Pull the plug -- libraries aren't common carriers

[Skip Booth]

Lets make another the assumption......At least the assumption this
librarian is making. The Internet is a rather large poorly indexed
reference book or set of reference books. You know what I mean,its kind
of like the Encyclopedia Britanica run amuck. Remember how difficult it
was to help patrons find useful information in the macropedia
,micropedia, thisopedia and thatopedia. Well multiply that confusion by
the lack of order and authority on the Internet and there is no way on
earth that a normal human being can figure this out. Who better to help
with this then librarians. This is our opportunity and offering
unlimited Internet access is not only appropriate but enhances our role.
We will be the key to unlocking the complexities of the Internet. We
will guide people to find answers to their queries, insuring to the best
of our abilities, the accuracy and currency of the answers. To do
anything less cheapens our profession. To provide a patron with an
exchange rate from the Wall Street Journal that is 24 hours old when we
know a much mre recent quote is available on the Net is just not good
librianship. 
Pulling the plug is not the answer. The answers are training and honing
our skills to help patrons use this marvelous compendium of information
and working with the site providers to develop better indexing and
easier access. The President of the US wants every student to have
access to the Net. It is up to the Public Libraries to assist in this
goal and level the playing field. We must not let information become a
commodity (sorry to interject this line). We have teachers now handing
out homework assignments which can be best answered on the Net. Affluent
students will get it right but the low income student who has to work
after school or for whatever reason can't get the answer at school(
maybe there is only one pc in the media center)is going to be left
behind. Not in my county! We are leveling that playing field and it is
paying off. There are risks and problems. There are community morales
and standards that might be offended by the content of approximately .03
percent of the web but thats the same it with books and magazines. No we
don't carry hustler, penthouse or playboy but if a patron came into a
branch and sat down at a table and pulled out a copy there would not be
a problem. Now if that patron went to the children section and waved the
centerfold around that would be treated as a behavioral problem and
dealt with as such. Anyway the PC and Netscape is the table our patron
spreading his magazine out on and as long as no laws are violated there
is no problem. 
I think access to questionable content can be made a collection
development issue when the resources for accessing the information are
limited. Just as the collection development guidelines allow for
purchasing one item over another policy can be developed for limited
access to internet activities that drain resources so that others can
not accomplish their work. Legimately this could include blocking
certain sites or at limiting access to on request by patron.
  
Let's not talk about pulling the plug.



-- 
Skip Booth
Information System Support Manager
Anne Arundel County Public Library
5 Harry S Truman Parkway
Annapolis, MD 21401