Day 8, Hour 40

I got to read a lot of information on web filtering (content control, internet filtering, etc.) today, and almost all of it confirmed my personal view that filters, if implemented, must be used with caution and in an appropriate fashion.

This, the Rock Hall Library, is not a public library. Therefore, one could surmise that it should be used for research purposes mainly. This library will not serve as an internet cafe like so many public libraries do. One would think, then, that filters would be appropriate here; they would keep people within the research context and steer them away from browsing for porn, right?

This is where things get tricky. Think about the one phrase that everyone knows to describe a certain lifestyle: Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. What would rock be without sex? What if patrons wanted to browse photographs of John Lennon, and some of them happened to be nude photos? Should the library censor that?

There are so many questions to be considered still, and I am thankful for the opportunity for real-world decision-making that this practicum has provided me so far. I will continue to research this topic, and compile my findings into a report for Andy. These are questions that a lowly practicum student cannot answer, but I am happy to provide the research to help others to do so.

Coming up next: I was able to fit some more of the policy draft I created into the mock website, and I will continue this next week. I will also continue researching on filters, with a focus on different filters that exist and their functions. I also need to work some more on the collection development for works on the inductees, so maybe I will set some time aside for that next week.

Thanks for reading, and have a good one!

Laura

Day 7, Hour 35

Just as I had hoped, I was able to meet with Andy today to narrow down some details for policy and procedure. I asked a lot of questions, got some really helpful answers, and was able to implement these new findings into my policy draft.

I also looked into some public research libraries--like the Newberry in Chicago and the Boston Public Library Research Libraries--to get a better idea of how they interpret their policies. I am hoping that the next time I am in I can find some other research libraries that are public and not affiliated with a university or other private institution. In the mean time, if you have any suggestions, I would be happy to take them!

I did not work on the mock policy website today at all, as I was more concerned with the details of the policy itself. I have a really great working policy going so far, though, so I should be able to put it into the site on Thursday. The only basic component of policy (using other institutions' websites as a guideline) I have not yet touched on is collection development. It's a pretty big undertaking to write a collection development policy, so I am going to put that off for a bit longer. Luckily, this is something we will be working on in my Selection and Acquisitions course, so I will get some great experience.

Coming up next: Like I said earlier, I will be working on getting the policy I have created so far into the mock website I have created. I am also interested in doing some research on internet filters, as this is a topic that Andy and I spoke about. Neither of us is really in favor of filtering in general, but we did agree that this is a research library--not a public institution--that should be used mainly for research purposes. Thus, it may be worth looking into a mild filtering program, just to make sure the library is being used in the correct fashion.

Thanks for reading, and have a good one!

Laura