ASSOCIATES (vol. 4, no. 1, July 1997) - associates.ucr.edu
*INFO FROM THE SUPERHIGHWAY* by Linda Putnam Senior Library technical Assistant One of the hottest topics in libraries today is public access to the Internet. You read about it in newspapers, magazines and newsgroups. You see discussions of it on library listservs, as well as listservs of interested users; it has been on all of the news programs and all of the news magazine programs. This discussion always goes hand in hand with a discussion of appropriate use of the Internet and the responsibility of libraries towards the use of their resources, especially as they influence the impressionable minds of the youth around the world. This particular column was inspired by a discussion on LIBSUP-L, the library paraprofessional listserv where the debate was long and intense. A few months after the discussion, there was a request from a library writing a policy on Internet use for any currently-existing library Internet policies. This issue has become very emotional because of its connection with discussions of censorship (to which libraries are traditionally opposed), what constitutes appropriate use of the Internet, and the controversial issue of priority use (priority use is the limiting of use by one patron because others deserve equal access). All of these issues are tied together in the public's mind and can give library employees some major headaches. As with every other column I have written, I have very strong opinions which come with my experiences, but this column is not an opinion column; it is a column designed to give you the resources to form your own opinions. Everyone has heard the discussions, debates, arguments, etc. dealing with the issue of proper use of the Internet in a public setting, but the personal views set out on a listserv or in an interview many times vary from official written library policy. Policy will also differ by type of library. Academic libraries will have different policies than public libraries who will have different policies than school libraries, but each will need to have their policies in writing before the work stations are open to the patrons. Having a written policy is the only way that the patrons will know where they stand. It is more than just the issue of free access versus censorship, because each community's makeup needs to be taken into account. Having a written policy will solve many problems before they start; as the issues arise, you can just point to the policy and say "I'm sorry but this is the library's policy". Below is a selection of the many policies which are on the web. I tried to find a cross section of types which will help the vast variety of libraries around the world. Good luck in your search for the perfect policy. http://www.flint.lib.mi.us/fpl/about/policies/netuse.html Flint Public Library WebStation Internet Use Policy ********************************** http://chiba.netxn.com/~kclib/disclaim.html Kern County Library Internet Use Policy and Guidelines *********************************** http://sparc.hpl.lib.tx.us/hpl/policy.html Houston Public Library Internet Use Policy and Guidelines ********************************** http://home.cyberave.com/~wisner/inetpol.htm Albert Wisner Public Library Internet Use Policy *********************************** http://inberkeley.ci.berkeley.ca.us/bpl/files/usepolcy.html Berkeley Public Library Internet Use Policy ************************************* http://cavern.uark.edu/comminfo/ifc/policies.html IFC: Library Policies Pointers to Collections of Library Policies ************************************** http://www.bubl.bath.ac.uk/BUBL/Library.html BUBL WWW Subject Tree. Library and Information Science. Contents: LIS resources located on BUBL LIS resources ... ************************************ http://www.grandeprairie.org/netuse.html Grande Prairie Public Library Internet Use Policy ************************************* http://www.sils.umich.edu/~slbailey/723/survey.html Youth: The Internet and Library Policy ************************************* http://www.capecod.net/fpl/policy.html Falmouth Public Library Internet Use Policy ************************************ http://birch.palni.edu/~mvillepl/aup.htm Mooresville Public Library Policies for Use of the Internet and Other Technology *************************************** http://www.sannet.gov/public-library/net/access.html San Diego Public Library - Internet Access Services **************************************** http://www.lib.lsu.edu/lib/policies/lpm25.txt Library Policies and Official Documentation ************************************** http://sjcpl.lib.in.us/homepage/reference/IntPolicy.html SJCPL's Internet Computer Station Use Policy ******************************************* http://www.benton.org/Library/KickStart/kick.communityresources.h tml#examples Resources for Communities ****************************************** http://www.ci.oswego.or.us/library/poli.htm The Lake Oswego Public Library: Public Library Internet Access Policies ************************************** http://skyways.lib.ks.us/kansas/nekls/policies/burlpoli.html Burlingame Community Library Computer Use Policies ************************************ http://www.rcls.org/libland/inter.htm#POLICY RCLS LibraryLand: Internet Librarianship: Internet Policies ************************************** http://www.leonline.com/itw/barclay.html Internet Trend Watch for Libraries: August 1996 Volume 1, Number 3 August 1996.The Barclay Law Library Intranet: A Case Study by Elmer R. Masters ************************************** http://www.burlco.lib.nj.us/policy.html Library Internet Access Policy ************************************** http://www.xnet.com/~bdale/inetpol.htm Internet Policies **************************************** http://www.lib.hel.fi/strategia/english/otsikko8.htm Internet Guidelines for the Helsinki City Library ******************************************* http://204.203.17.34/library/accepuse.htm Eugene Public Library Internet Public Access Center Acceptable Use Policies ******************************************* http://www.mhl.org/internet/access.htm Internet Access Policy Memorial Hall Library ******************************************** http://www.el-dorado.ca.us/~lib-pl/interacc.htm El Dorado County Library Network Access Page ***************************************** http://www.intac.com/~kgs/freedom/polmfrl.html Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library Internet Policy **************************************** http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~woernerc/home.html Christines Homepage This page is dedicated to the collection of resources on public libraries and the Internet. ************************************** http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/publib/USAUK1.htm A comparison of public library Internet connectivity in the USA and UK. ************************************* http://www.co.roanoke.va.us/POLICY.HTM Roanoke County Public Library Internet Access Policy & Use Guidelines ************************************ http://spinoza.pub-lib.ci.taylor.tx.us/0/taylorpl/policy.html Taylor Public Library Computer and Internet Usage Policies ************************************* http://www.willard.lib.mi.us/internet.htm Willard Public Library Internet Service Acceptable Use Policy ************************************** http://ukoln.bath.ac.uk/publib/lic.html Library and Information Commission Public Library Internet Survey **************************************** http://istweb.syr.edu/Project/Faculty/McClurePaper1.html Policy Initiatives and Strategies for Enhancing the Role of Public Libraries in the National Information Infrastructure *************************************** http://www.nclis.gov/info/fcc2.htm Findings from NCLIS studies of public libraries and the Internet ***************************************** http://trfn.clpgh.org/Internet/Policy/policies.html TRFN - Policies on the Internet *************************************** http://cpl.lib.uic.edu/003cpl/computer/guidelines.html Guidelines for Chicago Public Library Computer Use **************************************** http://www.csra.net/publib/usepol.htm East Central Georgia Regional Library - PeachNet/Internet Usage Policy **************************************** http://www.ultranet.com/~uptonlib/internet.html Upton Town Library Internet Access andAcceptable Use Policy ****************************************** http://www.laurens.public.lib.ga.us/usepol.htm Oconee Regional Library PeachNet/Internet Usage Policy ********************************************* http://enfo.com/MailLists/muni-l/0171.html Internet access policy concerns