Yesterday morning the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom sponsored a session titled Your Brain on DOPA.  The program was designed to give attendees an opportunity to find out:

• What is happening with federal and state legislation related to social networking (and with technology in general).  John Morris, General Counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology presented this part of the program.
• What current research says about child and teen use of online tools in the areas of cyberbullying and predation. Dr. Michele Ybarra, President of Internet Solutions for Kids presented on this topic.
• How libraries can educate their communities about the positive impact of social networking. This was the portion of the session that I presented.

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A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the indictment of the woman who harassed teenager Megan Meier and in that post I talked about the importance of adults taking responsibility for activities teens take part in on the web. I was reminded of that post as I read about new legislation in Congress, The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Protection Act - H.R. 6123. This act states:

Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

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On May 13th and 14th I was fortunate enough to attend ALA’s Legislative Days in Washington DC. It was a truly great event - many thanks to ALA, especially the Washington Office, who worked so hard to make this important advocacy event possible again this year. Having never been to National Leg Day it was quite an experience for me as I watched librarians rush from one legislative office building to the next, working to speak up on behalf of libraries and librarians. I spent a lot of my time with the Executive Directors and Presidents of AASL and ALSC as we spoke to legislative staffers about vital topics like the SKILLS act and social networking. Two highlights for me were the offices of Congressperson Judy Biggert and Senator Edward Kennedy. We stopped by these offices and had the opportunity to speak at length with staff for what I felt were very productive and meaningful conversations. Meanwhile, every state delegation of librarians, with the help of a state coordinator, spent much of their time talking to their individual state representatives about various local and national issues of importance to libraries.

I have to admit that after this experience I am feeling a little addicted to advocacy! And so next year, I will find a way to participate in National Library Leg Days again. This participation will likely be virtual and I look forward to that entirely new experience too. I urge everyone to strongly consider being involved in this important annual event. After all, if librarians don’t make the case for libraries with our legislators in a loud and clear voice, who will?

Paula Brehm-Heeger, YALSA President

In this YALSA podcast:

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Kelly Czarnecki talks with teen, Storm Basiat, in regards to Congressman’s Mark Kirk’s proposal to the Federal Trade Commission to warn parents of the “dangers Second Life presents.” Also discussed is how Kirk feels that access to Second Life should be banned in schools and libraries. Storm points out some great things to listeners such as:

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The countdown is over - it’s National Library Legislative Day! Today and tomorrow, let’s support all our colleagues who are in Washington by emailing or calling our Senators and Representatives. There are several pieces of pending legislation that affect teens, and your calls and letters will help! Here are a couple to consider:

• Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois has re-introduced the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), which passed in the House in 2006 but died in the Senate. He wants to ban Second Life in schools and libraries due to the “dangers” of virtual worlds for children.
• Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI-3) have introduced a bill to address the school library crisis facing the Nation: the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLs) Act. The inclusion of the SKILLs Act in the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is vital to school libraries. It is the single most important piece of legislation concerning school libraries that will come before Congress this year.

Talking points and a “find your legislator” link can be found on the YALSA wiki. Don’t wait, do it now! Legislators are waiting to hear from you.

Maureen Ambrosino
YALSA Legislation Committee

Check out the podcast ALA Washington Office put together highlighting some of the major issues including: Copyright, National Security Letters, Foreign Intelligence Surveilliance Act, and Telecommunications. The podcast is also about how we can participate virtually and still have an impact even if we’re not able to go to Washington D.C. Letting our representatives know how important our work is that we do in other words. What a great opportunity to talk to our representatives about what libraries do for teens and can do because of the federal funding that supports library services.

Feel free to share your comments about how your teens have advocated for something-maybe it’ll help inspire other blog readers to get ideas on how to participate in National Library Legislative Day (May 13-14).

Representative Mark Kirk, IL “who has sponsored legislation banning access to social-networking Web sites in schools and libraries has found a new target of displeasure: Second Life according to this article. Because one of his aide’s was able to log in successfully and lie about her age, and then encounter inappropriate content in Second Life (note-not Teen Second Life), he feels this is a strong enough proof that surely the company isn’t doing anything to protect children. Funny how he doesn’t seem to mention the ability to keep people in or out in a space that a school might own in Second Life or Teen Second Life much less any understanding of the positive activities that are taking place in such an environment by schools and libraries. I guess it’s better though to keep ignorant and keep other people ignorant instead of trying to have a dialog about what virtual worlds are doing to keep youth safe and how interaction of adults and kids online can be very positive experiences.

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This past month has witnessed a lot of news and developments in the world of digital music, whether major acquisitions, new studies on teen habits, and cool new technologies. Here’s an extensive rundown… (more…)

Here is how it started. A librarian discovered that emails sent via Google Docs, asking teachers and students to collaborate on projects, were being filtered by the school. When the librarian asked the school technician about this she was told that use of Google Docs, and like services, was not allowed in the school because of a recent ruling by a state judicial body. She was further informed that the ruling stated that schools needed to archive locally all materials created by students and teachers, so using something like Google Docs - which is not local storage - would go against that ruling.

The librarian tweeted this discovery which started a discussion about whether this ruling could prohibit schools from using web-based collaboration tools. Emails and Twitter messages went back and forth and librarians working for the state’s law library system were asked if they knew anything about the ruling and its impact on schools.

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Teen librarians that want to keep up on what’s going on with legislation related to social networking in schools and libraries, what the digital TV transition really means, and copyright in a world full of downloading might want to check out the following podcasts:

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  of The Real Deal podcast covered the digital TV transition in a way that makes the whole thing understandable. I know lots of teens, teachers, and parents have questions about what the transition means for them and their TV viewing. This Real Deal episode could be just the thing to give them the info. they need.
• One week later, in

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  , The Real Deal covered the topic of copyright. Again, in clear straightforward language the hosts of the show, along with copyright lawyer Colette Vogele, covered what’s legal, what’s not legal, and what’s up for grabs in the download age. Listen to know how to answer questions from teens. Have teens listen so they can gain a clear sense of what’s really up when it comes to copying, downloading, and licensing.
• Not quite as recent as the discussions on The Real Deal, but earlier this month Buzz Out Loud reported that Virginia is the first state to pass an Internet Safey law. The law requires schools in the state to teach Internet Safety in the classroom.

Video and audio podcasts continue to be a really useful way of keeping up on the latest news on laws, trends, and technology that have an impact on teen services in libraries. Check out these three and maybe start subscribing as a way to keep up and be in the know.