Shirley Garcia
Student ID #: 11468539
Info 506: Social Networking for Information Professionals
Lyn Hay—Fall 2010
For this OLJ task, I read Valenza’s (2008) When YouTube is blocked (way more than eight ways around), and Bertot, Jaeger, McClure, Wright, & Jensen’s (2009) Public libraries and the Internet 2008-2009: Issues, implications, and challenges.
While these articles were different in regards to subject matter, I could not help but to think of these topics in terms of how they affect school aged children.
Valenza’s view of YouTube seemed a bit harsh (stating that the majority of content was basically vulgar). The author stated that the educational content of the site and it’s videos was buried, but that it was perhaps necessary to circumvent any policies that blocked YouTube in order to utilize it's educational content. I, like many of the individuals who commented on the article found this disturbing. Valenza’s harsh critique of YouTube (I frequent the site and have honestly never found content that was inappropriate, in order to access such content, you need to sign in) seemed invalidated by her approach to policy that blocks YouTube (ignore and circumvent). Her seemingly dishonest approach made her critique of YouTube’s content laughable. Does her approach seek to aid teachers and information professionals by encouraging the same dishonest behavior discouraged in school-aged children? Yes, I believe it does. Access to sites like YouTube in the schools or no access at all. Stating that the site is banned within schools by students and encouraging teachers and information professionals to find ways around the policy seems shady at best.
Bertot et. al’s research on the state of technology in public libraries was also disturbing. It would appear that a fair amount of libraries are having difficulty keeping up with the needs of patrons. I cannot help but to think of how this affects school-aged children who need to utilize the library to complete their assignments. Many of these libraries do not have enough computers. Further, many libraries have a time limit in regards to how long a patron can use the library during one visit. An hour on the internet flies by! It simply isn’t enough time to conduct research for schoolwork, or even to explore the internet for entertainment and/or creative purposes. These children will surely be left behind in an age of technology if they do not have adequate access to computers and the internet. Many of us are fortunate enough not to have to think about this issue, but it is a growing concern. How can library policies meet the needs of patrons if the resources are not available to enable accommodation?
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