THE PUBLIC LIBRARY AND THE INTERNET

CONNECTING PAINLESSLY

Searching for ways to allow access to the Internet
without upsetting everyone.

MARY LYNN SAXTON
RESEARCH PROJECT
SLIS 5320.001
SPRING 1997
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
DR. SAM HASTINGS

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY AND THE INTERNET

I. INTRODUCTION

Public libraries have a long tradition of providing the community with information necessary to the public. The Internet is a wonderful tool for public libraries. However, many communities are expressing concern about connecting to the Internet for a variety of reasons. Citizens who pay taxes to support the public library are worried about the exposure of children and the easily influenced to the less desirable and even illegal areas that this free and open public forum allows. City government legal departments are worried about sexual harassment lawsuits over unwanted indecent exposure to both patrons and staff. Unregulated expressions of ugliness are protected by freedom of speech - but are public libraries bound by duty to allow total access?

The National Information Infrastructure was mandated by the State of the Union Address by President Clinton January 25, 1994. The policy of the NII is stated as:

The public library is present in every community.

The public library is a global institution with local orientation.

The public library is a gathering place.

The public library provides a context for understanding information.

Librarians are our public information navigators.

The public library has proven adaptable to changing needs and resources.

The public library is therefore the logical place to house the NII. "The NII is 'more than a computer terminal'" - it is necessary technology for universal citizen access. ( "The Public Library and the National Information Infrastructure".)

But are public libraries responsible to provide access to information that is also considered sleazy by community standards? Nudity, foul language, hate speech, murder, mayhem, sedition, exploitation, instructions for weapons, bombs, and suicide are all available along with the many helpful and wonderful sites on the Internet. Many of these sites cannot be restricted, but some sites have been found to be illegal under current laws and lawbreakers have been arrested. Recently, a man operating an Internet page for pornography was arrested for posting "kiddie porn", photographs exploiting children as sex objects. This was a violation of federal law. (Alaniz, Dallas Morning News, 19 February 1997. ) The US Postal Service recently had a case of hate speech posted on its Internet site by employees. ("Racist electronic message..."Nando.net, 18 March 1997.) And the Center for Media Education has stated concerns about sites that entice children and minors to consider alcohol and tobacco products. (CME, "Web of Deception", 1996, and " New Report Documents...", 6 March 1997.) An article in US News and World Report said of alcohol and tobacco-related sites: "such glitzy, interactive attractions represent more than just shrewd marketing. They are potent - and possibly unlawful - promotions that 'seem to invite underage youth to play in this playground' where smoking and drinking are considered cool." (Lord, p16.)

Many communities may find their laws broken by the interstate Internet, laws that restrict minors from alcohol and tobacco, laws that restrict gaming such as bingo and lotteries. Indeed, with a global village mentality, communities may find their laws usurped by the federal or global level laws that will prevail on an unrestricted Internet.

The Supreme Court is currently considering the issue, with a court case heard on March 19, 1997. Both sides of the issue are mounting fierce vocal arguments. Janet Reno, on behalf of the Clinton Justice Department, has filed a brief stating the Executive Branch position on the issue, that states " ."

The ACLU has taken sides, stating that the CDA is"gagging free speech on the Internet," and that legitimate sites that have sexual education information would be unduly censored.("Why We are Challenging...")

With all the arguments in full boil, the Supreme Court will not state an opinion on the case until June or July of 1997. All sides wait and argue until then.

The current controversy was ignited by the Congress passing a law, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as a result of the State of the Union Address of January 25, 1994. President Clinton urged the nation to look forward to the future and develop a system to move the United States into the next century as global leaders in the telecommunications field. The President assigned Vice - President Al Gore to head up a national task force, called the Information Infrastructure Task Force. This task force is to outline the structure for a National Information Infrastructure, the NII. Congress also acted on the State of the Union call for an advance telecommunication system by voting into law the Telecommunications Act in February of 1996. Inside the document were two very controversial issues that worried the public libraries: The Communications Decency Act and the Universal Service Provision.

The Communications Decency Act, in the Title V section of the TCA, proclaimed that obscenity and violence could not be transferred over the Internet. But what exactly is obscene? This and other vague wording caused public libraries and lawyers to scramble to both act and interpret the proclamation. Many journals, online and in print, provided guidelines on how to implement the CDA, while the legal authorities struggled with interpretation. In 1996, two courts, in Philadelphia and in New York, proclaimed the CDA unconstitutional, which sent the CDA to the Supreme Court.

