Words matter. Plagiarism and half-truths cost.

Plagiarism and fabrication have been concerns for hundreds of years, but the Internet has made them common-place. The Seven Library addresses these issues in many ways, including the lessons on plagiarism on the library web page. The following resources point out the high cost of using the words of others without proper citation or of fabricating “facts.”

Rick Bragg (author of All Over but the Shoutin’ [92 Bragg] ) is the well-known New York Times writer forced to resign for claiming he wrote stories which, in fact, he did not. Interns (“stringers”) covered news stories for Bragg, who then used their words under his by-line, as if he had written the pieces. Both Bragg and The New York Times suffered from this dishonesty.

Shattered Glass (DVD 791.43 Sha) presents the story of Stephen Glass, a prominent young news and feature journalist, whose reputation was destroyed when it was discovered that he made up interviews to support his stories, then quoted the interviews as if they were fact. The DVD includes a “60 Minutes” interview with the real Stephen Glass.

Kiss My Book, by Jamie Michaels (Fic Mic), is a fiction book about a girl who sold her first book at age fifteen and got a movie deal, then publicly was accused of plagiarism. She had copied the book, and was crushed when the truth came out. She found how costly plagiarism could be and wondered if people would ever trust her again.

Other people’s words: What plagiarism is and how to avoid it, by Barbara Francis (808 Fra), presents true stories of plagiarism, fabrication, and hoax. She discusses the ease with which people can plagiarize, the cost of doing so, and how to avoid the risks.

Two New Resources Available on Headwaters

NoodleBib

Do you have a hard time remembering what to include in your bibliographies? Can’t recall whether to use a period, a comma, or a colon? Well maybe the library’s link to NoodleBib will be your saving grace.

NoodleBib is an interactive subscription service that will help you create bibliographies in MLA or APA format. You will need to log on using the usual library password that all Admirals know, and then create your own personal ID. NoodleBib has two levels of difficulty geared toward middle or upper school students. It will walk you through the process of creating bibliographies by asking you what you want to add to your bibliography (book, web site, journal, etc.), and then providing the appropriate blanks for you to fill in. And when you are finished entering your information, NoodleBib will format your citations, put them in the correct order, and create a list for you to export into Microsoft Word.

Give it a try, and let us know what you think about it.

Marshall Cavendish Digital – Animal and Plant Anatomy

Wondering what the intestines of an earthworm look like? Curious about Elephant respiration? Then take a look at our new digital service from Marshall Cavendish. It provides color charts, maps, photographs, and information about a large number of organisms. If you need to see how the circulatory system works, or want a chart of the respiratory or digestive system, take a look here. Thanks to Mrs. Linda Millard for this generous gift to the Library, given in honor of Stephens Millard ’51.

Got questions? E-mail _librarians@severnschool.com.

Schooled, by Gordon Korman

Cap (short for Capricorn) Anderson has never been to school. Home-schooled on Garland Farm, a farm commune now populated by only Cap and grandmother Rain, he has never watched TV, never faced comptition, never seen a doctor for people. (Doc Cafferty, the local vet, stitched Cap up once.) Cap knew nothing of modern life.

When Rain broke her hip and ended up in rehab, Cap was sent to live with a social worker and attend the local middle school. There he learned about classmates, lockers, cafeteria lunches, spitballs He learned what it was like to be considered odd, for his haircut, clothes, straw sandals, and to feel ridicule from classmates.

Almost immediately Cap was nominated and elected class president. He had no idea that the most geeky student was always targeted for 8th grade class president, or that responsibilities went with the job -- planning the 8th grade dance and managing class funds. He did not realize people were laughing at him.

Suddenly powerful, with a check book and several thousand dollars, Cap wrote checks to charities and worthy people, not knowing he should pay for the DJ and refreshments. Suddenly the principal discovers that class funds are gone. . . and Cap disappears. Classmates have questions; the school is in an uproar. Read Schooled and meet a boy similar to Stargirl Caraway.

Submitted by Mrs. Stone Dec. 2007

Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl Novels

Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli

The new girl at Mica Area High School could not possibly be real. She claimed her name was Stargirl Caraway. Home-schooled previously, she carried a ukulele at lunch and serenaded total strangers. She wrote a song about isosceles triangles and sang it to her geometry class. She cheered for both teams at games and carried her pet rat Cinnamon in her pocket. She dressed oddly, danced in the rain, left candy hearts on the desk of classmates.

A nonconformist, Stargirl attracted attention and changed people’s outlook in unexpected ways Then suddenly, without explanation, she disappeared, taking her magic with her. Her boyfriend Leo wonders if she were real, as he tells of Stargirl’s impact on the school and the town.

Love, Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli

Stargirl, in “the world’s longest letter,” writes to Leo about the next year, after she moved so suddenly to Minnesota from the Southwest. Her happy wagon, usually filled with twenty pebbles, dwindles to almost none. Life is sad for Stargirl; she wonders if she will ever see Leo again. But, being Stargirl, she notices people sadder than she, and works her magic of care and concern. She befriends an older woman who has not left her house in more than nine years, and an angry little girl who hates everyone. She notices an old man who goes daily to the cemetery, to talk to his wife now dead four years, and brings him donuts. She celebrates the winter solstice and reveals sunlight to the entire town.. Stargirl brings her magic to another area as she deals with her loneliness in this new book by Jerry Spinell. This sequel is too good to miss.

Posted by Mrs. Stone, Nov. 2007