine creators are often motivated by a desire to share knowledge or experience with people in marginalized or otherwise less-empowered communities.