The Universal Service part of the TCA provides for lower costs for public libraries and public schools, and at the same time mandates that these be connected up by a certain date. This section was less controversial and less challenged, and yet will be no easier to implement.

II. COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND SELECTION POLICY

"What does equal access mean on the Internet? Librarians have always exerted control over which books to buy, where to shelve them, how to catalog them, what to keep off open stacks. Should librarians exert any control over which sites are reached on the Internet, and by whom, and for how long? Will libraries "buy"every Internet address when they've never bought every book?" - Sally Tisdale

Currently, a public library collection reflects the needs of the community where it is located. Library professionals select materials for the library collection based on a knowledge of the community served and of the needs of a well-balanced collection. Without exception, the collection will be a compromise of community standards and professional judgements. Patrons can recommend both that certain items be included and certain items be excluded. These recommendations are subject to review by the library board and professional staff. Public libraries have policy statements with many safeguards in place to ensure that undue censorship does not occur.

The Internet expands the library collection beyond the community, including places that citizens might consider inappropriate for their community. Currently, many public libraries do not carry triple - x - rated magazines or videotapes for use by their patrons. These are now available online on the Internet. Many communities restrict alcohol and tobacco advertisements for minors. These are also available online. The age of minors is different from community to community, state to state. Fifteen year olds may drive legally in Colorado, but not in New Jersey, where the age to legally drive is seventeen.

In a briefing paper, Jonathan Wallace explains that "a library installing computers with full Internet access has, in effect, acquired the entire contents of the Internet." (Wallace, p2.) No citizen of the United States wants censorship. But there are precedents for restricting access to certain materials.

The FCC regulates content on the broadcast media. This system is based on the work of Dr. Donald F. Roberts of Stanford University. It is called the Recreational Software Advisory Council Rating System. Microsoft users have the built-in option of using this system with protective passwords. The content is rated for language, nudity, violence, and sex. Certain hours on television are regulated as to content because of the possibility of children watching at that time. The FCC believes later nighttime hours can be used for adult content because it is generally thought that children are asleep in the later hours. Attorney General Janet Reno used this argument in the brief before the Supreme Court as a precedent to regulating the content of the Internet. Also in the brief was stated that parents who are worried about indecent or inappropriate material being accessed might refuse to use the Internet on this basis. The Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau is concerned with the possible transfer of illegal information on the Internet. Of special interest is the possible exposure of children to sites that could potentially harm them, such as enticements to use illegal substances or materials, and instructions for obtaining or constructing weapons or bombs.

The American Library Association has had a long history of addressing the issue of censorship. Guidelines are given for collection development and selection of materials, and the rights of patrons to access those materials. ALA policy on the issue of access is stated in 53.1.11 of the Diversity in Collection Development:

Access to all materials legally obtainable should be assured to the user and policies should not unjustly exclude materials even if offensive to the librarian or the user. (Bopp, p253.)

While this seem s to state that all material should be made available, this statement does not imply that all material is of equal value. Professional librarians make decisions about what materials to include in the collection in a selection process. The key statement to consider is what is "legally obtainable". Since what is legal does vary some from community to community, this creates a problem when the Internet allows access across communities. This will become a apparent when community laws prohibiting certain areas are allowed into the community via the Internet. Again, the age of legally driving, legally drinking, legally marrying, and a variety of other legal age limits vary from state to state, and from country to country.

The IPL staff has said"censorship is bad - selection is good...You don't want to censor material, but there may be material that's not applicable for your collection." (Internet Public Library, p58.)

But on the other side of the issue, Wallace states "the public library is a branch of government, and therefore subject to First Amendment rules. While libraries have discretion in determining what materials to acquire, the First Amendment prevents government from removing materials from library shelves based on official disapproval of content." (Wallace, p1.)

So if a library acquires the Internet, is the whole package included? Is exclusion of parts of the Internet then censorship?

III. FIXES

Many ideas have been suggested to cope with the problems of exposure on the Internet. Libraries and schools, mandated by the NII to provide public access to the Internet, have adopted these as a way to alleviate the reluctance and unease on the part of their taxpayers.

