[9092] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: sleaze
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Carl M. Kadie)
Thu Dec 16 14:47:49 1993
To: eff-mail-com-priv@eff.org
From: kadie@eff.org (Carl M. Kadie)
Date: 16 Dec 1993 14:46:09 -0500
I don't trust the government with broad authority to censor material
even its their rationale is to protect children.
Here is the American Library Association's statement on this general
topic. (Followed by on-line access information for other ALA statements.)
- Carl
Carl Kadie -- I do not represent EFF (or the ALA); this is just me.
=kadie@eff.org, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu =
=======================================================
ACCESS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE TO VIDEOTAPES
AND OTHER NONPRINT FORMATS
An Interpretation of the LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS
Library collections of videotapes, motion pictures, and other nonprint formats
raise a number of intellectual freedom issues, especially regarding minors.
The interests of young people, like those of adults, are not limited by
subject, theme, or level of sophistication. Librarians have a responsibility
to ensure young people have access to materials and services that reflect
diversity sufficient to meet their needs.
To guide librarians and others in resolving these issues, the American Library
Association provides the following guidelines.
Article V of the LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS says, "A person's right to use a
library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background,
or views."
ALA's FREE ACCESS TO LIBRARIES FOR MINORS: An Interpretation of the LIBRARY
BILL OF RIGHTS states:
The "right to use a library" includes free access to, and unrestricted
use of, all the services, materials, and facilities the library has to
offer. Every restriction on access to, and use of, library resources,
based solely on the chronological age, educational level, or legal
emancipation of users violates Article V.
. . .[P]arents - and only parents - have the right and the
responsibility to restrict the access of their children - and only their
children - to library resources. Parents or legal guardians who do not
want their children to have access to certain library services,
materials or facilities, should so advise their children. Librarians
and governing bodies cannot assume the role of parents or the functions
of parental authority in the private relationship between parent and
child. Librarians and governing bodies have a public and professional
obligation to provide equal access to all library resources for all
library users.
Policies which set minimum age limits for access to videotapes and/or other
audiovisual materials and equipment, with or without parental permission,
abridge library use for minors. Further, age limits based on the cost of the
materials are unacceptable. Unless directly and specifically prohibited by
law from circulating certain motion pictures and video productions to minors,
librarians should apply the same standards to circulation of these materials
as are applied to books and other materials.
Recognizing that libraries cannot act in loco parentis, ALA acknowledges and
supports the exercise by parents of their responsibility to guide their won
children's reading and viewing. Published reviews of films and videotapes
and/or reference works which provide information about the content, subject
matter, and recommended audiences can be made available in conjunction with
nonprint collections to assist parents in guiding their children without
implicating the library in censorship. This material may include information
provided by video producers and distributors, promotional material on
videotape packaging, and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ratings
if they are included on the tape or in the packaging by the original publisher
and/or if they appear in review sources or reference works included in the
library's collection. Marking out or removing ratings information from
videotape packages constitutes expurgation or censorship.
MPAA and other rating services are private advisory codes and have no legal
standing*. For the library to add such ratings to the materials if they are
not already there, to post a list of such ratings with a collection, or to
attempt to enforce such ratings through circulation policies or other
procedures constitutes labeling, "an attempt to prejudice attitudes" about the
material, and is unacceptable. The application of locally generated ratings
schemes intended to provide content warnings to library users is also
inconsistent with the LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS.
*For information on case law, please contact the ALA Office for Intellectual
Freedom.
See also: STATEMENT ON LABELING and EXPURGATION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS,
Interpretations of the LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS.
Adopted June 28, 1989, by the ALA Council; the quotation from FREE ACCESS TO
LIBRARIES FOR MINORS was changed after Council adopted the July 3, 1991,
revision of that Interpretation.
[Made available by permission of the American Library Association.]
============================
=================
README
=================
* Library Policy Statements
Library Policy Archive
[part of the Computers and Academic Freedom (CAF) Archive
[part of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Archive]]
This is an on-line collection of library policy statements. It
includes the American Library Association's Freedom To Read statement
and the ALA Library Bill of Rights. (The ALA material is made
available by permission of the American Library Association.)
If you have gopher, the archive is browsable with the command:
gopher -p academic/library gopher.eff.org
The archive is also accessible via anonymous ftp and email. Ftp to
ftp.eff.org (192.77.172.4). It is in directory "pub/academic/library".
For email access, send email to archive-server@eff.org. Include the
line:
send acad-freedom/library <filenames>
where <filenames> is a list of the files that you want. File README is
a detailed description of the items in the directory.
For more information, to make contributions, or to report typos
contact J.S. Greenfield (greeny@eff.org).
=================
README.subject-index
=================
* Subject Index for Library Policy Archive
=================
academic
=================
* Computers and Academic Freedom (CAF) Archive
The CAF Archive is an electronic library of information about
computers and academic freedom.
If you have gopher, the archive is browsable with the command:
gopher -p academic gopher.eff.org
It is available via anonymous ftp to ftp.eff.org (192.77.172.4) in
directory "pub/academic". It is also available via email. For
information on email access send email to archive-server@eff.org. In
the body of your note include the lines "help" and "index".
For more information, to make contributions, or to report typos
contact J.S. Greenfield (greeny@eff.org).
