Western New England University School of Law
`Digital Commons @ Western New England University School of
`Law
`
`Media Presence
`
`1996
`
`Librarians in Quandary Over Web Access
`
`Pat Newcombe
`Western New England University School of Law, pnewcombe@law.wne.edu
`
`Faculty Publications
`
`Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.wne.edu/media
`Part of the Library and Information Science Commons
`
`Recommended Citation
`Pat Newcombe, Librarians in Quandary Over Web Access, GOV'T TECHNOLOGY, Dec. 1996, at 30.
`
`This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Digital Commons @ Western New England University School of
`Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Media Presence by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Western New England University
`School of Law. For more information, please contact pnewcombe@law.wne.edu.
`
`BLUE COAT SYSTEMS - Exhibit 1041 Page 1
`
`

`
`to provide equal
`
`access to the World
`Wide Web, they
`
`face increasing
`pressure to block
`access to sexually
`oriented sites.
`
`i3:Y?~ii;;;;;~~
`spe.cial to_ 0."'~~-.1!J~~7!()l<J!J.Y. ·····
`
`r) ublic librarians find themselves at
`
`"
`
`a crossroads, thanks to the wide
`array of infonnation available on
`the World Wide Web. Controversy clouds
`the role librarians should play in society
`and what are considered constitutionally
`appropriate library resources.
`In communities across the country,
`the political and moral climate is
`becoming more conservative. Debate is
`heating up over allowing access to
`sexual material on the Net, particularly
`by minors. AB more public libraries offer
`connections to the Internet, librarians
`must grapple with the concepts of
`intellectual freedom and censorship and
`worry about protecting themselves from
`
`Already, President Clinton signed
`into law the Communications Decency
`Act, making it a felony punishable by
`fine and jail time to make available
`sexually offensive material which may
`be accessible to children. In June, a
`special .three-judge appellate panel
`named to hear the case, ruled the act an
`unconstitutional violation of free
`speech. The court's ruling has been
`appealed to the Supreme Court.
`The American Library Association
`(ALA) believes that a public library's
`mission is to provide patrons equal
`access to all library resources, and that
`library policies and procedures should
`not deny minors equal access. Equal
`access increasingly means allowing
`children to navigate the Web on their
`local library computer terminals.
`Today, 45 percent of U.S. public
`libraries offer connections to the
`Internet, according to a survey con(cid:173)
`ducted by the U.S. National Commis(cid:173)
`sion on Libraries and Information
`Sciences (NCLIS). This is a 113
`percent increase since 1994, when a
`similar NCLIS survey found 21 percent
`of public
`libraries connected.
`Preliminary survey analysis indicates
`that this number could exceed 60
`percent by 1997.
`
`SOFTWARE CENSORS
`While libraries can select specific
`books for their collections, they cannot
`do the same with Web sites. The
`Internet comes as a whole collection.
`Yet citizens who pay taxes for this
`access
`feel
`that
`libraries are
`responsible for holding this resource
`
`'-·-------·-
`
`Judith E Krug
`
`librarians have come up with a
`variety of creative solutions that
`address the political concerns of
`offering Internet access.
`In Michigan, Bev Papai, director of
`the Farmington Hills Community
`Library, purchased privacy screens to fit
`over the monitors of the Adult
`Department computers. (Computers in
`the .children's room use filtering
`software.) The screens limit the
`observation of images on .the computer
`monitors. Papai is pleased with the
`privacy screens, which make the
`monitor appear black from an angle,
`making it difficult for any passerby to
`see what the user is viewing. Only when
`a person stands directly behind the
`
`l __ _ gov
`
`internet
`
`Librarians in Quandary Over Web Access
`As libraries try
`
`monitor is the screen visible.
`Some libraries use filtering software
`to circumvent complaints about children
`accessing inappropriate material on the
`Web. Several software companies have
`created programs that claim to police
`the Net, preventing access to graphic
`pornography. Cyber Patrol, SurfWatch
`and Net Nanny are among the more
`popular ones available. These programs
`filter out material the programs'
`publishers view as offensive by using a
`database of banned sites, Any request to
`visit a specific site is compared against
`the database. If there is a match, the
`computer blocks the user and fails the
`access.
`The database also may contain a list
`of words that could lead a user to an
`objectionable site if entered into a
`search engine, or as part of a Unifonn
`Resource Locator (URL). Some of these
`software tools can restrict access to
`only those sites rated acceptable by the
`Recreational Software Advisory Council
`and SafeSurf, two Internet rating
`groups.
`The programs work because search
`engines look at HTML tags describing
`origins of a home page in order to create
`abstracts of the sites. Pornographic Web
`pages usually advertise their addresses
`by using sexual terms in these tags,
`Filtering software can prevent much of
`the descriptive word searching used to
`locate this materiaL
`However, these types of filtering
`programs are far from perfect. Software
`makers have a hard time keeping up
`with the 3 ,000+ new Internet sites
`posted daily. The programs are only
`updated on a monthly basis, so new
`sites will fall through the cracks. Nor are
`the databases of objectionable words
`perfect in catching the many synonyms
`for sexual terms which can link to an
`indecent site.
`Other libraries are offering both
`filtered and unfiltered access to the
`Internet. Because of the "nature of the
`Internet and the World Wide Web,
`objectionable sites cannot be totally
`eliminated even through the use of
`filtering software," said Farmington
`Community Library Board of Trustee
`Clark G. Doughty.
`The library installed Cyber Patrol,
`developed by Microsystems Software.
`Papal was concerned about eliminating
`access to useful information with the
`software, but she feels justified in using it.
