Changing Information Behaviours in a Time of Plenty

1. Changing Information Behaviours in a Time of Plenty Peter Brophy, Centre for Research in Library & Information Management, the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

2. Social impacts of digital libraries • Cultural differences between US and UK • Freedom of information • Access • pornography? • Professional rhetoric versus community concern • In an information society where does responsibility lie? • will we be Oppenheimers in a new Manhattan project? • "I have become Death; the destroyer of worlds."

3. In a post-September 11th Information Society • What is • ethical? • acceptable? • achievable? information behaviour • and who decides?

4. Theory #1 • “The function of a library or information service is to provide, as far as resources allow, all publicly available information in which its users claim legitimate interest.” Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) Web site

5. “(CILIP) does not endorse the use of filtering software in libraries. The use of such software is inconsistent with the commitment or duty of a library or information service to provide all publicly available information in which its users claim legitimate interest. Access to information should not be restricted except as required by law.” CILIP Web site Theory #2

6. “The use in libraries of software filters to block constitutionally protected speech is inconsistent with the United States Constitution and federal law and may lead to legal exposure for the library and its governing authorities. The American Library Association affirms that the use of filtering software by libraries to block access to constitutionally protected speech violates the Library Bill of Rights.” ALA Theory #2

7. Theory #3 • “The use in libraries of software filters to block constitutionally protected speech is inconsistent with the United States Constitution and federal law and may lead to legal exposure for the library and its governing authorities. The American Library Association affirms that the use of filtering software by libraries to block access to constitutionally protected speech violates the Library Bill of Rights.” ALA

8. Library Bill of Rights IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

9. Legalities (USA) • “A two-week trial over library filtering ended Thursday with a trio of judges criticizing the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) as an unreasonable intrusion into the rights of Americans to view legal material online.” Wired News April 4th 2002

10. ‘Legalities’ - UK • “There is no specific requirement for UK online centres to have any type of filtering system. However, if you are a centre within a college or a library it may be that your ‘host’ organisation’s policy requires you to have some sort of filtering system. You will need to check this out with the network manager.” National Grid for Learning (NGfL) website (DfES)

11. ‘Legalities’ - UK (continued) • “If you do not have a ‘host’ organisation or your organisation does not require you to have a filtering system you will need to decide whether a filtering system is an appropriate tool to have within your centre. Filtering is one way of attempting to limit access to sites deemed unacceptable by a centre. Many centres feel that developing a culture of responsible use amongst their adult users is preferable tosoftware filtering and is itself part of the educational process. The section on 'Developing your Acceptable Use Policy' contained within this web site will help you to decide what is appropriate.” NGfL website (DfES)

12. Comment #1 • “Kids may not be safe in the local library because of policies that allow even children unrestricted access to pornography. That extreme policy flows out of the American Library Association (ALA), a private organization that has a virtual death grip on how many public libraries are run.” American Family Association

13. Comment #2 "FFL is a national grassroots network of concerned citizens, librarians and library trustees that believe in: 1. More common sense access policies to protect children from exposure to age-inappropriate materials without parental consent. 2. Return to policies placing libraries under maximum local control with more acknowledgment of taxpayer authority and community standards." Family Friendly Libraries (USA)

14. Comment #3 • Campaign Against Censorship in UK Public Libraries • “If you make use of free internet access in some public libraries in the UK you will find that you will be denied access to many perfectly legal and inoffensive websites. This attack on our civil liberties and intellectual freedom must be opposed and this website gives you the facts and suggests ways in which we can mount an effective campaign.” Anonymous site run by “citizen.smith@freeuk.com”

15. Practice #1 • “The Fulton County Public Library in Rochester, Indiana, not only cordons off sexually explicit material, but also bans websites that its filtering vendor has dubbed illegal or tasteless - or that relate to hacking, dating or real-time chat. David Ewick, the library's director, testified Wednesday that he has no problem shielding adult and minor patrons from material that's entirely legal and unlikely to offend anyone. …… Playboy magazine may sport well-researched articles about politics and culture, but it would be inappropriate for a library patron to read it in the building, said Ewick, who is also a member of the Rochester City Council. When an ALA attorney asked if the library would unblock Playboy.com for a patron at a public terminal, Ewick said he would not.”

