LISNews: Librarian News

Slashdot has a great letter entitled
Your Rights Online: Open Letter to the Family Research Council. It\'s a great resource for everyone interested in filtering.

It includes a great list of links to the best resources on filtering.

\"I spent much of my presentation talking about the size of the Internet and why most blocking was done by robots. Then I spent several minutes just listing some of the sites found blocked in some of our earlier studies at the Censorware Project.

Then I turned to the keyboard to illustrate some bad blocks. I ran out of time before getting to most of them. Some I did show but so quickly that many of those watching may not have realized what was going on. \" -- Read More

An Editorial from The StarTribune in Minneapolis presents an intelligent argument for filtering on all library terminals.

Perhaps the Minneapolis Public Library should consult with an attorney; I did. The First Amendment does not extend to obscene and indecent material. The question then becomes what is defined as obscene and indecent. I believe most people would agree with me. Displaying graphic photographs of a woman\'s genitalia on a computer monitor located in a high-traffic area where patrons (including children) must walk through is obscene and indecent. -- Read More

A Story on
Surf Watch, the filtering software, and the companies
decision to block out Gun Sites.

Concerned by violence in the nation\'s schools, a California
company has beefed up its online filtering software to block
thousands of new Web pages hawking guns and ammunition.

SurfWatch Software officials said the new version
shipped in November filters Web sites that \"primarily sell
guns, weapons, ammunition or poisonous substances and sites
that allow online purchasing or ordering information,
including lists of prices and dealer locations.\"

The renewed effort follows a series of school shootings
in recent years, especially April\'s deadly rampage at
Columbine High School in Colorado.

For years, companies that make Internet filtering
software have blocked guns and ammunition sites... -- Read More

From
the Greenville News.
Responding to the Greenville County Library\'s refusal to
filter Internet access, state Sen. Mike Fair is seeking to
open libraries statewide to prosecution if minors see
pornography on their computer screens. -- Read More