The Role of Librarians and Library Media Specialists in Addressing Cyberbullying

Parry Aftab first wrote about her gratitude for librarians while still an associate at a big Wall Street law firm. The corporate librarian had been invaluable in her success, finding information that no one (pre-web) could find and giving her pointers on information she had come across.

Her high esteem for librarians didn’t end there. Although she had admired school librarians, she hadn’t learned about library media specialists until a good friend, Della Curtis a Ph.D. in Library Media Information, introduced her to these secret weapons.

They understand how the technology works and what is credible and what isn’t. They have the best lists of trusted and reliable sites and understand what students do there. They can find anything online in two seconds flat and match it with other offline information that makes it relevant. 

Parry even created a Super Librarian graphic to reflect how she saw school librarians and library media specialists. When Parry was asked to speak at the Free Speech session for the ALA’s annual meeting many years ago, Della and other library media specialists prepared her.

No WiredSafety school team can be created without either a school librarian or library media specialist. When they speak, follow Parry’s lead—be sure to listen and take careful notes!