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January 29, 2004
Key Filter Features
When shopping for a filter, there are a few key features to keep an eye out for, IMHO. Here they are:
- Customizable Block Page
The page that comes up when a patron encounters a blocked page is their first exposure to the filter so it is important to make the experience as positive as possible. Lots of filters allow for a good deal of flexibility on the block page. I recommend -- at the very least -- that you include the URL of the site that is blocked as well as the category that caused the block. In addition, be sure to tell the blocked patron what their options are: how they get the page unblocked, how do they turn off the filter, where do they go for help, why is there a block at all???!! -- use the block page to provide this type of useful information. - Flexibile Override Features
It is important to decide whether you want to be able to override a single blocked page by walking up to the patron's workstation or if you'd rather allow patrons to submit a request anonymously. Different products provide very different ways to override blocked sites. Look for the product that allows you to do it the way you want to do AND which offers some key flexibility such as being able to set the amount of time the override will be in effect and the extent of the override - does it apply to the individual page, the entire domain, the entire category that caused the block, the entire filter. - Accurate Block List
Make sure the list of sites your library is blocking is really what you say it is. If you are using a product that doesn't allow you to see the URLs in the categories you are blocking, then it is important to monitor the block list to make sure you aren't blocking more sites than you think you are. Using your own block list, with sites you are sure you mean to block, is the best way to ensure you are not blocking content beyond what your IUP states. - Feedback from Patrons
Some filters make it easier to gather feedback from the patrons about how the filter is working for them. Perhaps you can use the block page to give patrons the option to ask you to review how a site was categorized or blocked to see about changing it....or if not through the filter, design a Filter Feedback Form that allows patrons to comment on how the filter is working. Give them the chance to anonymously tell you about sites that were blocked that they wished hadn't been, and visa versa. - Ability to Manage Categories
If you are using a product that gives you a list of categories to choose for blocking, you need to have a way to manage those lists. Inevitably, some sites are going to be blocked that shouldn't be because the filter made a mistake. Some sites are going to blocked that you don't think should have been because you disagree with the filter company's assessment of the page. Look for products that allow you to view URLs in each category, add your own categories, move URLs from one category to another and rename the categories. - Ability to "Disable" the Filter
Make sure you have a way to turn off the content filter so that when an adult requests free access, you can oblige in a way that is consistent with your Internet Use Policy. This might mean that you don't actually disable the filter entirely but you unblock the categories are are benig blocked based on content. In other words, you might want to keep the filter running so that other activities are not allowed such as chatting or Internet game-playing (if you don't allow such activities on your library computers) but you'll need a way to unblock any constitutionally protected speech for adults who ask you to. A good, flexible override feature can do this for you -- this is a better approach to the "request to turn off filtering" then simply disabling the filter entirely and then worrying about how to get it turned back on later. - Good Reporting Tools
A filter that allows you to easily generate key reports is going to make the job of monitoring your filter a whole lot easier. At the very least, look for filters that can generate a list of all the sites that have been blocked with the categories that caused the block. This is the best way to see how well your filter is working. And if you are maintaining your own block list, you'll need to also scan the accessed sites too, to see if there are any pages being accessed that belong on your block list. Good reporting tools can be a life-saver, but be sure to regularly purge logs and only maintain reports that summarize the data. Be very careful about protecting patron privacy by purging any data that can be tracked back to any individual patron.
Posted by at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
January 23, 2004
States Bringing New -- and Worse -- Filter Legislation
Here's something very scarey -- the state of Washington is cooking up even more substantial filtering laws. House Bill 2747 wants to block not just obscenity and child pornography but anything erotic on all library computers including university libraries.
The bill also calls for the Secretary of State to test three filters to determine if they can block erotic and pornographic material but not educational material. What do you suppose they'll find out?
Thanks to Tamara Georgick, Systems Librarian at the Washington State Library, for bringing this bad news to my attention.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec.