To allow access and yet not be held responsible, many public and public school libraries have adopted AUPs, Acceptable Use Policies, which they hope will alleviate the lawsuits, not regulate what the minor patron accesses. These policies put the responsibility for restricting access on the parents, by having parents sign a legal recognition of what total unrestricted access means.

These policies can result in CYA, Cover Your Assets, for libraries, but cannot possible alleviate the concerns of the public over indecent exposure of materials to themselves or to others in a public gathering place.

Blocking and filtering are sometimes used synonymously and yet could be considered two different approaches. Blocking is simple computer software that looks for certain key phrases in the address of an Internet site and restricts access to those places that advertise sex, nudity, nakedness, whatever. Filtering is described by Wallace as a trained professional librarian looking at each site and deeming its value. (Wallace, p2.)

Blocking is objected to as a way to keep legitimate places censored, as in the case of abortion providers, etc. Many organizations object to blocking. The ACLU is particularly vocal about blocking, concerned that they are going to be blocked because of their political beliefs. The ACLU brought a lawsuit against the CDA in a Philadelphia court which declared the CDA as unconstitutional and sent the whole issue before the Supreme Court.

Filtering is also objected to as unconstitutional, The title of an article about the Austin Public Library's decision to use filters is"Library censors Internet. But filtering software called unconstitutional." (Moreno, p46A.) Wallace, who disagrees with blocking software, sees filtering by a professional librarian as acceptable:

"Libraries certainly are not required by the First Amendment to grant users access to the Internet. A library might, by contrast, decide only give access to sites pre-screened by the librarian. This act of screening sites and then adding them to a list of sites accessible from the library's computers would be analogous to the process followed in deciding what books or periodicals to order, and would be undoubtedly constitutional." (Wallace, p2.)

But the idea that any library professional could take time out of their already busy day to filter the possible thousands of sites for suitability for their patrons is unreasonable and most likely beyond the ability of human effort, considering the size and scope of the Internet.

Both of these Internet screeners, blocking and filtering, have their drawbacks, and yet are very attractive to the average library board trustee. The Austin Public Library and the Boston Public Library are using these systems to satisfy their public.

Perhaps a service could be designed that would please both sides of the argument, to filter out the illegal sites and yet allow those sites that are controversial but not illegal to continue to appear on the public access Internet.

Perhaps libraries could adopt a two-tier system, with some computers having full access and others having the blocking or filtering software, along with AUPs for using either type of Internet access.

Ratings have been suggested as an answer to the controversy over access. Based on the system in use for motion pictures, the sites could have voluntary compliance or could be rated by a separate entity. Content could be judged and graded. A system of ratings has been included in the Microsoft Explorer Internet software package.

Ratings could be used in public settings in conjunction with an AUP, to assure parents that their children were viewing suitable content.

Standards for the Internet have been suggested by a group called the Platform for Internet Content Selection. These standards would be voluntary compliance with what could be considered universally acceptable ideas of what is decency. These, of course, would be very hard to define.

Requiring payment has been suggested as a way to regulate use by minor. However, the many fallacies of this are easily apparent: minors can beg, borrow, or steal money or credit cards, and this would restrict access for the poor.

In conjunction with ratings, many organizations are pushing ribbon campaigns for free speech:

Blue - sponsored by the EFF, this ribbon is being placed on Internet sites to declare a Free Speech campaign.

Green - sponsored by the Christian publisher Zondervan, the green is for Responsibility in Free Speech, "my right to swing my arm stops at your nose."

Yellow - is for a Stop Spamming. An annoyance for anyone who uses email. However, no fix may be needed. The situation may be fixed even before the problem is fully understood.

WebTV has been purchased by the giant Microsoft. Many other systems of connecting up the Internet in every home, over existing telecommunications, lines are popping up like weeds. In "Weatherproofing a Great, Good Place", Steve Cisler states:

If access and equipment become so cheap, should the public library continue to provide Internet access, any more than we provide access to all television cable and broadcast channels in public areas, or to radio? What will the rationale be to continue to provide free access to widely available digital services, when most public libraries do not have free phones?

A great question that will be answered very quickly in today's amazing fast changing world.

IV. CONCLUSION

The Internet has caused many arguments over freedom of speech and expression. The Supreme Court will decide the issue of the Communications Decency Act in the summer of 1997. Until then, the level of concern is very high over the likely outcome of the decision and its impact on public libraries.

