FW: [FYI] ALA Statement on library use of filtering software

[Sloan, Bernie]

Not to fan any dying flames, but I thought that the 
following ALA statement, dated July 1, is pertinent to
the recent discussion on pornography/filtering.

My apologies to those who have seen it on other
lists.

Bernie Sloan

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bernie Sloan
Senior Library Information Systems Consultant
University of Illinois Office for Planning & Budgeting
338 Henry Administration Building
506 S. Wright Street
Urbana, IL  61801
Phone:  217-333-4895
Fax:       217-333-6355
e-mail:    bernies at uillinois.edu


>----------
>From: 	Terry Kuny[SMTP:Terry.Kuny at xist.com]
>Sent: 	Friday, July 11, 1997 5:15 PM
>To: 	PACS-L at LISTSERV.UH.EDU
>Subject: 	[FYI] ALA Statement on library use of filtering software
>
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
>This statement was developed by the Intellectual Freedom Committee at
>the ALA annual conference.
>
>STATEMENT ON LIBRARY USE OF FILTERING SOFTWARE AMERICAN LIBRARY
>ASSOCIATION/INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM COMMITTEE
>July 1, 1997
>
>On June 26, 1997, the United States Supreme Court issued a sweeping
>re-affirmation of core First Amendment principles and held that
>communications over the Internet deserve the highest level of
>Constitutional protection.
>
>The Court's most fundamental holding is that communications on the
>Internet deserve the same level of Constitutional protection as books,
>magazines, newspapers, and speakers on a street corner soapbox.
>The Court found that the Internet *constitutes a vast platform from which
>to address and hear from a world-wide audience of millions of readers,
>viewers, researchers, and buyers,* and that *any person with a phone
>line can become a town crier with a voice that resonates farther than it
>could from any soapbox.*
>
>For libraries, the most critical holding of the Supreme Court is that
>libraries that make content available on the Internet can continue to do
>so with the same Constitutional protections that apply to the books on
>libraries' shelves.  The Court's conclusion that *the vast democratic fora
>of the Internet* merit full constitutional protection will also serve to
>protect libraries that provide their patrons with access to the Internet.
>The Court recognized the importance of enabling individuals to receive
>speech from the entire world and to speak to the entire world.  Libraries
>provide those opportunities to many who would not otherwise have them.
>The Supreme Court's decision will protect that access.
>
>The use in libraries of software filters which block Constitutionally
>protected speech is inconsistent with the United States Constitution and
>federal law and may lead to legal exposure for the library and its
>governing authorities.  The American Library Association affirms that the
>use of filtering software abridges the Library Bill of Rights.
>
>WHAT IS BLOCKING/ FILTERING SOFTWARE?
>
>Blocking/filtering software is a mechanism used to:
>
>*restrict access to Internet content, based on an internal database of the
>product, or;
>
>*restrict access to Internet content through a database maintained
>external to the product itself, or;
>
>*restrict access to Internet content to certain ratings assigned to those
>sites by a third party, or;
>
>*restrict access to Internet content by scanning content, based on a
>keyword, phrase or text string or;
>
>*restrict access to Internet content based on the source of the
>information.
>
>
>PROBLEMS WITH THE USE OF BLOCKING/FILTERING SOFTWARE IN LIBRARIES
>
>*Publicly supported libraries are governmental institutions subject to the
>First Amendment, which forbids them from restricting information based
>on viewpoint or content discrimination.
>
>*Libraries are places of inclusion rather than exclusion. Current
>blocking/filtering software prevents not only access to what some may
>consider *objectionable* material, but also blocks information protected
>by the First Amendment. The result is that legal and useful material will
>inevitably be blocked.  Examples of sites that have been blocked by
>popular commercial blocking/filtering products include those on breast
>cancer, AIDS, women's rights, and animal rights.
>
>*Filters can impose the producer's viewpoint on the community.
>
>*Producers do not generally reveal what is being blocked, or provide
>methods for users to reach sites that were inadvertently blocked.
>
>*Criteria used to block content are vaguely defined and subjectively
>applied.
>
>*The vast majority of Internet sites are informative and useful.
>Blocking/filtering software often blocks access to materials it is not
>designed to block.
>
>*Most blocking/filtering software is designed for the home market. Filters
>are intended to respond to the preferences of parents making decisions for
>their own children.  Libraries are responsible for serving a broad and
>diverse community with different preferences and views. Blocking Internet
>sites is antithetical to library missions because it requires the library
>to limit information access.
>
>*In a library setting, filtering today is a one-size-fits-all *solution,*
>which cannot adapt to the varying ages and maturity levels of individual
>users.
>
>*A role of librarians is to advise and assist users in selecting
>information resources. Parents and only parents have the right and
>responsibility to restrict their own children's access * and only their
>own children's access * to library resources, including the Internet.
>Librarians do not serve in loco parentis.
>
>*Library use of blocking/filtering software creates an implied contract
>with parents that their children will not be able to access material on
>the Internet that they do not wish their children read or view.  Libraries
>will be unable to fulfill this implied contract, due to the technological
>limitations of the software, thus exposing themselves to possible legal
>liability and litigation.
>
>*Laws prohibiting the production or distribution of child pornography and
>obscenity apply to the Internet. These laws provide protection for
>libraries and their users.
>
>WHAT CAN YOUR LIBRARY DO TO PROMOTE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET?
>
>*Educate yourself, your staff, library board, governing bodies,
>community leaders, parents, elected officials etc., about the Internet and
>how best to take advantage of the wealth of information available. For
>examples of what other libraries have done, contact the ALA Public
>Information Office at 800-545-2433, ext. 5044 or pio at ala.org.
>
>*Uphold the First Amendment by establishing and implementing written
>guidelines and policies on Internet use in your library in keeping with
>your library's overall policies on access to library materials. For
>information on and copies of  the Library Bill of Rights and its
>Interpretation on Electronic Information, Services and Networks, contact
>the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom at 800/545-2433, ext. 4223.
>
>*Promote Internet use by facilitating user access to Web sites that
>satisfy user interest and needs.
>
>*Create and promote library Web pages designed both for general use
>and for use by children. These pages should point to sites that have
>been reviewed by library staff.
>
>*Consider using privacy screens or arranging terminals away from
>public view to protect a user's confidentiality.
>
>*Provide information and training for parents and minors that remind
>users of time, place and manner restrictions on Internet use.
>
>*Establish and implement user behavior policies.
>
>FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC, CONTACT THE OFFICE FOR
>INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AT 800/545-2433, EXT. 4223, BY FAX AT
>(312) 280-4227, OR BY E-MAIL AT OIF at ALA.ORG.
>