LIBRARY SPECIALISTS

As a result of their focus on information literacy, library specialists are responsible for connecting students and teachers with quality online resources and for teaching effective, selective, and responsible use of the Internet.  When teaching the research process, they set clear expectations regarding Internet use, focusing on critical thinking skills.  Library specialists also play a vital role in the continuous reinforcement of safe Internet practices as they teach students to think critically about the information they find online.

Internet safety training has been divided into appropriate portions that are best taught by specific groups of people.  In addition to covering the guidelines from the state listed below, library specialists should:

• Have an overall understanding of the Internet and how to maximize its potential while integrating it into instruction
• Collaborate with teachers to ensure that students know how to find, select, and evaluate web sites and other online information
• Teach students how to use article databases and other specialized online sources effectively
• Partner with teachers to assess students’ information literacy skills (such as citing and evaluating sources) through project rubrics or other assessment tools
• Work with teachers to raise students’ awareness and understanding of copyright and documentation guidelines for a variety of source formats, including text, images, music, and video.

Listed below are the portions of the state-required Internet safety training that library specialists are asked to teach all students in their school. Click on the links below to access materials and resources that will support library specialists in teaching their portions of the state requirements.

Guidelines and Resources for Internet Safety in the Schools

1. The Internet is a powerful tool that should be used wisely.
a. The Internet allows students access to a vast library of previously unavailable resources.
b. The Internet enables students to communicate with people around the world.
c. The Internet provides a creative outlet for students skilled in writing, art, music, science, mathematics, and other topics.

2. Students need to know that not all Internet information is valid or appropriate.
c. Internet information may promote negative attitudes, such as hate or intolerance, and dangerous or illegal activities, such as self-injuring behavior, gambling, and illegal drug use.

3. Students should be taught specifically how to maximize the Internet’s potential while protecting themselves from potential abuse.
a. The critical-thinking skills students learn in the classroom, library, and lab should be applied to Internet resources and Web searching.
b. Students need to know what to do and who to ask for help when they encounter a person or site on the Internet that is offensive or threatening to them.
c. Students and adults are required by law to report illegal Internet communications and activities to Internet Service Providers and local law enforcement authorities

4. Internet messages and the people who send them are not always what or who they seem.
d. Students need to know which information is safe to share with others online, which should never be shared, and why sharing it could put them at risk.

6. Internet activities, such as playing games and downloading music or video files, can be enjoyable. Students need to know which activities are safe and legal.
c. Students need to know how to detect whether a specific file download is legal and/or free of malicious code.