According to Congressman, Mark Kirk (R-IL). Librarians are out of touch ‘with over 400 members of Congress who are representing the American people.’he stated in a recent interview by SLJ in regards to the revival of DOPA and as posted here by Linda Braun.
I wonder how librarians can be more ‘in touch’ with Mark Kirk and other Congress members that represent the American people. I wonder if we (librarians/Congress members) are really saying the same thing (it is important that we protect our youth) but because we are ‘out of touch’ with each other, we don’t perhaps know what the other is really doing.
Have librarians extended the invitation to a Congressperson to their library to show them the impact they have had on informing the community about various social networking tools (see Sunnyside Teen Council YouTube video).
Have librarians had classes on internet safety for parents and teens? Have librarians had candid dialogue with teens who have been either victims or bullies through using technology as a means to hurt someone? Please share if you have. I think there might be a lot of room for getting in touch with Congress members.
Thank you to SLJ for taking the time to interview a representative of the American people. It gives librarians one more opportunity to respond and speak out to how they positively represent youth in their libraries through social networking.
Posted by Kelly Czarnecki
Thanks for bringing this up on the blog again… DOPA just won’t die. I am hoping to spotlight this issue with a program at our annual conference next week. Our panel includes me, a person from our regional library system, and our state ALA Councilor. We are going to talk about what social networking is, what the legislation looks like, and the implications of eliminating access to youth. I’d be glad to share our presentation notes and powerpoint with anyone who wants to try something similar!
This sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing! The YALSA wiki on DOPA has a resources section here: http://teentechweek.wikispaces.com/DOPA. Your presentation sounds like a perfect fit if you want to add the notes and PPT. Also, even if DOPA does die, there is a lot of DOPA-like legislation out there and probably will be. That’s why presentations like yours build the ‘toolbox’ with which we can continue to share a different way of looking at social networking and that it’s not something to be feared.
I’m doing a presentation at the Massachusetts Library Association conference next month that’s very similar to what Erin writes about. For my handouts I’m using the YALSA Social Networking Toolkit and the 30 Positive Uses documents and then I’ll create a del.icio.us page that links to DOPA Watch, Open Congress, and other sites that help us keep up on what’s happening with DOPA.
That is great! The 30 Positive Uses posts from the YALSA has a great start on the YALSA del.icio.us page. Another great way for librarians looking for resources on DOPA and social networking when putting together presentations subscribe to the del.icio.us feed.
I wanted to remind people about Library Legislative Day. Oakland Public Library has a history of taking their Teen Advisory Board to speak to legislators about issues involving youth and libraries. I am going with the teens from OPL this year to observe their work. The YA librarians at OPL work with the teens year round to help these young people become polished and confident faces for the library. I think it’s a great idea and opportunity for youth to put a positive face to an often put down youth culture.