The Internet and Public Libraries - Issues and Opportunities


The Internet and Public Libraries... Points of View

Access, Internet, and Public Libraries
Good discussion of censorship and filtering issues raised
http://www.scu.edu/SCU/Centers/Ethics/practicing/focuareas/technology/libraryaccess

Survey of Internet Access Management in Public Libraries
Contains interesting and important statistics for libraries
http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/gslis/research.internet.pdf

Internet Filtering in Public Libraries
Report (2/4/2000) from ALA on filtering in Public Libraries
http://www.ftrf.org/internetfilteringmemo.html

Purchase of Blocking Software by Public Libraries is Unconstitional
Controversial legal argument related to filtering in public libraries by Johnathan Wallace.
http://www.spectacle.org/cs/library.html

Guidelines and Considerations for Developing a Public Library Internet Use Policy
Niclely done website from ALA that covers a lot of the issues for public libraries
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/internet.html

Issues in Public Access to the Internet in Public Libraries
Bob Bocher, WI Division for Libraries and Community Learning, provides overview text and links related to Net access in public libraries. Good general resource.
http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/www/netissue.html

Talking to Your Board About the Internet
Librarian Sarah Weissman's short, but important essay (with links) that can help you start addressing IUPs with your library board. Hard-to-find information.
http://members.aol.com/saraweiss/access/ 


          
 Public Library 
            Internet Access... Legal Issues and Opinions

          American 
          Library Assn. CIPA Website

          Discussion of the legal ramifications of the Children's Internet Protection 
          Act.

          http://www.ala.org/cipa/  
          
 Children's 
            Internet Protection Act

            Text of the law.

            http://www.ifea.net/cipa.html 
          
 Filters 
            and the Public Library: A Legal and Policy Analysis

            Informative and lengthy discussion of the legal ramifications of filtering 
            for public libraries

            http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue2_12/minow/index.html 
            
          
 FindLaw 
            - Cyberspace Law

            Great list of links related to all sorts of online law issues

            http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/10cyberspace/ 
          
 IUPs 
            - Legal Analysis

            This legal analysis of K-12 IUPs by Nancy Willard, lawyer and technology 
            consultant, can provide a useful legal framework for board/staff discussions 
            and decisions when formulating a policy. Hard-to-find information.

            http://netizen.uoregon.edu/documents/leicontent.html 
          
 Legal 
            Issues of Internet Use

            Long list of links to sites about the Net and the law

            http://www.nursehealer.com/Law.htm 
          
 
          
Read More About 
            It...

          Cate, Fred. H. The 
          Internet and the First Amendment: Schools and Sexually Explicit Material. 
          Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa, 1998.  
          
 Peck, Robert 
            S. Libraries, The First Amendment, and Cyberspace. Chicago, 
            IL: ALA, 2000. 
          

          
Public Library 
            Internet Use Policies

          Internet 
          Use Policies... Questions to Consider

          Here are some questions you might want to discuss when reviewing your 
          library's IUP.

          http://www.iage.com/points.html  
          
 Patron 
            IUP Outline

            Here's a list of things to include in a patron IUP.

            http://www.iage.com/iup.html  
          
 Staff 
            IUP Outline

            Here's a list of things to include in a staff IUP.

            http://www.iage.com/staffpol.html 
          
 IUP 
            Role-Play Exercise for Public Library Staff

            Contains four roleplay exercises to get staff discussing various aspects 
            of enforcing and handing questions related to your library's IUP.

            http://www.iage.com/roleplay.html 
          
 Computer 
            Policy Collection

            Great searchable list of library IUPs

            htt://www.cuinfo.cornell.edu/CPL/Policies 
          
 IUP 
            Templates

            A number of useful templates, designed for K-12 use by lawyer and 
            technology consultant Nancy Willard. Also useful for PLs. Hard-to-find 
            information.

            http://netizen.uoregon.edu/publications.html 
          
 Kids 
            and the Internet: The Promise and the Perils

            Brief document from the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and 
            Information Science on Internet Use Policies

            http://www.nclis.gov/info/kids2.html 
          
 
          
Read More About 
            It... 

          Smith, Mark. Neal-Schuman 
          Internet Policy Handbook for Libraries. New York: Neal-Schuman, 
          1999.  
          