However, with technology changing at the incredible rate of speed that it has now achieved, I feel that by the time the Supreme Court has handed out their opinion, the techno wizards, reacting to public demands, will have created a wonderful, workable fix that will please us all, prudes and shameless alike.

V. LIST OF ACRONYMS USED

511 S.Ct. 96 Supreme Court Case over the constitutionality of the CDA

ACLU American Civil Liberties Union

ALA American Library Association

ATF Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms - Branch of Treasury Department

AUP Acceptable Use Policy - used by libraries for Internet access for CYA

CDA Communications Decency Act - Title V of the TCA

CDT Center for Democracy and Technology

CIEC Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition

CME Center for Media Education

com Internet domain tag for commercial site

CYA Cover Your Assets - lawsuit prevention technique

EdLiNC Education and Libraries Networks Coalition

edu Internet domain tag for educational site

EFF Electronic Freedom Foundation - Blue Ribbon Free Speech Campaign

EPIC Electronic Privacy Information Center

FCC Federal Communications Commission

gov Internet domain tag for governmental site

html hypertext markup language

http hypertext transfer protocol

IE Microsoft Internet Explorer

IITF Information Infrastructure Task Force - headed up by VP

IPL Internet Public Library

mil Internet domain tag for military site

NCLIS National Commission on Libraries and Information Science

NII National Information Infrastructure

NY New York - court case declared CDA unconstitutional

org Internet domain tag for organization site

PICS Platform for Internet Content Selection - standards on the Internet

RSAC Recreational Software Advisory Council - ratings system for the Internet

TCA Telecommunications Act of 1996

TX Texas

UNT University of North Texas

USP Universal Service Provision - part of the TCA

WebTV Internet connection over existing phone or cable lines to television set

WWW World Wide Web - Internet domain tag that may cease to be used soon

VI. IMPORTANT DATES

Telecommunications Act of 1996. Passed into US Law February 1996.

ACLU and ALA filed suit against the CDA in a Philadelphia court, February 26, 1996.

CDA declared unconstitutional by Philadelphia court, May 1996.

CDA declared unconstitutional by NY court, July 29, 1996.

Supreme Court heard the case of Reno v ACLU - March 19, 1997.

VII. WORKS CONSULTED

"ALA's response to the FCC(regarding Universal service)." Online publication by the ALA: http://www.ala.org/oitp/univserv.html.

Alaniz, Veronica. "Police raid shuts down Internet porn site in FW." The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: The Dallas Morning News, 19 February 1997. HF. P1A, 13A.

Bajarin, Tim. "PCs Invade the Living Room. Has the PC-cum-TV arrived?" Computer Currents. Dallas/Fort Worth: Power Media Group, Inc., November 1996. P12.

Anderson, A.J. How Do You Manage? Case Study:"Minor Altercation on the World Wide Web." Library Journal. Chicago: ALA, 1 June 1996. P68, 70.

Berry, John N. Editorial:"The Future is Here." Library Journal. Chicago: ALA, January 1997. P6.

Bocher, Bob. "Examples of Library Home Pages." A Public Librarian's Guide to Internet Access. Madison, WI: WI Department of Public Instruction: State Division for Libraries and Community Learning, 1997. Online publication: http://www.inil.com/users/caingram/ci_exmpl.htm.

Bocher, Bob. "Information on 1996 Federal Telecommunications Act." A Public Librarian's Guide to Internet Access. Madison, WI: WI Department of Public Instruction: State Division for Libraries and Community Learning, 1997. Online publication: http://www.inil.com/users/caingram/ci_index.htm.

Bopp, Richard E. and Linda C. Smith. Reference and Information Services. 2nd edition. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. P253.

Carrollton Public Library. "Library Internet Access Policy." In-house publication of the Carrollton Public Library, Carrollton, TX.

Center for Media Education. "New Report Documents Threats to Youth from Alcohol and Tobacco Web Sites." Washington, D.C.: CME, 6 March 1997. Online publication: http://tap.epn.org/cme/pr970306.html.

Center for Media Education. "Web of Deception: Threats to Children from Online Marketing." Washington, D.C.: CME, 1996. Online publication: http://epn.org/cme/cmwdecov.html.

Champelli, L. "Understand Software that Block Internet Sites and Related Censorship and Safety Issues." The Internet Advocate, 19 March 1997. Online publication: http://www.spectacle.org/cs/library.html.

