1 The strange case of Harry Potter and the invisible Marijuana Sarah Ormes UKOLN University of Bath Bath, BA2 7AY UKOLN is funded by the Library and Information Commission, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union.UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.

2 I will argue that filters don’t work and create a false sense of security the methods used to decide what is objectionable are unacceptable the focus should be on access rather than blocking filtering is censorship in one of its crudest forms and it has no place in any library.

3 Stories From the Web

4 Stories from the Web through a filter

5 Searching for ‘SXXXXhorpe’

6 Slipping through the Net (1)

7 Slipping through the Net (2)

8 So filters don’t always work They give a false sense of security They block out acceptable material They don’t block material they claim they will They are a ‘blanket’ solution What level of failure is acceptable?

9 So who decides what’s filtered? The ‘what’s acceptable’ lists are secret You don't know what morals the examiners for the company have You don't know whether they adhere to the stated categories or not Filters are typically produced by American companies for an American market

10 Job advert from a filtering company DESIRED EXPERIENCE/SKILLS:  Native level writing and reading skills in French (including Canadian French)  Excellent knowledge and use of search engines, including language-specific engines  Understanding of URL structure and/or HTML authoring  Interest in social issues surrounding the Web  Detail-oriented  Self-motivated and dedicated

11 What’s missing?  Information professional? Library background?  Experience in evaluating resources?  Training in selection techniques?  Knowledge of the National Curriculum?  Awareness of children’s information needs?

12 Libraries are about access (1) The job of the library is access, not endorsement The job of the library is to meet the information needs of their users The job of the library is not to decide what is illegal or objectionable

13 Libraries are about access (2) Librarians are not parents and cannot take on parental responsibilities but they can... accentuate the positive teach evaluation skills teach children how to be safe

14 What do filters teach children? They were wrong to seek that information They are unable to make their own decisions That they can only ask certain questions That libraries are about blocking rather than access

15 What do the children say? (1) “Education is about life, and anything you see on the Internet you could see in life. There is no need to censor kids. There’s no way to learn responsibility if no one will trust you enough to enter into what you want or need to see”. Jen

16 What do the children say? (2) “Blocking out certain things may seem okay, but I’d rather have access to all things online. Libraries don’t have the right to restrict kids from what they can and will do, but they can guide them in the right direction, encouraging them not to use inappropriate sites”. Cass

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18 References This presentation and relevant links are available at present/ You can me at Stories from the Web can be found at: stories/