HIT: Borrowing and confidentiality

[Chris Finer <cfiner@NEWFOUND.K12.NH.US>]

Dear Colleagues,

So many messages here begin "I am always amazed at the power of LM-NET...."
Now it=B9s my turn.

Several days ago, there was a brief thread about confidentiality and
student borrowing which led to a much more detailed, private exchange
between me and Kathy, another regular here on LM'.  I invite you to read
the fascinating exchange we have had in the last several days.

Even if you choose not to read all of this post, please DO NOT SKIP the
final paragraphs.



These exchanges are neither repeated in their entirety nor in chronological
order, but in an order that I hope will make sense to you.  (Kathy, I hope
you approve of my editing choices!)  Kathy=B9s final message to me is the
=46IRST paragraph here:

Kathy wrote:
K:  Chris, Would you please consider posting a message to LM_NET to explain
the change in your thinking about this issue?  I only ask because the first
message was posted to the entire list and there might have been some
librarians who thought it sounded like a good idea.

I had said (here) that I sometimes discuss with students their reading
selections prior to allowing them to borrow certain books.  I used _Cider
House Rules_ as my example, and described how I might caution a young
borrower about some of the volatile issues and language he or she might
encounter.

But I then went further, explaining how I might, with the student=B9s
cooperation (or at least with their knowledge) call the parent to let them
know the book was on the way home and to make sure that the parent had no
objection to my lending it.

It was at this point that Kathy responded to me privately:
K:  As I read the some of the comments in this thread I became concerned
about the lack of confidentiality for the students when the librarian
questioned the students about the books they had chosen to check out and
the threat to call the student's parents if the the librarian felt the book
wasn't suitable for the student in question.

K:  In states where there are confidentiality laws, librarians should abide
by those laws.=A0 Calling the parents about books there children want to
check out is a breech in confidentiality that the student should have and
has a legal right to expect.

K:  There are many reasons for confidentiality laws.=A0 Students are
sometimes dealing with family problems or are interested in controversial
topics which they do not want their parents to know about.

K:  It is very important that we respect the rights of our student patrons
and part of these rights include the right to confidentiality.  Many public
libraries do not even disclose the titles of overdue books to parents.
School libraries should follow their example.

My response to her:
C:  You raise some very interesting issues, and I appreciate your
mentioning them to me.=A0 I like to think of myself as a librarian who honor=
s
student privacy, so your comments brought me up short.

C:  I HOPE I never come across as threatening....  My remark about calling
parents is not designed to trap students, but to let them in on my thinking
and genuinely enlist their help in determining a book's suitability.

C:  I've had students check out books about incest and family violence and
would NEVER attempt to involve parents.=A0 I've been crucial in helping some
students identify problems and seek help.

C:  I believe that parents do, however, have a stake in what their children
are reading.=A0 And is this not how we protect ourselves from Challenges?


But throughout this exchange, I was also in touch with a colleague in my sch=
ool:

C:  Kathy, I shared our latest exchange with a colleague -- she is a
friend, the school's representative to the courts, and is up on all things
legal.

C:  To make a long story short, she agrees much more with your position
than with mine. I don't mind telling you how surprised I was!  Now I have
this uneasy sensation that I've been doing it all wrong for years -- not at
all a comfortable feeling!

C:  She says that if I acquire books according to my selection policy, then
each book should stand on its own merit and not need "defense" each time
somebody wants to check it out.=A0 Student confidentiality is more important
than almost any other consideration.

C:  We went through the obvious example of a child wanting books about
incest and family violence, but she thinks that that confidential approach
needs to be extended to all borrowing, including fiction.




LM-NET colleagues, please hear two things:

=46irst, a big, public thank you to Kathy for engaging in this dialog.  I
have a much clearer picture of the confidentiality issue, and feel I can
act within the constraints it imposes without sacrificing my ability to
recommend books to my student patrons.  Given what my "law friend" has
said, it actually feels rather freeing.

So, please reconsider my advice about conferring with parents before
lending materials.

Second, a big, public thank you to you, LM-NET members and organizers.
Where else can eleven thousand colleagues discuss matters of such
importance in such a supportive and professional way?  Peter, surely this
is the sort of meaningful exchange you had in mind when you brought us all
together.

God bless you all, and have a wonderful, restful weekend.

Chris Finer, LMG
Library Media Program
Newfound Regional High School
Bristol, NH   03222

cfiner@newfound.k12.nh.us

There's no use going to school unless your final destination is
the library.                                          --after Ray Bradbury

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