Today I read an article in School Library Journal that caused me to question the way my school handles students privacy when it comes to checking out books, circulation records and overdue fines, and I was definitely able to see some cases in which students’ personal information is not being protected. Helen R. Adams article, “The Privacy Problem: Although school librarians seldom discuss it, students’ privacy rights are under attack,” addresses how protecting students’ personal information in the school environment does not seem to be of much concern. Adams discusses how school librarians often do not realize that their actions are violating student privacy rights. She points out instances in which librarians have posted lists of overdue materials, where principals have requested a list of books a particular student has checked out, or where the librarian has allowed a student to work the circulation desk and check books out to fellow students.
I have seen instances such as this in my own school. Each month the librarian prints out overdue sheets and allows student volunteers to pass them out to their peers. I don’t think she realizes it, and I didn’t really see it as a problem until reading this article, but she is allowing students to see what others have checked out. Students might be checking out materials they don’t necessarily want their peers to know about, so allowing students to see what others have checked out touches on some sensitive issues. This method of notifying students of their overdue materials even enables the teachers to see what students are checking out, which also violates their privacy. In my district there has been a big push toward having students read in their lexile scores, so the librarian has labeled books with different colored stickers to indicate what lexile range titles fall into. However, this is also going against student privacy, and allows other students to see what lexile range their peers are reading at. If a student is reading in a low lexile range, and another student picks up on it based on the titles selected, who knows what it could lead to when it comes to middle school students. I can definitely see what Adams is talking about when she says that school librarians don’t even pick up on the fact that they are violating student privacy. I know my librarian does not realize that her actions could be damaging, and I never gave either of those situations a second thought until reading this article.
Adams points out that while most libraries have material selection policies, they do not have policies addressing privacy issues for students, which can make it difficult for librarians to know how to react when it comes to student circulation records. School libraries need to become aware of both state and federal laws when it come to student privacy, and need to use these to help them create a privacy policy to protect their students. Adams discusses how no state law gives teachers or principals the right to access students’ circulation records, and only 15 states allow parents to have access to these records.
With the growth of technology and more media focused curriculums, protecting student privacy becomes even trickier. Most school districts have internet policies that allow them to monitor students’ online activities, allowing school staff to see what sites students are visiting. Also, many online tools, such as digital storytelling programs, require users to create an account or profile. This would mean that there may be instances in which students are entering their names or email addresses into the internet, which can always run the risk of being accessed by another party. This makes it essential that teachers and librarians teach students about internet use and safety, and ways to ensure that their personal information is kept private.
Adams offers a number of steps school librarians can follow to help protect student privacy:
• Talk to your principal about student privacy in the library and how to resolve various types of record requests in adherence to state and federal laws.
• Request that your board of education adopt a privacy policy stating who can access library patron records and the circumstances under which they may be released.
• Conduct a privacy audit to determine what student data you’ve collected, stored, shared, and used—and then determine what records should be purged.
• Develop a library records retention policy that includes a records-removal schedule and conscientiously maintain it.
• Be proactive and educate administrators, teachers, and all persons working in the library about the need to keep student library records confidential.
• Create and retain as few student library records as possible.
• Set library automation software to automatically delete students’ circulation history.
• Password protect circulation records and provide different levels of access for the adult library staff, students, and volunteers.
• Fold and staple overdue notices so that only the student’s name—and not the book’s title—is visible.
• Make sure that students’ reference questions, reserve and interlibrary loan requests, and the types of books they check out are kept confidential.
• Don’t label and arrange library books by reading levels (a common practice in some schools that use Accelerated Reader) so that students can observe their classmates’ reading levels.
• Teach students how to protect their privacy and to respect the privacy of others.
• Encourage parents to speak directly with their children about their reading choices and what they’ve checked out from the school library.
Throughout the courses I have taken in the LEEP program, many instructors have touched on patron privacy in the realm of the public library, however, I can’t remember ever addressing privacy when it comes to school libraries. I agree with Adams when she says that it just isn’t something people really think about, or perceive to be a problem. I think that when it comes to the space of the school the main objective is to protect our students and keep them safe, even if that does mean monitoring them more and infringing on their privacy to some extent. However, that doesn’t necessarily make it right, and I think more needs to be done to ensure student privacy is protected.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/889643-312/the_privacy_problem_although_school.html.csp
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