Chepesiuk, Ron. "The Future is Here: America's Libraries Go Digital." American Libraries. Chicago: ALA, January 1997. P47-49.

Cisler, Steve. "Weatherproofing a Great, Good Place." American Libraries. Chicago: ALA, October 1996. P42-45.

Collins, Steven E. "Web66: A Fear of Rare and Mysterious Dangers." Web66. University of Minnesota. Online publication: http://web66.umn.edu/ramble/childsafety.html.

"Court to decide what is decency as it applies to the Internet." Nando.net. Washington, D.C.: Scripps Howard, 18 March 1997. Online publication: http://www.nando.net.

Cox, Richard J. "Taking Sides on the Future of the Book." American Libraries. Chicago: ALA, February 1997. P52-55.

"Exon issues statement on court ruling on Decency Act." Nando.net. Washington, D.C.: Scripps Howard, 12 June 1996. Online publication: http://www.nando.net.

"Internet Public Library: Same Metaphors, New Service." American Libraries. Chicago: ALA, February 1997. P56-59.

Intner, Shelia S. and Jorge R. Schement. "The Ethics of Free Service." Library Journal. Volume 112. Chicago: ALA, 1 October 1987. P50-52.

Jackson, David. "Justices voice concerns over Internet law. Free speech, protecting kids vital issues in decency case." The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: The Dallas Morning News, 20 March 1997. H. P1A, 12A.

Lord, Mary. "Policing the 'playground'." U.S. News & World Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. News & World Report, 17 March 1997. Volume 122/Number 10. P16.

Magid, Lawrence J. "The Rights of Parents in the Digital Age. Parental control is not censorship." Computer Currents. Dallas/Fort Worth: Power Media Group, Inc., November 1996. P30-31.

McClure, Charles R., John Carlo Bertot, John C. Beachboard. "Policy Initiatives and Strategies for Enhancing the Role of Public Libraries in the National Information Infrastructure." The National Science Foundation. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University, 22 May 1995. Online publication: http://istweb.syr.edu/Project/Faculty/McClurePaper1.htm.

Miksa, Francis. " The Cultural Legacy of the 'Modern Library' for the Future." An address to the annual meeting of the Association for Library and Information Science Education. San Antonio, TX: ALISE, 17 January 1996. Online publication: franmiks@uts/cc/itexas/edu. Number 635.

Moreno, Sylvia. "Library censors Internet. But filtering software called unconstitutional." The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: The Dallas Morning News, 9 March 1997. P46A.

Nicholson Memorial Library System. "Materials Selection and Accessibility Policy." In-house publication of the Garland Public Library, Garland, TX.

Panetti, Dan. "Pulling the plug on Internet child porno." The Heritage. Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX: Dwyer, March 1997. P1, 40.

Piper & Marbury L.L.P. "Summary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996." Online publication; http://www.cix.or/Archive/1996/Governance/Policy/telecomm96.html.

"Racist electronic message sparks controversy." Nando.net. Washington, D.C.: Associated Press, 18 March 1997. Online publication: http://www.nando.net.

Retkwa, Rosalyn. "Safe Computing." Internet World. Volume 7/Number 9. September 1996. P49-58. Also available as online publication: http://www.internetworld.com/1996/09/safe.htm.

Schuler, Doug. "Public Space in Cyberspace." Internet World. December 1995. P89-92.

"Senator Exon press conference after Philadelphia ruling." Nando.net. Wednesday, 12 June 1996. Online publication: http://www.nando.net.

Stross, Randall E. "The cyber vice squad." U.S. News & World Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. News & World Report, 17 March 1997. Volume 122/Number10. P45-48.

"The Green Ribbon Campaign for Responsibility in Free Speech." Zondervan Publishing House, March 1997. Online publication: http://www.zondervan.com/green. htm.

"The Public Library and the National Information Infrastructure." Library FF. Online publication: http://www.lff.org/technology/libnii.html.

Tisdale, Sally. "Silence, Please." Harper's. March 1997. P65-74.

Wallace, Jonathan D. Briefing paper: "Purchase of Blocking Software by Public Libraries is Unconstitutional." The Internet Advocate. 19 March 1997. Online publication: http://www.spectacle.org/cs/library.html.

VIII. STYLE MANUAL CONSULTED

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 4th edition.

Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1994.