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What does the future hold?

From BBC News: World Edition: "US teens 'reject' key freedoms --- A significant number of US high-school students regard their constitutional right to freedom of speech as excessive, according to a new survey."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4225013.stm

Thanks to Bill Murray for the following comment:

Maybe we need to look at what kind of event on First Amendment Rights would be attractive to young people. Include art, writing, photography, etc. Tough these days with all the time for CSAP but possibly doable.

Chrystie,
Here is an excerpt from Bob Bocher's excellent article on the requirements of CIPA:
"III. The Basic Requirements of CIPA and NCIPA

Q: What are the basic requirements of the law?


A: There are two basic requirements in the legislation. In brief they are:

1. A school or library must have some type of filter or blocking technology on all of its computers with Internet access. The filters must protect against access to certain visual depictions described in section III A below (CIPA requirement).

2. A school or library must have an Internet safety policy and hold a public meeting to review the policy. The policy must incorporate the criteria described in section III B below (NCIPA requirement).

....

Q: What must be included in our AUP to be in compliance with the law?

A: The CIPA section of the law says that a school or library must have an Internet safety policy in place and this policy must include the use of filters to protect against the access to the visual depictions outlawed in the act. The school's Internet policy must also indicate how it plans to monitor the Internet activities of minors. The law does not require this monitoring provision in the library's policy. Note: The law and FCC rules do not require the actual tracking of Internet use by minors or adults.

The N-CIPA section of the law is much more specific in its safety policy requirements. N-CIPA requires that schools and libraries participating in the E-Rate program adopt and implement an Internet safety policy that addresses:
1. Access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and the Web;
2. The safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications;
3. Unauthorized access, including so-called “hacking,” and other unlawful activities by minors online;
4. Unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal identification information regarding minors; and
5. Measures designed to restrict minors' access to materials harmful to minors.

The above five areas do not apply to the use of TLCF or LSTA funds that are subject to the other basic CIPA requirements (i.e., need for filtering and hold a public hearing).

The Internet Safety Policy must be adopted after holding at least one public hearing or meeting. (See the Public Meeting section below.)

Q: One of the requirements refers to access by minors to “inappropriate matter” and another refers to access to “materials harmful” to minors. What’s the difference?

A: The term “harmful to minors” is defined in CIPA and referenced previously in this FAQ. The definition of “inappropriate for minors” is to be made by the school or library board or administration. The law states specifically that the federal government is not to make any determination on what is, or is not, “inappropriate for minors.” "


If a library were to choose to block categories/materials that are not specifically illegal according to the Miller test would be putting itself into an interesting situation if an individual were to take exception to it.

-Joe

You can be sued anytime for almost anything in our country.... ala the hot cofee suit at McDonalds. It really depends on if someone withenough money is offended enough to want to spend it or an organization like the ACLU decides to defend 'our' rights.

The fact that adults could request that Internet filters in libraries be turned off was actually a critical consideration in the Supreme Court's ruling on CIPA. There was a fair amount of discussion by the justices on that fine point. Without that allowance, the abrogation of intellectual freedom is raised to a more Constitution-challenging level. It will be interesting to see if any First Amendment cases arise from the various interpretations of the CIPA decision.

Nicolle

I would be very interested in us figuring out what kinds of programs we could use to address the Bill of Rights in public and school libraries. If the public and school libraries could partner on this, it would lower the planning burden for both.

The programs could be based around the reading of particular books, such as The Misfits by Howe, Bless Me Ultima by Anaya, or a myriad of others. I also really like the idea of an arts program, to give teens a chance to express their right to express themselves! Anyone else interested in working on this?

mmc

Lafayette update.

From the Daily Camera (Boulder, CO):
<i>Internet filters test First Amendment: Librarians worry legitimate sites may be blocked</i>
By Kate Larsen, Camera Staff Writer
March 20, 2005

"Lafayette is the second Boulder County city to tackle the issue of filtering Internet content — and with the issue come First Amendment debates, budget concerns and questions about the intent of a new state law.

The City Council this week delayed a vote on the Lafayette Library Board's recommendation to not install filters on public computers, despite a state law passed last year requiring them. The council is waiting on more information about its legal options and filtering technology."

Complete story: http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/county_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2423_3636374,00.html

From ALA:
Resolution in Support of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Statement http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/ifresolutions/aaasresolution.htm

WHEREAS the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a fellow member of the Coalition on Government Information, seeks endorsement for its Statement on the Kansas State Board of Education Decision on the Education of Students in the Science of Evolution and Cosmology; and

WHEREAS the American Library Association (ALA) shares the concern of AAAS that "informed and responsible citizens in our increasingly technological world," will be jeopardized if "learning and inquiry are severely inhibited"; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the ALA endorses the AAAS Statement on the Kansas State Board of Education Decision on the Education of Students in the Science of Evolution and Cosmology, and supports the AAAS call for action to restore evolution and cosmology to the Kansas state education standards and assessments; and be it further

RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Kansas State Board of Education, and to the Kansas Library Association.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adopted by the ALA Council
January 19, 2000
San Antonio, TX

see also

Kansas raises the curtain for long-awaited hearings
This much was certain after the first day of the state's evolution hearings: There were plenty of seats to go around. The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time:
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/nation/11581365.htm

ALA Bill of Rights also under attack according to Library Journal article:

Library Journal
Board in Johnson County, KS, Board Excises ALA Bill of Rights Language
-- 5/4/2005

"Does the American Library Association’s (ALA) Bill of Rights stop a library from protecting children from pornography? Worried about that possibility, the board of the Johnson County Library (JCL), Overland Park, KS, recently voted 4-3 to strip the language from the library’s collection development guidelines. The action may turn out to be symbolic, as two of the board members who voted to delete the language are at the end of their term. Plus, patrons have made their displeasure over the action known to JCL staff."

"Because of patron response to the action, the staff will request that the action be reconsidered,” County Librarian Mona Carmack said. Barton Cohen, who led the effort to delete the ALA Bill of Rights language, told the Kansas City Star that he particularly opposed ALA language regarding the importance of “presenting all points of view on current and historical issues.”

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA529661.html

Message was edited by:
nicolle