Alumni Spotlight: How an iSchool Alumna Helps Fight Plagiarism – Terry Darr, MLS ’06
School library director Terry Darr, MLS 2006, teaches over 200 information literacy and plagiarism education classes each year to middle and high school students.
School library director Terry Darr, MLS 2006, teaches over 200 information literacy and plagiarism education classes each year to middle and high school students. Her time in the classroom showed her the challenges students face using digital information ethically. Librarians, along with teachers, can reduce plagiarism through proactive education.
Terry dedicated herself to writing the newly published book, Combating Plagiarism: A Hands-On Guide for Librarians, Teachers and Students – a first-ever proactive instructional plan for school librarians and teachers that aims to reduce online plagiarism by middle and high school students. She attributes much of her knowledge and expertise around this topic, as well as the ability to construct an educational tool, to her MLS degree.
After many years as a stay-at-home mother raising a child with disabilities, Terry decided to prepare for re-entering the workforce by attending the University of Maryland College of Information Studies (UMD iSchool) Master of Library Science (MLS) program. She was drawn to the college’s reputation as a leader in the field of library science and was excited about the doors that a degree from the college could open.
“My time at the iSchool helped me gain confidence and essential skills to re-enter professional life doing work that I love,” said Terry. As a student in the MLS program, one of the most important things she learned was frameworks for evaluating and understanding different information needs for different user groups. This was integral to Terry’s development of effective instructional plans around plagiarism prevention, particularly when taking into consideration young users.
Since completing her MLS degree at the UMD iSchool, Terry has become an experienced reference librarian, the Library Director at Loyola Blakefield, teacher, published author, and nationally known champion of mobilizing school librarians to combat digital plagiarism.
More information about Combating Plagiarism: A Hands-On Guide for Librarians, Teachers and Students, published in September 2019, can be found here: https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A5829P