Boston situation -Reply

[Laura Quilter]

On Tue, 25 Feb 1997, Millard Johnson wrote:

> Point taken, but point is only partially relevant.  
> 
> First,  it is impossible for an individual or committee to review
> all the internet sites.  There are several thousand being
> added per DAY, to say nothing of innumerable pages being
> added to existing sites.  
> ***********
> True.  But it is also for any library to catalog all of the books.
> We do it, however, because we think it must be done.
> Cyber hound and OCLC's NetFirst are nothing more than
> collections of quality Internet sites.  OCLC has offered to work
> with libraries to pool our talent to put sites in NetFirst.  The way
> we pool our talent to catalog books.  Why not take them up 
> on it?  Better yet. Lets grant a trademarked symbol to sites
> that meet some standards of quality, reliability and accuracy
> set by our profession.  Then we put a positive filter on our
> access - we select rather than censor.  If it is not easy, so
> what.  That's why we get the big bucks.
> 
> This is clearly doable, and I would argue, our responsibility.
>   MJ

It is *not* doable.  Web pages are considerably less permanent than books.
And while I think it is useful to create collections of "quality" sites, I
can teach for as many hours as you like the problems with groups like
CyberHound and OCLC's NetFirst in attempting to rate "quality" sites.  

And finally, putting a "positive filter" on our actions sounds to me like
an attempt to put a positive spin on censorship.

Our responsibility is to 1) provide access to information; 2) provide
(teach) users how to access that information - the specifics of using
access tools and the ability to apply critical thinking skills to material
they find.  If we're telling users that selection by OCLC, NetNanny, or
any other group is a guarantor of quality, we are doing our users a BIG
disservice.

Again, this is NOT to discourage attempts to rate sites for "quality" or
other factors, or to discourage creation of "useful site" lists or
databases.  But to rely on hose solely, and to not provide access to the
larger world, SINCE WE CAN, is a crime.

Laura M. Quilter   /   lauramd at uic.edu
Electronic Services Librarian
University of Illinois at Chicago
http://www.uic.edu/~lauramd/

"If I can't dance, I don't want to be 
in your revolution."  -- Emma Goldman