Whether it is photocopying the majority of a book, improperly citing websites for papers or telling me that they have illegally downloaded books, some of my patrons do not seem to have a basic understanding of what a copyright is or  respect for it.  I want to teach them about copyright and why they should respect it.  I want to strike a balance between being annoying and enlightening.  I don’t want to be the finger wagging librarian. This is what I have done so far but it is far from enough. 

I hear that readers are so excited about books that they illegally download them before the library can get a copy. When I spoke to a teen who said that she had done this, I decided to show her some blogs that discuss the issue. I knew that a ton of YA authors have blogged about this but I started with  S. Jae_Jones because I like her argument. The student read this blog and linked to some of the other blogs.  But, I’m not really sure if this helped or not.

The other day I was explaining that you do indeed need give credit to images that you take off the Internet and you need to find out if you can take those images.  I did have a handy MLA manual but I wanted the student to understand that more than just books, articles should be cited.  Then I remembered that there was a link to on citing apps on my twitter feed. I opened the article at Ed Social Media titled 7 tips for Citing an App in MLA Format and went through it with my patron. I think that this opened her eyes to the idea that all different materials need to be citied.

I am just beginning here so I would love some advice and suggestions

Last Thursday, I finished the fabulous two-part webinar offered by ALA Editions called “Collaborating with Teens to Build Better Library Programs”. The presenter, Jennifer Velásquez, is the Coordinator of Teen Services for the San Antonio Public Library System. The bulk of the webinar was about working with teens to build programs they really want, and it was great. Multiple blog posts could be written about that, and I left inspired and excited.

However, one of the most intriguing parts of the webinar came up in a question asked by a participant in the chat. She asked, “What do you do when younger kids want to come to your teen programs?” This is something I’ve had to deal with before, as I’m sure many teen librarians have, and I’m never sure of the answer. Jennifer’s answer was great—she said she’s tasked with serving teens ages 13-18, and that’s the audience that can come to programs. It’s the audience she’s committed to. (more…)

Geeks of all ages rejoice, the full version of Minecraft is out today!  Minecraft creator Notch and the folks at Mojang  are celebrating this release with gamers from around the world at MineCon in Las Vegas today and tomorrow.  MineCon’s impressive agenda includes panels about gaming and sharing with implications that extend beyond Minecraft alone.  The conference will be streaming live thanks to a partnership with IGN. Visit IGN’s Minecraft Event Hub for conference videos and more.

The full version of the game includes all kinds of exciting new features like enchantments, new items, new blocks, and new mobs.  You can check out the full list of updates over at the Minecraft Wiki.
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A weekly short list of tweets that librarians and the teens that they serve may find interesting.

Do you have a favorite Tweet from the past week? If so add it in the comments for this post. Or, if you read a Twitter post between November 18 – November 24 that you think is a must for the next Tweets of the week send a direct or @ message to lbraun2000 on Twitter.
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Today, YALSA launched a new website redesign. The new site moves YALSA into a new, more robust content management system, aligns the look and feel of the site with other ALA sites, and implements an information architecture designed in concert with a consultant.

While every effort has been made to ensure a smooth transition to the new site, as with any new web project, there’s always going to be a few hiccups and questions. We encourage you to send your feedback to skuenn@ala.org. We hope you like our new look and feel!

Title: Silent Film Director
Platform: iOS
Price: .99 cents

If your teens love the Instagram and Hipstagram for vintage effects for photos, The Silent Film Director application extends the back-in-time digital media porting to video.
The app might involve some trial and error to get the exact effect you’re after. You set the effects, the quality for export, soundtrack, and video time scale before importing the video.

The last option is especially fun, as you can slow down or accelerate video from 300% to a third of the original clip duration. Video effects vary from 20’s movie to vintage sepia, and 60’s and 70’s options are just-perceptibly tinted and appropriately grainy.

The soundtrack options include a range of built-in clips for nickelodean-worthy period sounds, but also allows import from the device’s iTunes library.

