Internet Filters in School Libraries

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Internet Filters in School Libraries

• Michelle Colte
• LIS 670
• November 22, 2003

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Overview of Presentation

• Remembering Our Purpose
• Childrens Internet Protection Act and School
  Libraries
• Filtering in the Hawaii State Department of
  Education Schools
• The Librarians Role

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I. Remembering Our Purpose

• Schools are uniquely positioned to serve as the
  primary vehicle through which young people can
  develop the knowledge, skills, and motivation to
  use the internet in a safe, responsible, and
  effective manner
• Willard, Nancy. 2002 The Constitutionality and
  Advisability of the Use of Commercial Filtering
  Software in U.S. Public Schools

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Information Literacy Standards

• The student who is information literate
• Accesses information efficiently and effectively.
• Evaluates information critically and competently.
• Uses information accurately and creatively.

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Information Literacy Standards

• The student who is an independent learner
• Pursues information related to personal
  interests.
• Appreciates literature and other creative forms
  of expression.
• Strives for excellence in information seeking and
  knowledge generation.

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Information Literacy Standards

• The student who contributes positively to the
  learning community and to the society is
  information literate and
• Recognizes the importance of information to a
  democratic society.
• Practices an ethical behavior in regard to
  information and information technology.
• Participates effectively in groups to pursue and
  generate information.

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II. CIPA and School Libraries

• Childrens Internet Protection Act passed by
  Congress in October 2000.
• In August 2002, the National Academies released
  Youth, Pornography and the Internet which found
  that there are no silver bullets to protect
  children from unsafe material online.
• U.S. Department of Commerce, National
  Telecommunications and Information
  Administration. 2003. Children's Internet
  Protection Act Study of Technology Protection
  Measures in Section 1703-Report to Congress.
  August.

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Common Filtering Tools

• Word blocking
• Blocks web pages against a list of keywords
• Site blocking
• Matches web pages against a list of predetermined
  sites.
• Server-side filtering
• Denies access to particular content
• Client-side filtering
• Prohibits downloading certain content sources
  identified by the user (the school)
• Monitoring and time-limiting technologies

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Constitutionality?

• School libraries do not have the same legal
  standing as public libraries do. (See Schools
  and CIPA online at ala.org)
• School libraries are not the direct recipients of
  funds under the Library Services and Technology
  Act.

• Under CIPA, every school that receives certain
  federal funds or discounts must install a
  technology protection measure such as Internet
  blocking software to block student access to
  obscenity, child pornography orcontent that is
  harmful to minors.
• Online Policy Group and the Electronic Freedom
  Foundation. 2003. Internet Blocking in Public
  Schools A Study on Internet Access in
  Educational Institutions. (June).

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III. Filtering in the Hawaii State Department of
Education Schools

• The Network Support Services Branch
• http//nssb.k12.hi.us/contentfiltering.html
• Links to Websense
• Acceptable Use Policy Guidelines
• Troubleshooting
• Links to DOE schools websites.

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Sites the DOE blocks

• Adult content
• Drugs
• Entertainment
• Gambling
• Illegal/questionable
• Criminal Activity
• Internet Technology

• Internet Communication
• Militancy/Extremist
• Racism/Hate
• Non-traditional Religions
• Tasteless
• Violence
• Weapons

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A Side Note

• According to the article in Consumer Reports
  Digital Chaperones for Kids March 2001, at
  least two of the filters they tested blocked each
  of these sites
• www.lesbian.org
• www.nida.nih.gov
• www.splcenter.org
• www.sxetc.org
• The DOE filter does not block any of these sites.

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Good sites

• Sites I was able to access via our schools
  computer
• The Breast Cancer Site
• http//www.thebreastcancersite.com/cgi-bin/WebObje
  cts/CTDSites
• Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
• http//www.glaad.org/
• Dr. Gregory M. Hereks homesite.
• http//psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/index.html

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Oops!

• Sites I should not have been able to access
  according to the DOEs filtering
• Adult contentgraphic sexuality
  http//www.big--breast.us/
• (Warning this site if it were a movie would be
  rated X.)
• Hate site http//www.godhatesfags.com/main/shepa
  rd_monument.html
• Weapons http//www.rimfiresports.com/merchant.mv
  ?srcoverture

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IV. The School Librarians Role

• Create and/or uphold the Acceptable Use Policy.
• Monitor the computer use in the librarys
  computer center.
• Teach students how to use the internet safely
  and how to evaluate websites.
• http//lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html

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Direct students to reputable sites

• EBSCO http//search.epnet.com
• World Book Online http//www.worldbookonline.co
  m/
• Yahooligans! http//www.yahooligans.com
• Searchopolis http//www.searchopolis.com
• Create web portals for students to begin their
  research http//www.kaimukihs.k12.hi.us/ .

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Advocate For Your Library

• Seek opportunities to talk about your librarys
  Internet Use Policies.
• Create displays of books and materials related to
  the Internet.
• Publish search strategies and recommended
  websites in the parent newsletter.

• Encourage students to share recommended sites to
  the library staff.
• Promote information literacy with teachers and
  students.
• From Advocate For Your Librarys Policies
  Visit www.ala.org for their Libraries and the
  Internet Toolkit Tips and guidance for managing
  and communicating about the Internet

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Monitor the filtering

• Alter the settings on your local computers to
  block or unblock a site.
• For DOE teachers, inform Websense of a site that
  should be blocked or unblocked.

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Blocking or Unblocking a Site

• Contact Websense to block or unblock a site
  http//www.websense.com/suggestachange/urls.cfm
• Contact NSSB (A site they recently blocked that
  does not fit under the Web content blocking
  criteria http//www.AsianAvenue.com)
• Change the settings on your local computers.

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Further Reading

• Curry, An and Ken Haycock. 2001. "Filtered or
  Unfiltered?" School Library Journal. 47
  (January) 42-47.
• Online Policy Group and the Electronic Freedom
  Foundation. 2003. Internet Blocking in Public
  Schools A Study on Internet Access in
  Educational Institutions. (June).
• U.S. Department of Commerce, National
  Telecommunications and Information
  Administration. 2003. Children's Internet
  Protection Act Study of Technology Protection
  Measures in Section 1703- Report to Congress.
  August.
• Willard, Nancy. 2002. Filtering the Internet.
  Education Week. 21 (March) 36, 39.