Pull the plug -- libraries aren't common carriers

[jim hewitt]

At 10:23 AM 3/24/97 -0800, Library Internet Resources Co-ordinator wrote:
>At 4:44 PM -0800 3/23/97, S. M. S. wrote:
>
>>What would be your feelings if instead of a top-down approach (taking ALL of
>>the Internet and filtering out), librarians could build from the bottom up
>>and only give children access to librarian pre-selected sites?  This would
>>include eliminating access to the major search-mechanisms.

tried this with my 11 year old, just to see if what i thought would happen,
did...

took three wonderful kids sites (you know, the ones with the fantastic
reviews all over the web) and gave my son access and asked him if he could
get to a star wars site without using a search engine or his memory of
possible starwars site addresses...

17 minutes later, he was at a star wars site...and he had followed the
rules...

ethics of filtering or not, this is reality...filtering is simply
unfacilitating...17 minutes instead of 2...but the end result will be the
same...


Jim Hewitt				Phone: 218-299-4239
Head of Reference Services		Fax:   218-299-4653	
Ylvisaker Library			Email: hewitt at cord.edu
Concordia College
Moorhead, MN 56562

HELP!!!!!  I'm calling from the corners of WALK and DON'T WALK streets!