Week 11 Readings

Public Access Technologies in Public Libraries

This article talks about the changes in public access technologies over the years and how libraries have dealt/are dealing with them.

I found the list of technology skills needed by public librarians to be almost overwhelming, especially for one person who may not be trained in IT support. The increasing demand for libraries to provide technology resources that are user-friendly, synced with each other, and work perfectly all the time is frustrating, however. It's as though patrons don't realize that the people at Google are being paid to make sure their sites are easy to use and they don't have to worry about the millions of other tasks that public librarians may have to perform on any given day. Not only that, but software that costs thousands or millions of dollars to produce and maintain will still have bugs; there is no way a public library could afford to have and maintain a bug-free system. (Actually, I doubt those even exist.)

Sex in the City

This article covers the experiences of the Minneapolis Public Library staff with the introduction of computers with unfiltered Internet access, and how the staff ended up dealing with the problem.

What really surprised me about this situation was the reaction of the library supervisors and administration. On the one hand, I can sort of understand the desire to not be seen as censors of information, but on the other hand, I don't feel that protecting employees and patrons from blatant sexual harassment counts as censorship. If library users were abandoning the library because of the amount of porn visible at the library (and on the way to the Children's Room? Did the administration want to be the ones responsible for explaining bestiality to a 4 year old?), the administration should be working on changing that atmosphere. I'm not entirely sure where I fall on the 'filter-no filter' spectrum for public libraries, but in this case, the patrons who were viewing porn on the library computers explicitly stated they were doing it at the library because they wanted others to know what they were watching. According to the American Bar Association, hostile environment harassment (which is considered a form of sexual harassment) is defined as "when an employee is subjected to comments of a sexual nature, offensive sexual materials, or unwelcome physical contact as a regular part of the work environment" (http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_issues_for_consumers/sexualharassment_hostileenvironment.html)

I'm glad the library staff received support from their coworkers, but the response from others seems harsh. There is a difference between supported the freedom to information and putting up with people deliberately trying to harass and make others uncomfortable. No one should have to put up with, and certainly not in their workplace.

Please Disable the Entire Filter

This article discusses the internet filtering policy of the Phoenix Public Library and why it is unconstitutional.

I don't think that it's wrong for libraries to have filtered computers, but I don't agree with a policy where every public computer is filtered, especially when that filter cannot be removed by a librarian (who presumably would have approved the site being unblocked). There are sites on the internet that should probably not be accessible by children, or be accessed in public where anyone can see, there's no question about that fact. However, there are plenty of websites which contain information on topics that should be available to patrons. The article mentions women's health and homosexuality as topics that are at risk for over-blocking. A site from Columbia, Go Ask Alice, has on its recent Q&As page the following terms: handjob, birth control, AIDS, masturbation, abortion. Blocking that site would remove a huge resource for teens and young adults, especially if they don't know where else to go for health information that is directed towards them. We don't have image recognition software that's discriminatory enough to determine what is pornographic and what is artistic, and basing blocking decisions on text alone will mean that many informational sites will be blocked and many pornographic images will be easily accessible, certainly to someone who is actively looking for them.

Studying Indiana Public Libraries' Usage of Internet Filters

This article examines the various ways Indiana public libraries use or don't use internet filters on their computers.

It would be interesting to see the sizes of the libraries that responded, and see if there is a correlation between that and use of internet filters. Smaller libraries might have an easier time monitoring patron computer use. Also, if there do not seem to be many problems with internet use, why bother using a filter in the first place?

One Law with Two Outcomes

This article looks at the differences in the implementation of CIPA between public schools and public libraries.

It was interesting to read the reasons for the different reactions to CIPA in public schools and libraries. Schools' increased need for E-Rate funds makes it necessary that they comply with CIPA, while libraries, who serve a very different population from schools, have a slightly lesser need for E-Rate funding. Implementing CIPA filters on all library computers prevents adults from accessing legitimate information, and frankly, filters are not exactly the smartest at determining what should and should not be accessible, especially when it comes to images. However, a library I went to when I was younger had a separate computer room with unfiltered computers for patrons 18+. The screens were placed in a way that made it hard for people walking by to accidentally see something they didn't want to, and the reference librarian was also stationed right outside in case of any problems. The rest of the computers, which were in the regular section of the library all had filtering software, but it was made clear that adults who wished to could just go to the other computer room. Of course, this solution isn't practical for many libraries, but I do think there are ways to provide a safe space for children while still not censoring information adults want access to.