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.