          
Internet Safety 
            and Filtering Software 

          The 
          Internet Filter Assessment Project (TIFAP)

          The purpose of the project was to take a critical look at Internet content 
          filters from a librarian's point of view. It was a volunteer effort 
          involving almost 40 librarians and was managed by Karen G. Schneider. 
          Good reviews and comparisons.

          http://www.bluehighways.com/tifap/  
          
 Understand 
            Software that Blocks Internet Sites

            Explains briefly how the different software works... written for librarians

            http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/~lchampel/netadv4.html 
          
 Filters 
            and Filtering

            ALA website that contains lots of information on filtering in libraries 
            from the ALA perspective

            http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/filtersandfiltering.html 
          
 ALA 
            Resolution on the Use of Filtering Software in Libraries

            ALA's resolution of July 2, 1997 that affirmed that using filtering 
            software in libraries to block access violates the Library Bill of 
            Rights. ALA's point of view.

            http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/filt_res.html 
          
 The 
            Censorware Project

            Website that explains how filtering and blocking software works

            http://www.censorware.net 
          
 Peacefire

            Site created by teens against Net censorship...well done

            http://www.peacefire.org 
          
 
          
Read More About 
            It...

          Internet Coach 
          for Net Safety (CD-ROM). Evanston, IL: APTE, 1998.  
          
 Internet Coach 
            for Net Safety-Teacher's Guide. Evanston, IL: APTE, 1998. 
          
 Schneider, Karen 
            G. A Practical Guide to Internet Filters. New York: Neal-Schuman, 
            1997. 
          

          
Information for 
            Parents and Children

          Child 
          Safety on the Information Superhighway

          Great pamphlet for parents

          http://www.missingkids.com/html/publications_list.html#Internet  
           
          
 GetNetWise

            Great site for parents explaing filtering and blocking issues and 
            products

            http://www.getnetwise.org 
          
 Safekids.Com

            Great site that explains simply about keeping kids safe on the Net

            http://www.safekids.com/ 
          
 The 
            Parent's Guide to the Information Superhighway

            Great guide that provides parents with the information they neeed 
            (also available in Spanish)

            http://www.childrenspartnership.org/bbar/pbpg.html 
          
 FilterReview.com

            Reviews of filters for parents

            http://www.filterreview.com/reviews.asp 
          
 Teen 
            Safety on the Information Superhighway

            Nice pamplet designed for teens

            http://www.missingkids.com/html/publications_list.html#Internet 
            
          
 
          
Read More About 
            It...

          Lawler, Jennifer. 
          Cyberdanger and Internet Safety : A Hot Issue. Berkeley Heights, 
          NJ: Enslow, 2000. (a book for teens)  
          
 Magid, Lawrence. 
            Child Safety on the Information Superhighway. Alexandria, VA: 
            National Center for Missing & Exploited Chidren, 1998. Available in 
            English and Spanish. (also available online) 
          
 Magid, Lawrence. 
            Teen Safety on the Information Superhighway. National Center 
            for Missing and Exploited Children, 1998. Available in English and 
            Spanish. (also available online) 
          
 The Parent's 
            Guide to the Information Superhighway. Santa Monica, CA: The Children's 
            Partnership, 1998. (also available online) 
          
 Play it Safe 
            on the Internet: An educational activities book. Flushing NY: 
            Positive Promotions, 1999. (a nice pamphlet for elementary kids) 
          

          
Evaluating Web-Based 
            Infomation

          Bibliography 
          on Evaluating Internet Resources

          Nicole Auer, from Virginia Tech, has created one of the best bibliographies/webographies 
          on how to evaluate Web-based resources. It is kept up to date. Very 
          complete.

          http://www.lib.vt.edu/research/libinst/evalbiblio.html   
          
 
          
Read More About 
            It...

          Alexander, Janet 
          and Marsha Tate. Web Wisdom: How to Evaluate and Create Information 
          Quality on the Web. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1999.  
          
 Cooke, Allison. 
            Neal-Schuman Authoritative Guide to Evaluating Information on the 
            Internet. New York: Neal-Schuman, 1999. 
          
 Schrock, Kathleen. 
            Evaluating Internet Web Sites: An Educator's Guide. Manhattan, 
            KS: The Master Teachers, 1998. 
          

          
Personal Privacy 
            and Computer Security Issues

          Privacy 
          on the Internet: What Can Others Learn About You?

          A short description of Intenet privacy issues. Contains valuable links. 
          Written by Walt Howe and Delphi Internet Services. Good introduction.

          http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/privacy.html   
          
 Computer 
            Viruses

            Nice brief tutorial on virus safety, from the Infopeople Project

            http://www.infopeople.org/Security/viruses.html 
          
 Public 
            Access Computer Security

            This site, created by California's InfoPeople Project, helps you uderstand 
            the Windows security issues for public access computers. Hard-to-find 
            information.

            http://lib.berkeley.edu:8000/Security/ 
          
 Setting 
            up a Public Access Computer Using Windows NT

            Library-based document explaining how to secure patron computers in 
            public libraries

            http://www.scpl.org/publicnt/ 
          
 
          
Read More About 
            It...

          Benson, Allen. Securing 
          Library PCs and Data: A Handbook with Menuing, Anti-Virus, and other 
          Protective Software. New York: Neal-Schuman, 1998.