Questionable Internet Sites

[Shonda L Brisco <bshonda@OKSTATE.EDU>]

My first reaction to this situation is that NO librarian can possibly keep
up with all the changes being made to website materials, so for an
administrator (or any person) to ask that the librarian not purchase any
books with URLs in them is a bit unreasonable.  There are many textbooks,
as well as recreational reading, that offer website addresses to "learn
more about the subject" covered in a book or a chapter.  Because many
websites are placed on the web with advertisements  (see Britannica's
example), it seems unlikely that all URLs will be kept "clean and pure" for
children.

As a parent, I understand the situation; however, parental supervision is
obviously the primary responsibility here.  If a book is objectionable,
libraries have proper procedures in place to handle these situations when a
parent complains.   However, because libraries are completely intertwined
between paper and electronic formats, it seems that parents and
administrators still want "someone" to be responsible for the actions of
others who are providing controversial materials throughout our electronic
educational mediums.

"Throwing the baby out with the bath water" is my opinion of not purchasing
materials with URLs in them.  If reviewing every item that provides a URL
isn't wasting enough of your time, then perhaps checking back each month to
evaluate who has "sold out to whom...." or "become involved in a corporate
merger" and have changed their webpages to reflect such changes, will
definitely drive you crazy!

Perhaps providing students and their parents with courses in evaluating
websites and how to determine what is good or bad when surfing the Net is a
better tactic.  In addition, providing parents with information about the
changing world of the Web, as well as ways to help their children find and
use materials that are good for them is the best way to put the
responsibility back where it belongs....with the parents.  If all else
fails, providing a "warning label" on compilations of websites (books that
are resources to resources on the Web) may be the only way to make everyone
happy without eliminating the educational medium that we are now involved
with daily.

Become proactive in this situation and make it a learning experience for
everyone.  Make sure that everyone realizes that in today's changing
electronic formats that you cannot (nor will you ever be able to) keep up
with what things are being made available on the Web.  However, eliminating
anything associated with it will only hinder the education process for
everyone involved.  There is a better way when we all work together!  I
hope you can find it!

Good luck!

Shonda Brisco
Assistant Professor

Mary L. Williams Curriculum Materials Library
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK
bshonda@okstate.edu

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