Rotherham kids get cyber safe

The new CyberSafe Guide, which is an update of the previous national award-winning Safe Surfing Guide, has been created with the help of children from the library's Interactive Clubs. 

Project Officer Keith Swannick explains: "The Safe Surfing Guide was looking a bit outdated and needed to address emerging issues such as cyber-bullying and mobile phone use. So, who better to ask what young people want from an online guide than the young people themselves?

"Everything you see in the CyberSafe Guide has come direct from the young people involved. They really have done us proud.

"CyberSafe features superhero characters designed in the popular Japanese 'Manga' style. These superheroes, which were drawn by the kids, help to take the user through the guide, bringing it alive for them and showing them how to avoid the perils and pitfalls of the internet and other technologies."

All young library customers will now have to work through the CyberSafe Guide before being allowed to use the internet alone in the library. 

e-Library services officer Wendy Darby said: "Young people now have much greater access to the internet so teaching them about online safety is just as important as teaching them about road safety and stranger danger. This is especially important in our libraries where children can come in and use the internet unsupervised."

But it's not just about educating children. e-Libraries also gives parents the chance to talk to their child about their internet use. 

"Recent research has shown that a third of parents don't really know what their children do online and often it's just down to a lack of understanding on the adults' part. 

"Our Passport to Learning sessions offer parents, carers and grandparents the chance to become just as internet savvy as their children, so there's no reason why the whole family can't enjoy exploring the internet together."

You can contact your local library for more information about CyberSafe or the Passport to Learning IT Sessions, or telephone e-Library Services on 01709 823672.