A new section is added to chapter 43.07 RCW to read as follows:
A computer that:
(1) Is located in a lending library supported by public funds, public school library or media arts center, or in the library of a public institution of higher education;
(2) Can access the internet; and
(3) Is available for use by the public or students, or both;
must have its use policies determined by the facility's governing board. The governing board must adopt policies intended to reduce the ability of the user to access web sites displaying erotic or sexually explicit information or material as defined in chapter 9.68 RCW.
1. NEW SECTION. Sec. A new section is added to chapter 43.07 RCW to read as follows:
2. (1)(a) A pilot program is established to assess the feasibility of installing internet filtering software in libraries or institutions subject to this act, if funding is available.
3. (b) The secretary of state must implement this program and select appropriate filtering software. A minimum of three filtering software programs must be tested.
4. (2) The secretary of state must request institutions to voluntarily participate in the pilot program. Pilot areas shall be located in the north, south, east, and west areas of the state. The secretary of state must make every effort to ensure that one public school and one public library in each area are selected. Participating institutions must have filtering software in place or install recommended filtering software purchased by the state that incorporates web
-filtering technology designed to eliminate or reduce the ability of the computer to access web sites displaying erotic or sexually explicit pictures or any other obscene material as defined by law. Selected software must be able to distinguish between pornographic and obscene web sites and medical research web sites.
1. (3) The secretary of state will evaluate this program. The evaluation must be based on the program's ability to:
(a) Limit or restrict access to sources of information or images that are obscene including hard-core pornography and child pornography;
(b) Limit or restrict access to sources of pornographic information or images that could be harmful to minors; and
(c) Successfully access and not filter legitimate research sites.
(4) Any person blocked from an internet site he or she believes does not contain material that meets the criteria listed in subsection (3)(a) or (b) of this section, and desires to access the internet site, may request that the institution unblock the site. If the institution determines the site does not contain material listed in subsection (3)(a) or (b) of this section, the institution must unblock the site. An adult patron may request unfiltered access to the internet for serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific purposes, and the institution may temporarily disable the blocking software for those purposes.
(5) Medical schools are exempt from the pilot program.
(6) The secretary of state must prepare a report and recommendations and present them to the legislature by December 31, 2004.
Posted by at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
January 20, 2004
KanGuard
Kansas has provided a model for all libraries to follow. Using open source products, Linux and Squidgauard, they are providing free filtering to all public libraries for a narrowly defined collection of websites that a group of librarians believes must be blocked in order to comply with CIPA.
Here's the link: http://skyways.lib.ks.us/KSL/libtech/kanguard
This was a result of some creative software engineers and the support of the State Library.
Hooray for Kansas for getting it right!
Posted by at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
January 17, 2004
I Love Moveon.org!
I'm a big fan of Moveon.org, a "grassroots movement of 2,000,000 online activists." It sprung up during the days leading up to Clinton's impeachment and has blossomed into a vehicle for activating regular folks on issues such as nuclear campaign finance, environmental and energy issues, impeachment, gun safety, and nuclear disarmament. It uses the Internet to provide ways for people to plug in -- whether it is to donate money or send emails or make phone calls.
There are a couple of wonderful things on their website right now. One is the "Bush in 30 Seconds" ad compaign. These excellent, pithy ads were created by members of moveon and will be shown throughout the country. You need Quicktime to view them but it's worth it.
There's also a January 15, 2004 webcast of Al Gore speaking out against the Bush Administration's deliberate use of false impressions to mislead the nation on war, taxes, the economy and the environment.
Even if you can't get away to march on the Capitol or write letters to your Congresspeople, moveon.org makes it easy to get involved.
They, or should I say we, are doing some excellent work.
Posted by at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
January 16, 2004
Breaking the Law to Comply With CIPA
I woke up realizing that there is no way to strictly comply with CIPA without breaking the law.