=================
access.children.nonprint.ala
=================
* Access for Young People to Nonprint Material (ALA)
"Access for Children and Young People to Videotapes and Other Nonprint
Formats"
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
=================
access.minors.ala
=================
* Free Access to Libraries for Minors (ALA)
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
=================
access.policies.ala
=================
* Access Policies (ALA)
"Regulations, policies, and Procedures Affecting Access to Library
Resources and Services"
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
=================
access.restrictions.ala
=================
* Restricted Access to Library Materials (ALA)
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
It says in part: "In any situation which restricts access to certain
materials, a barrier is placed between the patron and those materials.
That barrier may be age related, linguistic, economic, or
psychological in nature." ... "Because restricted collections often
are composed of materials which some library patrons consider
'objectionable,' the potential user may be predisposed to think of the
materials as 'objectionable' and, therefore, are reluctant to ask for
them."
=================
bill-of-rights.ala
=================
* Library Bill of Rights (ALA)
=================
bulletin-boards.ala
=================
* Exhibit Spaces and Bulletin Boards (ALA)
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
=================
censorship.def.ala
=================
* Definition of "Censorship" and Related Terms (ALA)
=================
challenged-materials.ala
=================
* Challenged Materials (ALA)
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights". It says in part "The Constitution requires a
procedure designed to focus searchingly on challenged expression
before it can be suppressed. An adversary hearing is a part of this
procedure."
=================
confidentiality.1.ala
=================
* Confidentiality -- 1 (ALA)
The American Library Association's "Policy on Confidentiality of
Library Records"
=================
confidentiality.2.ala
=================
* Confidentiality -- 2 (ALA)
The American Library Association's "Statement Concerning
Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information about Library
Users"
=================
diversity.ala
=================
* Diversity in Collection Development (ALA)
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
It says that collections should be inclusive, not exclusive. And that
materials should cover the needs and interest of all patrons. "This
includes materials that reflect political, economic, religious,
social, minority, and sexual issues."
=================
elec.rights1-4
=================
* Electronic Rights 1-4
This is the ASCII version of a printed booklet distributed at the
American Library Association conference in July 1991. The program was
sponsored by the Library and Information Technology Association.
Details follow on ordering the full print monograph.
[From ftp.apple.com:alug/rights/elec.rights1-4]
=================
ethics.ala
=================
The American Library Association's (ALA) "The Librarian's Code of
Ethics". The ALA is the largest professional society for "public"
librarians.
=================
ethics.asis
=================
The American Society for Information Science's (ASIS) "A Code of
Ethics for Information Scientists". The ASIS is, among other things,
the professional society for many "corporate librarians".
=================
evaluating-collections.ala
=================
* Evaluating Library Collections (ALA)
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
=================
expurgation.ala
=================
* Expurgation of Library Materials (ALA)
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights". It says in part: "By such expurgation, the library is
in effect denying access to the complete work and the entire spectrum
of ideas that the work intended to express. ... Further, expurgation
without written permission from the holder of the copyright on the
material may violate the copyright provisions of the United States
Code."
=================
free-expression.ala
=================
* Universal Right to Free Expression (ALA)
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
=================
freedom-to-read.ala
=================
* Freedom to Read Statement (ALA)
and Association of American Publishers.
It says in part: "We trust Americans to recognize propaganda, and to
reject it. We do not believe they need the help of censors to assist
them in this task. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice
their heritage of a free press in order to be "protected" against what
others think may be bad for them. We believe they still favor free
enterprise in ideas and expression."
=================
int-freedom.ala
=================
* Intellectual Freedom Statement -- American Library Assoc
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
=================
int-freedom.can
=================
* Intellectual Freedom Statement -- Canadian Library Assoc
=================
labeling.ala
=================
* Labeling (ALA)
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
It gives three reasons why labeling is bad. The first is that
"[l]abeling is an attempt to prejudice attitudes and as such, it is a
censor's tool."
=================
library-programs.ala
=================
* Library Initiated Programs as a Resource (ALA)
An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights"
=================
library.porn
=================
* Library Porn -- a parody
A parody of a real newspaper article published in the Houston Chronicle. The
parody is by Carl Kadie. It was published in rec.humor.funny.
=================
library.porn.real
=================
* Library Porn -- the newspaper article parodied
A real newspaper article published in the Houston Chronicle. The
parody is in file library.porn.
=================
meeting-rooms.ala
=================
* Meeting Rooms (ALA)
It says that facilities should be made available to the public served
by the given library "on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs
or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use." It is
an interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights".
=================
order.form.ala
=================
* Ordering Information from 1991 (ALA)
1991 information on how to order intellectual freedom material from
the American Library Association. Much of the material is free.
=================
patron.behavior.draft.ala
=================
* Patron Behavior -- Draft (ALA)
DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT
GUIDELINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLICIES REGARDING PATRON BEHAVIOR
AND LIBRARY USAGE
=================
school-libraries.ala
=================
* Grade and High School Library Policy (ALA)
It says that the principles of the Library Bill of Rights apply to
school libraries. The statement's full title is "Access to Resources
And Services in the School Library Media Program". It is an
interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library
Bill of Rights".
=================
selection-workbook.ala
=================
* Selection Policy Writing Workbook (ALA)
The American Library Association's "Workbook on Selection Policy
Writing". Although aimed at textbook and library book selection in
grade and high schools, it also seems applicable to newsgroup
selection. It includes information about how create a selection policy
and how to handle complaints. It also includes a sample selection
policy.
=================
=================
Last update
Mon Oct 18 13:38:44 EDT 1993
--
Carl Kadie -- I do not represent EFF; this is just me.
=kadie@eff.org, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu =
