Librarian's attitudes toward filtering: The turning tide

[CMUNSON]

It's definitely worth noting that every time the filtering debate comes 
up on this list, more and more librarians express pro-filtering 
sentiments.  Librarians I know in "Real Life" are increasingly willing 
to openly support the idea of true, meaningful selection of Internet 
resources, and are rejecting the stuporous "everything on the net or 
nothing" false dichotomy, which turns librarian's selection role into 
that of a dumbed-down public access port, and standing up to the moral 
arrogance and professional stupidity of defending porn in children's 
rooms.
     
I  applaud  every librarian who has had the courage to brave being 
called a thought policeman, cybernotsi, censor, collaborator, etc. among 
other nice things the anti-filtering extremists have called us on this 
list,  and stand up for their selection rights, and most of all, for 
common sense.
     
Let's keep up the fight, we're winning.
     
     It's really sad to see someone, on a librarian list, celebrate that 
     their side, the pro-censorship side, is "winning." I truly hope that 
     this list has some subscribers who are in library schools, so they can 
     get a glimpse of the ugly side of the profession. Maybe this will give 
     them a chance to reconsider their enrollments and give them some 
     impetus to switch professions. It certainly makes me wonder sometimes 
     why I became a librarian.
     
     I resent Mr. Burt's attempt to marginalize the anti-filter argument as 
     coming from "anti-filtering extremtists."
     
     Mr. Burt, you have just proved our point. Why do you think we are 
     outraged that censorware products such as CyberPatrol have filters for 
     categories such as "Extremism?" Because it makes it easy to block 
     access to controversial opinions. I believe we have gone over 
     examples, which I won't repeat.
     
     It is impossible to "reform" these products, because their very 
     existence and implementation allow for somebody, be it a librarian or 
     a mayor, to decide what is appropriate information-seeking behavior. 
     Those of us who are against censorware products trust the end-users to 
     make the decisions about what they need. We'd like to help them, of 
     course, with guides to quality sites on given subjects, but the nature 
     of the web with all of its content, allows users much more control 
     over seeking information.
     
     Censorware, and other hysteric attempts to "enclose" the information 
     sphere, may be successful in the short term, but will resisted as 
     people realize what you are doing to them.
     
     They will get the message that they are idiots who can't determine 
     want they want to know. They will come to resent the the idea that 
     there are "appropriate" sites. They will come to understand that 
     freedom of speech applies to EVERYBODY and that no one, including 
     software company executives, librarians, teachers, NPR commentators, 
     and Supreme Court justices, do NOT have a right to decide what 
     information is appropriate for them.
     
     Webmasters I have talked to are really depressed about what is 
     happening in libraries concerning net access. Just when it looked like 
     the Web would bring some wonderful democratization to the information 
     sphere, it looks like the corporations are making headway in 
     information monopolization and maintaining their current stranglehold 
     on traditional information sources: print, radio, TV, movies etc.
     
     Don't get me started on the absurd notion that some of you have that 
     commercial sites have more quality to them than homegrown efforts.
     
     Mr Burt, I look forward to sharing your message with my 
     "non-extremist" friends. I'm sure they will be shocked to see these 
     comments. I think that public still sees librarians as being 
     anti-censorship. They will be disappointed when they learn of this 
     paradigm-shift in librarianship.
     
     Proud to be labeled an extremist,
     Chuck Munson