[PubLib] re: Library administration

[James Casey]

Having examined messaging by younger folks who are heavily involved in the web 2.0 technology, I have been surprised by the lack of very basic writing ability even among those who are supposedly well educated -- spelling, grammar, composition.  The rising incidence of plagiarism is also disturbing.  Even those teaching at the Masters level have commented how a significant number of students cannot seem to comprehend the notion of paraphrasing.  Language skills seem to be declining and it isn't simply a matter of ESL.

James B. Casey --- my own views
Director of Oak Lawn Public Library



-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Kathi Kemp-Tejeda
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 10:04 AM
To: 'John Fossett'; publib at webjunction.org; marsha at poetshouse.org
Subject: RE: [PubLib] re: Library administration

Morning, everyone.

I agree that we have been harsh on this "newby."  It's all been said (some of it repeatedly) regarding his faux pas, and I can't help but wonder if we'd have expressed ourselves in the same way if he were sitting in our office.  I sensed early on that English is not his first language, and who of us knows what his initial understanding of his assignment was.

Kathi Kemp