When it comes to library security, there are many things to consider. Physical security measures, such as RFID tags and security cameras, are a must in today’s world for libraries to ensure that they will remain a safe environment. They must also remain safe online as well, and security needs to be enforced on all computers within a library to keep private information safe and secure, and also to protect users. Internet filtering is a more complex concept to consider, however, and goes beyond simply keeping users safe. It can often be difficult to pinpoint what should or shouldn’t be blocked, and it is this decision that can impact one of the public libraries’ most important missions: the right to intellectual freedom.
Using Academic Search Premier and the search term “libraries and filtering”, I found an article that discusses the impact of internet filtering software on public and school libraries in the March 2013 issue of American Libraries entitled “Filtering and the First Amendment”, written by Deborah Caldwell-Stone.
In her article, Caldwell-Stone examines some cases concerning the Child Internet Protection Act (or CIPA) and how some libraries seemingly crossed the line on what they had blocked by filtering software on their public computers. Although the CIPA does require public libraries to block obscene content such as inappropriate images and child pornography, many of the libraries in the article had blocked websites containing controversial content such as tobacco use or pro-LGBT communities (Caldwell-Stone, 2013). Not only does this not conform to the public libraries paramount mission to uphold the First Amendment, but it is not even a requirement of CIPA.
CIPA was put into place several years ago in order to protect children using public computers from explicit and obscene images, not text, and although many public and school libraries are required to follow the regulations contained in CIPA in order to receive major discounts and grants for electronic resources, it seems that some have censored too much. To fix this, the author suggests that all libraries adopt and periodically review their internet filtering policy and keep it readily available so all staff members understand what is required (Caldwell-Stone, 2013). This will help libraries uphold both the requirements of CIPA and the freedom that the First Amendment allows and keep public libraries a safe and open learning environment.
References
Caldwell-Stone, D. (2013). Filtering and the First Amendment. American Libraries, 45(3/4), 58-61.
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