Re: Marni's project/internet restriction

[Ken Umbach <kumbach@UNLIMITED.NET>]

Hi, again ... who claimed otherwise??  The ONLY references I have seen to
ALA are explicit as to ALA's flat rejection/condemnation of filtering software.

The point I *tried* to make (and that some seem not to grasp) is that this
position is inconsistent with the FACT that librarians DO "filter" by
selecting (and deselecting) the physical materials (books, magazines, etc.)
that go into (or stay in) their collections.  Librarians do not let just
anything flow into the library and go on the shelves.  (How many librarians
do not reflexively reject vanity press publications, to take a relatively
innocuous example?)  Yet they seem (as a group) panic stricken or offended
(or both) at the thought of similar selectivity and exercise of judgment
where a flow of digital material over the Internet is concerned.  The
difference seems to be that in the case of physical materials, the apparent
(publicly observed) choice is as to what to INCLUDE, while in the case of
Internet filtering, the apparent (publicly observed) choice is as to what to
EXCLUDE (plus the complicating factor that third parties have an often
obscure and imperfectly carried out role in that exclusion).

Regards,

Ken

>I'm coming into this discussion a little late because I haven't been
>on-line for two day, but there have been some misleading statements that
>have been made.  The American Library Association does not and I repeat
>does NOT affirm the use of filtering software in any library.
--
Kenneth W. Umbach, Ph.D., Policy Analyst
California Research Bureau, California State Library
900 N. Street, Suite 300, Sacramento, California 95814
E-mail: kumbach@unlimited.net (or kumbach@library.ca.gov)
Phone (voice) 916-653-6002 (fax) 916-654-5829
Personal Web page and selected papers: http://members.unlimited.net/~kumbach
This message reflects my opinion, not that of my employer or anyone else.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
To quit LM_NET (or set NOMAIL or DIGEST), Send an email message to
    listserv@listserv.syr.edu    In the message write EITHER:
 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
  * NOTE: Please allow time for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help & Archives see:  http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=