Gen: Playboy and Censorship the Public Library

[jocelyn shannon <jshannon@LAUSD.K12.CA.US>]

  How does the public library handle it without an Acceptable Use Policy?
I posed the question to a friend in Colorado and received this in
response.


Jocelyn G. Shannon                        Voice: (213)296-7120 X288
Library Media Teacher(Cyberian!)          E-mail:jshannon@lausd.k12.ca.us
Dorsey High School                          <or>   CAJGS@aol.com
3537 Farmdale Ave.                        Fax: (310) 215-9607   <home>
Los Angeles, CA 90016                     Fax: (213) 298-8501 <work>




---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 12:31:32 -0800
From: lstara@colosys.net
To: jocelyn shannon <jshannon@lausd.k12.ca.us>
Subject: Re: LM_NET Digest - 2 Nov 1997 - Special issue (fwd)

Jocelyn -- feel free to post this to the list if you like.

This is the core question around which the Internet filtering debate
rages.  You will get as many opinions as you have librarians, but my
take is this:

Firstly, some public libraries do carry Playboy.  Not many, but some do
because it supposedly has worthwhile articles.  I must admit I have no
personal experience with said articles, but that's the rationale.

PLs do not carry Hustler and the like because the entire thrust (oops,
unfortunate word) of these publication are unsuitable for public
libraries.  In other words, they have no informational value in the eyes
of the library community.

The internet, however, is currently a package deal.  There is an
infinity of good content on the net.  Filtering software, as it exists
now, simply does not work.  It does not work for several reasons, the
most obvious being:

Automatic, or keyword-driven, software cannot filter all pornographic
sites, and it also cannot filter only pornographic sites.
*and*
The dynamic nature of the net makes it literally impossible for anyone
to find and mark all offensive sites.
*and*
Net-savvy users can always hack around filters anyway.

If the technology becomes capable of overcoming these problems, I for
one will be glad to install it.

Lauren Stara
Reference Librarian & Webmaster
Bud Werner Memorial Library
Steamboat Springs CO

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