Privacy & Social Media - A Librarian's 21st Century Conundrum

In a school context, the issues of privacy, safety and child protection are paramount. This raises a frustrating conundrum for Teacher Librarians: how can student privacy and safety be protected when the social networking sites our libraries promote are actively soliciting personal information about our students for the use of others? (Hess, LaPorte-Fiori & Engwall, 2015). There is an obvious schism between the very premise of social networking as an interactive repository of collective knowledge, and the need for students to keep their personal information private.

                                                                   Privacy by g4ll4is, on Flickr

Pautz (2013) asserts that this disconnect is typical of the transformation of libraries in the 21^st Century. Rather than being able to manage and tightly scrutinize collections, access to the World Wide Web has meant that librarians have had to relinquish control over what resources are available to users. In particular, Pautz argues, Web 2.0 has the capacity to undermine the authority of libraries and their governing institutions.

To complicate the issue further, there are no frameworks or “set of established best practices”  to guide librarians in this area  (Hess, LaPorte-Fiori & Engwall, 2015).

Australian Teacher Librarians are charged with creating information literate learners who: “..are able to access, process, organise, create and present information in a range of ways” (ALIA/ASLA policy on information literacy in Australian schools, 2009). Neither the Australian School Library Association   nor the Australian Library and Information Association , however, provide guidelines for Internet and Social Media use in schools.

It is therefore necessary for libraries to formalise their own acceptable use policies (AUP). Such policies should encompass not only any relevant Internet policies of the parent institution (the school itself); but also library guidelines on the acceptable use of social networking technologies for educational purposes.

Of course, an important part of the library’s role has always been the education of students and the parent body on how students can stay safe online. The reinforcement of this message from the library and wider school community needs to be, therefore, thorough and ongoing.

References

Australian School Libraries Association. (2014, March 02). Statement on information literacy. Retrieved January 16, 2014, from http://www.asla.org.au/policy/information-literacy.aspx

Hess, A., La Porte-Fiori, R. and Engwall, K. (2015). Preserving Patron Privacy in the 21st Century Academic Library, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 41, Issue 1, Pages 105-114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2014.10.010

Pautz, H. (2013). Managing access to the internet in public libraries. New Library World, 114(7), 308-318. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/NLW-01-2013-0007

Student & Staff Use of School Library Social Networking Sites

Recently our school library launched its Facebook and Twitter sites as a means of  improving connections with our school community and raising awareness of how we support teaching and learning. The exercise brings to mind what needs to be a priority when launching a school social media presence. 

5 key points to consider when developing a social networking policy for staff & students…

1. Clearly Articulate the Key ‘Social Media Philosophy’

The school body needs to know the underlying rationale behind the use of social media in an educational context. This idea needs to be aligned with the school’s overall mission statement.

2. Review Existing Social Media Policies & the Culture of the School

It’s important to understand firstly if any staff/student social media policies exist within the institution. If a policy does exist, is it relevant? If so, how might it be used as an umbrella document for the library’s social media policy? Research more widely to review other social media policies outside the institution. Use these as a starting point.

The prevailing culture of the school community with regard to the use of social networking sites (SNS) also needs to be established. What are the attitudes of students and staff to social networking? What SNS are used by staff and students? Discuss how concerns and SN user patterns might be addressed in the policy.

3. Define ‘Social Media’ and the responsibilities that go with its use.

It’s important for students and parents to have a clear understanding of what social networking means and the responsibilities it brings with it. Students need to understand that any Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, blogs, wikis or future technologies that they participate in are subject to the same guidelines and ethical standards as the school’s overarching Internet acceptable use policy (AUP).

Note: The importance of confidentiality, privacy, transparency & intellectual property need to be central to the social media policy (Anderson, 2012). Students need to be shown how to use Social Media tools in an ethical and respectful way. Education around the use of these tools will assist them in creating an online identity that they can be proud of (Pierce, 2015).

4. Centralise Social Media Management

Decide on who will be managing social media output – scheduling posts, responding to comments and coordinating the overall social media presence of the library. An ideal scenario would be to have one person manage each platform (Malczewski, 2013). This centralized management committee would also be responsible for the implementation of the library’s social networking strategy.

5. Feedback & Review

After composing a draft document, feedback from the school community should be sought. Once implemented, further annual reviews of the policy need to be made to determine what is working well and what needs adjusting.

References

Anderson, S. (2012, April 11). Social Media Guidelines [Blog]. Edutopia. Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/social-media-guidelines-steven-anderson

Fischer, B. and Fimiani, J. (2010). Social Media Policy for School Districts. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved Jan 18, 2016 from http://www.slideshare.net/oxiem/social-media-policy-for-school-districts

Malczewski, B. (2013, May 1). Why Social Media Isn’t Working For Your Library. Public Libraries Online. Retrieved January 18,2016 from http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/05/why-social-media-isnt-working-for-your-library/

Pierce, D. (2015, September 15). Teaching digital citizenship across the whole curriculum [Blog]. eSchool News . Retrieved Jan 18, 2016 fromhttp://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/09/15/digital-citizenship-curriculum-226/