Journal 10

I read “The Privacy Problem” by Helen R. Adams. This article was from the April 2011 School Library Journal. I chose this article since it was from the suggested reading list and we have not formally addressed privacy yet in class.

Privacy is defined by Merriam-Webster as freedom from unauthorized intrusion. The 1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects confidentiality of all student records (Adams 35). These rights include the records of what students read in the library. This is practiced throughout most of the United States. Librarians have always had special relationships with their patrons. They are there to guide them to what they are interested in reading about, and uphold the strictest confidentiality.  

Student confidentiality and privacy has been a focus in my school district the last two years. Our principal has reminded staff on numerous occasions that it is not acceptable to have students pass back graded papers, have students share grades allowed or grade other students papers. To me this has always seemed like a slap in the face. I truly can not believe that I work with people that are educators and they don’t understand the FERPA act! Everytime you go to a health care provider they inform you of the act. Why are we not informing our students and parents of these rights too?

As I venture into a career in the Media Center, I realize that there is a fine line for privacy. I know that there is the need for help from teachers and parents in getting lost books returned and how do you do this without informing them of the book that their student/child has? A few great suggestions came out of the article such as: not letting student helpers run the circulation, fold or staple overdue notices, do not label books with reading levels, do not group books by reading level, delete circulation histories, and be proactive to educate other stakeholders.