no cure for curiosity.

So, this guy maintains that public librarians are lying when they say that they cannot keep porn out of the libraries. Because of CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) and U.S. vs ALA, it is not a violation of First Amendment rights to put internet filters on the computers in the library.

However, I see this as problematic. I understand his argument - based on the selection process that librarians use for books, then clearly we should be able to use that same selection process for Internet websites. But filters themselves can be problematic - it would be better if we could filter out site by site, but we can’t. New sites pop up every day. And by blocking one porn site, we could in effect be blocking another normal website. Something that could have useful or valuable information on it. It happens. It’s why I don’t use the safesearch option on Google, because it will block out potentially useful sites in my searches. Filters are not perfect, and I think that is why so many librarians are reluctant to employ them.

I don’t think that the library should be a place to view porn, but I don’t agree with this argument either. In accordance with US vs ALA, librarians are required to remove the filter upon the patron’s request. Also, these rules are applicable only to those libraries receiving special E-rate funding, so libraries that aren’t getting that kind of funding can do whatever they want. Not all of the libraries are eligible under CIPA. So that in itself is a problem.

And what about people who bring in their own computers or magazines??

Also, is it me or does it seem as though all these articles are making the ALA sound like a group of porn-pushers? I think the ALA can be problematic but I don’t think they want everyone to look at porn…

Was linked to this lj post through Neil Gaiman’s twitter. It’s a good read.

How many of these people do you think have access to an ebook reader?

I grew up so far below the poverty line that you couldn’t see it from my window, no matter how clear the day was. My bedroom was an ocean of books. Almost all of them were acquired second-hand, through used bookstores, garage sales, flea markets, and library booksales, which I viewed as being just this side of Heaven itself. There are still used book dealers in the Bay Area who remember me patiently paying off a tattered paperback a nickel at a time, because that was what I could afford. If books had required having access to a piece of technology—even a “cheap” piece of technology—I would never have been able to get them. That up-front cost would have put them out of my reach forever.

Some people have proposed a free reader program aimed at low-income families, to try to get the technology out there. Unfortunately, this doesn’t account for the secondary costs. Can you guarantee reliable internet? Can you find a way to let people afford what will always be, essentially, brand new books, rather that second- or even third-hand books, reduced in price after being worn to the point of nearly falling apart? And can you find a way to completely destroy—I mean, destroy—the resale market for those devices?

While this article’s main focus is on Buffalo libraries, the issues it covers are experienced by libraries all over. It’s a good article that discusses changing trends.

(ps screw chris collins! couldn’t resist, sorry)