Access Denied: School Librarians’ Responses to School District Policies on the Use of Social Media Tools

Public school districts often block access to online social media tools. While considered a preventive measure to ensure student safety and limit district liability, this policy strips school librarians and their collaborating teachers of opportunities to instruct students in using social media tool...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:School library research 2013-01, Vol.16
Main Authors: DiScala, Jeffrey, Ann Carlson Weeks
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitude Measures
Board of Education Policy
Case Studies
Censorship
Child Safety
Documentation
Educational Policy
Educational Technology
High Schools
Information policies
Librarian Attitudes
Librarians
Perceptions
Public Schools
Responses
School districts
School librarians
School Libraries
Semi Structured Interviews
Social Networks
Teaching Methods
Technology Uses in Education
Thematic Approach
United States (Mid Atlantic States)
Web 2.0 Technologies
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Summary:Public school districts often block access to online social media tools. While considered a preventive measure to ensure student safety and limit district liability, this policy strips school librarians and their collaborating teachers of opportunities to instruct students in using social media tools creatively and responsibly. Using one school district as a case study, this study examined the perceptions and responses of high school librarians to district policies that limit the use of social media tools. It was determined that the way the school district presented its policies could affect how school librarians perceived and applied them. As the school district unintentionally shifted from formal to informal to implied policy documentation, this study found that the school librarians’ perceptions and applications of the policies varied substantially
ISSN:2165-1019
2165-1019