I've been pondering the problem that all commercial filters provide categories for blocking pornography, sexually explicit content and other stuff they deem "nasty." But no filter company offers a "CIPA" category which should contain many fewer pages of blocked content than the categories they do offer. There is a lot of constitutionally protected content in a category called "pornography" or "sexually explicity." But a category that contained only "child pornography", "obscenity" and "harmful to minors" should only contain constitutionally protected content to the extent that the "harmful to minors" requirement is met.
Anyway, so I woke up this morning thinking I should just get off my butt and start creating a sharable CIPA list that libraries could contribute to rather than relying on the overbroad categories made available in the filter products currently on the market. All users of Squidgard could use the list, and maybe even some other filters (Web Marshall for example) that allow you to import your own block lists.
Then the voice of Mary Minow entered my brain saying "it is illegal to view -- even for research purposes -- child pornography, in any form."
Sooooo, if I were to compile a list of obscene pages, pages with child pornography, pages that are "harmful to minors" -- as best I could without credentials to legally define any of these things -- I could be promptly arrested for doing so!
It could be argued that there is an inherent flaw in the mandate by CIPA because it puts libraries and schools in the position of looking for illegal material and compiling lists of this illegal material -- an activity which in itself is illegal -- so that they can block access to the illegal material. Catch-22.
Alternatively, they are obligated to use a commercial product that blocks illegal material, but more importantly, undoubtedly also blocks constitutionally protected speech -- which puts the library at risk for being sued on First Amendment grounds. Catch-22, too.
We really have no option to create a true CIPA block list. We are forbidden by law from compiling it. Isn't there a big problem there? Can it possibly be reasonable that libraries be required to use expensive filter products with 60 or 70 categories, each of which blocks way more content than is mandated by CIPA???
In fact, any commercial product that truly seeks out CIPA content by way of responding to their library customers would be in the same boat -- they could be arrested for accessing or viewing child pornography. Therefore, as libraries trying to comply with CIPA, we may never see a filter that really suits our needs.
Therefore, it is impossible to strictly comply with CIPA without breaking the law. Wouldn't that be the definition of bad law?
Posted by at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
January 8, 2004
Content Advisor Plus
I've been asked for some low cost ideas for small libraries who can't afford to lose their E-Rate discounts and so are struggling with a reasonable way to filter the few computers at their library.
Bob Bocher suggested using Content Advisor as a way to filter staff computers though he didn't think this approach would pass muster for patron computers but I'm thinking it might....with a little help.
The deal with content advisor is that is relies on the content providers of the websites to rate themselves according to some rating service such as ICRA . Very few have signed on to the theory which means very few sites are rated.
This means that one important setting in Content Advisor is the one that says "allow all unrated sites" because otherwise, nothing is going to get through. But the good thing is that the sites that do get through, really shouldn't. And the content providers agree. FYI, I recommend ONLY blocking sexual content, Level 4, for CIPA.
And to beef it up a bit, use the other part of the Content Advisor, the Approved List to supplement the meager blocks you'll get with self-rated sites. But I recommend using the Approved List in the negative -- that is as a Block List. Classic Microsoft move to name it Approved List despite the fact that it can also be used as a Disapprove List.
Anyway, add some sites to the Disapprove List to give your Content Advisor a bit more bite. If the kids in the library find some sites you think should be blocked, those are the ones to put on the list. You don't have to have every horrible site known to man in there, you just need to prevent the problems in your library to keep everyone happy.
It's not the simplest solution nor is it the most thorough but it is cheap and you won't be overblocking. That's more than many folks can say.
Posted by at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
January 4, 2004
Finding Local Organic
Just ran across a nice website for helping locate organic producers in your area. It's Local Harvest at http://www.localharvest.org/. and you can put in your zip code then look up the type of product you're after. I was in search of beef since it seemed like a good time to switch over to organic meat, not just vegetables. Don't you think?!
Posted by at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)