`"It is simply a risk we are willing to take to
`assure the greatest level of comfort to all
`users of the building," she said. The
`software costs about $50 and is available
`on a subscription basis. But Papai
`cautions that "filtering software will never
`replace a parent's guidance. Parents have
`to instill in children certain values."
`Lesley Williams, head of Information
`
`BLUE COAT SYSTEMS - Exhibit 1041 Page 2
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`

`
`may be sites you wouldn't want. your
`child to view."
`To retrieve much of this material, she
`feels a user would have to be looking for
`it, and is not likely to stumble across it.
`Also, much of the access to hardcore
`pornography requires a credit card to
`buy passwords. Libraries that do give full
`access to the Internet provide a warning
`statement that the library has no control
`over the contents of cyberspace.
`Oklahoma City's public library system
`uses the following disclaimer: "The
`Internet is an unregulated medium. It
`offers access to a wealth of material that
`is personally, professionally and
`culturally enriching. It also enables
`access to some material that may be
`offensive, disturbing and/or illegal."
`Other libraries will not provide
`access to minors unless parental consent
`is obtained. At most libraries, when
`children receive permission to obtain a
`library card, parents are asked to take
`responsibility for materials the child
`reads. Similar policies regarding Internet
`use are springing up in libraries,
`requiring parents to be responsible for
`their child's lnt.ernel. activity.
`Ol.lwr sl.rat.cgics include offering
`classes to both parents and children on
`searching the Internet. At Metropolitan
`Library Systems, serving Oklahoma City,
`Donna Morris, director of Public
`Services, said that because of legal
`concerns with Internet access the
`library requires all patrons to become
`certified either by
`taking an
`introductory Internet class or by
`completing a self-instruction program.
`Some libraries try to provide useful
`listings of Web sites for searching
`specific types of information. The
`Simsbury, Conn., Public Library
`reconunends and catalogs Web sites and
`
`Selec:tion is guid<"l by !.lie c:ollec:l.ion
`development rolicy of the library,
`according to Susan Bullock, director.
`
`MAXIMUM CONTROL
`Public pressure is mounting on
`libraries to find acceptable solutions
`that balance intellectual freedom with
`the conununity support that all public
`libraries need. With the Conununication
`Decency Act's ruling appealed to the
`Supreme Court,
`the censorship
`controversy continues, placing libraries
`in a very difficult situation.
`Karen Jo Gounaud, founder of
`Family Friendly Libraries -
`a national
`grassroots network of concerned
`citizens, librarians and library trustees
`-
`believes we need "a return to
`policies placing
`libraries under
`maximum local control with more
`acknowledgment of taxpayer authority
`and conununity standards."
`ALA's Krug, however, counters that
`the Internet is a unique communications
`medium, echoing the words of District
`Judge Stewart Dalzell, who, in his
`supporting opinion against
`the
`ConlfTIIJllicat.iOJIS r>e~~c~nc:y Ad., sni(l: "As
`Lhe Jno;.;t participatory fiJrrll of ma.ss
`speech yet developed, the Internet
`deserves the highest protection from
`governmental intrusion."
`Krug also reiterated the ALA
`guidelines which state that "only
`parents and legal guardians have the
`right and responsibility to restrict the
`access of their children- and only their
`children- to library resources."
`For more information call Bev
`Papai at 8101848-4301.
`Pat Newcombe is the reference
`librarian at Western New England
`College School of Law. E-mail:
`<pnewcombe@law.wnec.edu>.
`
`Schaumburg ToWTIShip Public library
`
`VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED
`Certain libraries forego software
`tools and risk full Internet access.
`According to Judith Krug, director of
`ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom,
`"the librarian's role is t.o bring reorle
`together with information, not keep it.
`from them." She believes filtering
`software is "contrary to what a library
`stands for, and is definitely not
`appropriate for a public library."
`In Evanston, the library's policy
`states, in part, that patrons use the
`Internet at their own discretion and that
`parents are expected to monitor its use
`by minors. Some libraries will not
`restrict access to any material based on
`the age of the borrower.
`Libraries such as Evanston, and
`advocates of unfettered access to the
`Web, feel, that the amount of indecent
`inaterial on the Web is exaggerated.
`"For some reason, people believe the
`Internet is
`
`Services at Evanston Public Library,
`feels that "by using filtering software,
`libraries are setting themselves up for
`liability, due to the presumed protection
`from graphic sites." Joyce Latham,
`director of library automation at the
`Chicago Public Library, agrees.
`"Libraries are vulnerable," she said. "We
`should not pursue strategies in the
`short-term that make us vulnerable in
`the long-term."
`Other libraries are less discrim(cid:173)
`inating about the use of blocking
`software. Michael Madden, director of
`Schaumburg Township District Library
`in Illinois, uses Cyber Patrol at all
`Internet stations in the library. He likes
`the software's flexibility. "You can
`unblock a specific site by overriding the
`program," he said.
`There is concern among many
`librarians that blocking software will
`prevent access to valuable information,
`leading to a form of censorship. Certain
`words can be targeted and blocked, but
`it's a hit-or-miss proposition. Earlier this
`year, SurfWatch, a filtering software,
`blocked access to the White House
`home page over the word "couple." The
`term was used in tillking about the
`Clinton and Gore families.
`Meanwhile, Schaumburg's library has
`been using Cyber Patrol for a few
`months, and Madden mentioned that a
`few inappropriate sites have come
`through. "It's not perfect," he said.
`
`BLUE COAT SYSTEMS - Exhibit 1041 Page 3