Librarians Turn Wikipedia Blackout Into a Teachable Moment
RSSBy Lauren Barack
"I might make a quick button that says, 'Can't get to Wikipedia? Ask me,'" says Cassandra Barnett, former president of the American Association of School Librarians, and a high school librarian at Fayetteville (AR) High School. "I thought, my gosh, what a perfect opportunity to talk about the subscription databases we have. Or walk over to the shelves, take a book and show them an overview of their topic where they don't even have to log on to a computer." News site reddit, and blog Boing Boing will be darkening their sites as well. The blog publishing service WordPress is offering plug-ins for users to black out their blogs and Google is adding a message on its site expressing its opposition to the antipiracy legislation. (Find a list of protestors here). The collective goal is to protest the two bills, which are aimed at stopping online piracy but also potentially grant the U.S. government the ability to shut down sites that are infringing on copyrighted content. "The day-long blocking of websites highlights the outright denial of access to information these bills would likely impose. Ironically, for two bills that are supposed to combat "foreign" counterfeiting or copyright infringing, today's demonstration highlights how they would likely hit home right here in the U.S, says Corey Williams, associate director of the American Library Association's Office of Government Relations. Read the full story on the Digital Shift. This can be a time for librarians to shine. This bill
takes one of the important jobs that a librarian does,
educate patrons about copyright and attributing
information, and makes it an issue larger than the
classroom. Suddenly it’s not just their school
librarian rattling on about a problem that they think
they’re immune to. Suddenly there are visible legal
consequences for ANYONE in violation. Suddenly the
likelihood that you might know someone personally who
has been busted for copyright violation has
skyrocketed. It’s an incredible teachable moment to
really drive home the points about both censorship and
copyright infringement and the ramifications of
violating copyright to students and faculty. In the era
of Web 2.0 tools do students REALLY know how to post
material correctly without violating copyright? Do they
truly understand Creative Commons and Digital Rights
Management? Do they understand that copyright laws
extend beyond the classroom and jurisdiction of the
school? * = Required information
January 17, 2012
Wikipedia turned off its lights for 24 hours Wednesday to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), a move that's inspired school librarians to turn the blackout into a teaching opportunity.
Reader Comments (2)
Posted by Jennifer Henry on January 18, 2012 10:57:36AM
