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Graphic Novels for Kids Display 2
Originally uploaded by merlibra
Close up of my comic alter-ego. She really has a way of coming in handy…
the Librarian Newbie
MerLibra Trading Card Originally uploaded by merlibra
I’ve created several variations of the MerLibra trading card… but this is the only one you’ll ever see online.
My favorite one was me sitting and reading in a bathtub (clothed, mind you! with tank top and shorts!) with books lining the baseline of the tub, but seeing my bare arm and a bare knee bent up, well… while still done in good taste, it was still somewhat boudoir reminiscent, leading minds to where they need not go.
So here I am relaxing in my artroom, reading the Almighty Dorothy Parker.
I’m sooooo going to have to make a card of my SigOth!
When we talk about Privacy Issues today, it seems we are so consumed by the politically fueled current events of terrorism and the Patriot Act that we forget other dangerously close to home (at your doorstep) reasons to protect each others right to privacy. (I’ll warn you – this isn’t a cheerful post.)
For the most part, we believe in the goodness of other people and we inherently put our faith in that integrity which may or may not exist. It’s easy to get carried away with posting pictures… there’s so many things that make us happy and we desire to joyfully share with others. Acquiring people’s permissions become a fuzzy memory when they wind up in fun snap shots; it is sometimes difficult to reign ourselves in when we might need to double check if we’ll inadvertently provide enough detail to remove or destroy our privacy (or that of others).
I have always been hesitant to post photos online because unlike writing, photos are very tangible things that can easily erase the ability to be anonymous. Perhaps it’s my own experiences with abuse – either directly as a someone who recovered, or indirectly as a protective educator.
When I was a intern teacher in a public school, we had to post pictures and names of students with care. We had a student who was part of a foster family, and several others throughout the school who lived in divorced families. In a library setting, I was approached by a patron who was a foster-care parent. To help insure the privacy and protection of the children in their care, they requested that the children’s last names not be written on the little paper name tags that would be posted on one of the walls inside the library.
It’s a hard reminder that some children are in foster care not because they are orphans, but because they’ve been removed from parents who ought not to be; and there are reasons why some divorced families have a court ruling full custody in favor to one parent.
It’s an incredibly unfortunate thing to think about, but it’s a horrible reality: just as there are many wonderful, loving, caring parents and people in the world, there are unsavory ones as well. Resentful and/or abusive people have used the internet to try to locate minor children and previous spouses for malicious reasons. Finding an identifiable image and/or first and last name of a child on a school or public website may alert such harmful persons to the locale of the people who sought protection against them.
When taking on Privacy Issues from any standpoint -whether Legal, Library, or Activist- it’s important not to forget the ramifications if these invaluable protections were not in place.
Originally uploaded by merlibra
“Ants carry letters and words up an ant hill and their traffic spells out “Catch the Reading Bug,” our theme for this years summer reading program. Colorful paper butterflies float overhead in a ‘leafy’ glen. A net is perched to swoop up a blue butterfly. This display was created on top of the picture book shelving.”
For my first Flickr post, I decided to share the display I am most proud of… My ‘woodland glen’ of butterflies and industrious ants!
Getting set up with Flickr was a classic, clean and easy sign- and set-up. I’ve known about it since it came onto the web when a number of friends made immediate use of it. Through Michael’s abundant Flickr posts on TTW, and the wonderful examples set by other Web 2.0 embracing libraries, I’m finally beginning to warm to the idea.
