Rhode Island PLs Fix Filtering

The statewide library consortium in Rhode Island has responded to a report critical of Internet overblocking by revising its policies, but the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Rhode Island is still worried that some libraries may be blocking legitimate sites. After the report was issued in April, the Co­operating Libraries Automated Network (CLAN), which provides filtering for most public libraries in the state, asked libraries to inform users clearly that they can ask a librarian to deactivate the filter when sites are blocked.

The report noted that CLAN had chosen three of Websense's multiple categories to filter—sex, adult content, and nudity—and that “nudity” included many medical and other sites clearly outside the scope of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which requires blocking of obscenity, child pornography, and “harmful to minors” material. Now, says CLAN president Kathryn Taylor, the filter is no longer blocking nudity. However, the ACLU expressed concern that some libraries are independently blocking categories beyond CLAN's minimum option. Four libraries reported blocking such categories as “gambling” and “illegal” on the ACLU's most recent survey, while 18 libraries (of 48) failed to respond to the survey. Taylor took issue with the ACLU's implying that libraries that did not respond were blocking. “As the executive director of a library that did not respond to the original questionnaire, I can report that Westerly Public Library blocks the two required categories only,” she said.

“We took your suggestions to heart and acted swiftly,” Taylor wrote to the ACLU. “Why didn't you give us the benefit of your research to rectify the problems before going public? We make the Internet accessible to those who cannot afford the service at home, and many of us reluctantly chose to add filters so that the libraries in the state would continue to get federal funding.” The real problem, she said, is not libraries: “We need to address...the Children's Internet Protection Act.”