16. Practice #2 • ‘We have acceptable use policy posters, leaflets, ….If we do catch anyone, they are banned from using Internet terminals for indefinite period. We have only had to do this 3 times, so far, and the ban lasted until they came and asked if we would lift it. Use is filtered for staff as well as public, as a matter of corporate policy, so trying to access worst sites gets an "Access Denied" message, though it is not 100% effective.’ Posting to PEOPLESNETWORK@JISCMAIL.AC.UK

17. “We are still putting together our PN2 bid and I would like to know what filtering software other public libraries are using? Do you filter on all machines, or only on children's access PCs, or do you have different levels?” Practice #3 Posting to PEOPLESNETWORK@JISCMAIL.AC.UK

18. Practice #4 • “we do not ban access to chat sites, unless the chat site is part of a site which falls foul of our corporate filter” Posting to PEOPLESNETWORK@JISCMAIL.AC.UK

19. “all Internet access from Worcestershire terminals (staff as well as public) goes through a blacklist filter (I think schools also go through a whitelist filter). The filter also logs terminal use with website accessed or tried to access, date, and time.” Practice #5 Posting to PEOPLESNETWORK@JISCMAIL.AC.UK

20. Practice #6 • “We have just expanded our IT provision, but already find that demand outstrips supply. We want to make sure that students who need to use the computers for their coursework are not edged out by timewasters. Can anyone recommend filtering software which will block out not just the porn, but also the games sites, the mobile phone jingles, (and) those flaming monkeys which take forever to remove from 40 PCs, etc.?” Posting to PEOPLESNETWORK@JISCMAIL.AC.UK

21. Practice #7 “Would be very grateful to receive any copies of filtering policies - especially for public library authorities - there are plenty of US versions on the net but seem to be very few UK ones. (For info/interest: we're planning to use WebSense with differing levels for Adult and Junior)” Posting to PEOPLESNETWORK@JISCMAIL.AC.UK

22. [Survey of which filtering software respondents would recommend] “About half the replies I received were heartfelt pleas to pass on any solutions which I discovered, so the problem is obviously widespread.” Practice #8 Posting to PEOPLESNETWORK@JISCMAIL.AC.UK

23. Higher Education Funding Council For England “MailSweeper for SMTP has blocked an incoming message because it caused a content filter rule to be triggered.” Practice #9 Top ten keywords entered in AV: • sex • nude • jpg • software • windows • adult • women • naked • erotic

24. Where have we come from? • D.J. Foskett (1962) • “The Creed of the Librarian: no politics, no religion, no morals” • ‘a librarian ought virtually to vanish as an individual person, except in so far as his personality sheds light on the working of the library.’

25. ‘Value neutral’ information professionals • Hauptmann (1975) • visited 13 libraries in the USA and asked for help in locating information on how to build a bomb • 12 provided the help requested • 1 refused • because he wasn’t registered as a user of that library!

26. Ethics is more than following the rules • “thinking that the rules that get followed exhaust the ethical content of the situation is an ugly trait that occurs in some of the worst forms of bureaucracy. When rules get disconnected from the consequences that result from following those rules, people can be very badly treated. Insisting that one’s obligation is merely to follow the rules leads one to see one’s ethical life as a life of avoiding the blame …… Our sole goal ought not to be morally blameless; we would also like to contribute to making better the lives of those around us and who share our communities. ” Wengert, 2001

27. Vulnerable societies(and we’re all vulnerable now) • May be threatened by information • which denies their values • which proselytises against their interests • which presents them as inferior or misguided • which assists those who would destroy them • Information is not value neutral ……

28. News reporting • In a recent research study of reporting of the conflict in Israel / Palestine • ALL BBC reports monitored took the Israeli view: • “the Israelis have carried out this demolition in retaliation for the murder of four soldiers” • NONE took the Palestinian view: • “the Palestinian attacks were in retaliation for the murder of those resisting the Israeli occupation (of Gaza)” University of Glasgow,Media Group(The Guardian 16.4.2002)

29. Questions - 2 • Is ‘value neutrality’ desirable? • Should anyone concerned with their communities stand aside and refuse to share their values? (And isn’t that value laden?) • In the UK library and information professionals appear to be voting with their feet and following COMMUNITY rather than PROFESSIONAL values • Or is total freedom of information a basic and inalienable human right?

30. Scenarios • How do you deal with these situations? • X comes to the reference desk and asks for help in finding information on how to make a bomb. • Y comes to the reference desk and says he needs help to find the Internet pages which demonstrate how to fly a Boeing 747 – not the take-off and landing bits though. • Z asks for information on the ‘real situation’ in Palestine • A doesn’t ask, but uses your Internet-based service to find all of the above. • AND you are not working in Edinburgh but in Jenin or Jerusalem …………

31. In a post-September 11th Information Society • What is • ethical? • acceptable? • achievable? information behaviour • and who decides?