You can capture video from within the app, or load existing saved video files. The finished products can export at a variety of resolutions, from a mobile 192 x 144 to an HD-caliber 1280 x 720, with a caveat that better video will take a while to process.

You can share your magnum opus via output options include YouTube, Send to Facebook, Save to Device, or email. See a short example with Terah and Donald playing zombies.

Silent Film Director provides a super-easy way to get incredible effects for book trailers or other teen multimedia projects.

As a new YALSA blogger I should begin my first post with a short introduction. My name is Kim Anderson and I’m the Library Media Specialist at Jefferson Middle School in Champaign, Illinois. I’m a two-time graduate of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois (MLS, CAS), and I received my National Board Certification in 2008. I’ve been in education for fifteen years, seven in the classroom and six in the library. I was thirty-something when I finally found my calling in the library and have not looked back once. I love my work.  Love it.  When I’m not working, reading or thinking about the library I enjoy doing yoga, P90, Insanity Asylum, and gardening.  I recently decided I wanted to learn French and to play guitar.  Wish me luck.  Anyway, it is my love of talking and thinking about the library that lead me to start blogging here at YALSA.

At the beginning of each year our administration takes the JMS staff off campus for a retreat. I always arrive a bit early so I can walk out onto the docks and enjoy the peace of the lake while I think about where I want the school year to lead.  The solitude is short-lived though since the peacefulness doesn’t last long once the rest of the staff arrives. The day is always full of lively discussion, laughter and inspiration. This year our discussion centered around the research of Dr. Charles Hillman of the University of Illinois. Everyone was inspired by the idea that getting students moving could improve their academic gains. (You can check out “A Fit Body Means a Fit Mind”  if you want to read more).  The question is, how can I, the school librarian, help increase student fitness?  Last week the answer came in the form of two exercise bikes. In just under one hour we had two stationary bikes assembled in a corner of the library. They are battery operated (so no chords) and the wheels are completely silent.

The student interest was immediate. Now teachers just have to send their students to the library with a pass to read and ride. For now, the kids are enjoying a new place to move and I am happy to support a building-wide initiative.

We’re halfway through November, which means we’re halfway through National Novel Writing Month. For the first time, my library’s holding programs and providing resources for our local NaNoWriMo participants, and it’s gone well so far.

In early October, a teen patron asked if we were doing anything for NaNoWriMo. We weren’t, so some of the adult services librarians and I worked together to reach out to our Municipal Liaison (a regional representative that coordinates local NaNoWriMo events for participants). He was finalizing their schedule and was actually looking for a venue for a few events, so we arranged to host a meet-up (an hour and a half session for WriMos in the area to meet one another and work over coffee–and a chance for us to advertise library resources they might use) on the first Saturday of the month and a write-in (five hours of buckling down and cranking out words) two weeks later.

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6:45 AM – Arrive at school. Realize that with all of yesterday’s meetings, I never prepped for the class coming in for first block. Frantically create a book list in the OPAC, but fail to pull books onto a physical cart.

7:30 AM – First class arrives. Deliver instruction on using the catalog, using call numbers, a brief introduction to web indices and databases, and try to convince students not to print every article they find. Spend about half the class helping students find and check out books, and the other half adding titles to a future Follett order when I realize we have no books on some subjects.

8:47 AM – Run to the main office, where the secretary is paging seniors who are missing yearbook items. About half the students paged arrive. Get into a shouting match with a senior who is trying to convince a classmate that he shouldn’t turn anything in to the yearbook at all. Feel stupid for getting in a shouting match.
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A few days ago the Pew Internet and American Life Project released their latest report on teens and social networking. The document is filled with up-to-date data that anyone working with teens will want to take a look at in order to better understand teen use of and engagement in online social environments. The Pew report also provides a look into the role adults play in the lives of teens who are a part of the social networking world.

Check out the Storify created that captures some of the ideas presented in the report and what people are saying about it via the web and social media.
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