Created for MSLIS "Information Technologies in Educational Organizations," this slide show explores the importance of school librarians to creating effective policies and learning opportunities for all students in online, participatory environments.

1. +
Intellectual Freedom &
Internet Filtering
How your
School Librarian
can help.
CC Image courtesy of P. Manker
By
Kate Gukeisen
Kate is a Library and Information Science student
at Syracuse University
who has a passion for people,
a love of life-long learning,
and an aversion to quiet.
The images in this presentation
are either the original work of the
author,
licensed for use under Creative
Commons via Flikr (where noted),
or are used under the Fair Use
Doctrine as
codified in section 107 of
U.S. Copyright Law.

2. CC Image courtesy of T. Galvez
+
Who is responsible for Intellectual Freedom?
I am.
You are.
We all are.

3. +
Are you looking for a simple, onesize-fits-all,
black-and-white answer
about Internet filtering &
Intellectual Freedom?
There isn’t one.
But that’s OK.
With the help of your school
librarian, you can figure out what is
best for your students, your
school, and your community.

4. +
Before we start, isn’t there a
law that tells me that I have to
filter content in my school?
Yes and no.
The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) does
impose requirements for Internet safety policies and
technology protection measures, including using Internet
filters, in schools or libraries that receive discounts for
Internet access and connections through the E-rate
program. Even within those requirements, though, you
still have control over many of the specifics of the policy
you advocate for and help to create.

5. + What is CIPA exactly?
The Protecting Children
in the 21st Century Act
(2008) adds an
additional requirement
to CIPA that minors
receive education about
appropriate online
behavior.
The Children’s Internet Protection Act, enacted
by congress in 2000, addressed concerns about
children’s access to obscene or harmful content
over the Internet.
Your school librarian
can help with that, too.
Schools that receive discounts (called E-rate
funding) for Internet access and connections are
required under CIPA to create and adopt an
internet safety policy that addresses:
•
Access by minors to inappropriate matter on
the Internet;
•
The safety and security of minors when
using electronic mail, chat rooms and other
forms of direct electronic communication;
•
Unauthorized access, including so-called
“hacking,” and other unlawful activities by
minors online;
•
Unauthorized disclosure, use, and
dissemination of personal information
regarding minors, and
•
Measures designed to restrict minors’ access
to material harmful to minors.
CC Image courtesy of S. McLeod via Flikr
You can learn
more about
CIPA at
www.fcc.gov/
CIPA
technology
protection
measures
include blocking
or filtering
Internet access
to pictures that
are: obscene;
child
pornography; or
harmful to
minors.

6. +
So, why should I go to my school
librarian for help?
Great question!
Because your school librarian is an information specialist as well
as an educator.
Your school librarian can:
• Help you do research about requirements and allowances
• Assist you in creating policies that support and align with your
curriculum
• Plan and collaborate to provide professional development so
that your whole school has the information they need to make
decisions about the appropriate use of technology in their
classrooms

7. +
I’ve also heard that librarians are
advocates for Intellectual
Freedom. What does that mean
in school libraries?
Those libraries with a mission that includes service to minors should
make available a full range of information necessary for young people to
become thinking adults and part of the informed electorate envisioned in
the Constitution. The opportunity to participate responsibly in the digital
arena is also vital for nurturing the information literacy skills demanded
today. Librarians need to remember that minors also possess First
Amendment rights. Although parents and legal guardians have the right
to restrict their children’s access to digital resources, federal and state
legislation as well as institutions’ policies also impact minors’ access to
digital information.
Libraries should extend as much access
as permitted under the law.
-The American Library Association’s Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights

8. + What is Equity of Access?
Equity of access means that all people
have the information they need-regardless of
age, education, ethnicity, language, inc
ome, physical limitations or geographic
barriers.
Equity of Access is
important to
librarians, students,
and communities.
It means they are able to obtain
information in a variety of formatselectronic, as well as print. It also means
they are free to exercise their right to
know without fear of censorship or
reprisal.
From the
American Library Association’s
Equity of Access statement
found at
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/access/equityofaccess
You can learn more
about the
American Library
Association at
http://www.ala.org/
Equity of Access
helps to ensure that
students have
experience using
technology they may
not have access to
at home and that
they are able to
access information
from diverse
viewpoints.

9. +
Let’s get to some questions that will help us
figure out what’s best for our students, our
school, and our community.
• What are we trying to protect students from?
• Which students are we trying to protect?
• Who, or what, will we let decide what
content is appropriate and inappropriate?
• How will students benefit from our
decisions?

10. +
First Question
What are we trying to
protect students from?

11. +
Do we play it
safe and block
the “good”
with the
“bad?”
SparkNotes can
be a helpful
homework
aid, or it can be
used to avoid
reading
assignments.
YouTube has
inappropriate
content as well
as educational
content.
What are we trying to
protect students from?
Inappropriate Content

12. +
Are we
keeping our
students safe
or limiting their
learning?
KerPoof and
Glogster EDU
are both
educational
websites that
foster creativity.
They are also
collaborative Web
2.0 Tools, which
means they
sometimes get
blocked by filters as
“Social Networking”
sites.
What are we trying to
protect students from?
Social Networking

13. +
Are we
teaching
students to
make wise
decisions on
their own?
Students need
instruction and
practice evaluating
and analyzing the
credibility of
websites and other
digital and print
media.
Today’s students are
constantly bombarded
with media outside of
school. We should be
teaching them the
skills to decode and
analyze media in
school.
CC Image courtesy of M. Szpakowski
What are we trying to
protect students from?
Information that is not credible

14. +
Students need
opportunities to
practice
safe, legal, and
ethical online
behavior.
CC Image courtesy of S. Wu
CC Image courtesy of G. Jones
If we don’t provide learning opportunities
geared toward digital citizenship, where
will students learn to interact responsibly
with each other?
Students need
opportunities to
practice being
members of our
participatory
learning culture.
What are we trying to
protect students from?
Online bullying

15. +
Second Question
Which students are we
trying to protect?

16. One size
does
+
NOT
fit all.
CC Image courtesy of S. Chang
Different students have
different information needs.
What is appropriate for high school students to
access is not necessarily appropriate for younger
students.
CC Image courtesy of J. Monday
Your school librarian can help assess the
appropriateness of a collaborative learning tool or
website for a particular grade level.
Your school librarian can also help inform the
creation of policies and practices that target student
maturity, grade-level skills, and educational needs.
CC Image courtesy of A. Thomas
CC Image courtesy of T. Galvez

17. + Don’t you want to keep students safe
from inappropriate content?
Sure. But is blocking anything that doesn’t make it through an internet filter
the best way to do that?
Students should have the opportunity to learn how to evaluate, analyze, and
assess the authenticity and credibility of websites using their own skills.
Providing students opportunities to explore topics online in a supervised
school environment is a great way to give them practice doing this.
Providing students opportunities to explore social networks and practice
good digital citizenship online within a controlled classroom or library
environment is also important.
This is not an all-or-nothing proposition.
School librarians and teachers are in a position to offer our students these
vital educational experiences to build 21st Century Skills in online
environments that are more protected for younger students, and increasingly
less restricted for older students who have more practice engaging their
evaluative and critical thinking skills.
CC Image courtesy of W. Fryer on Flikr
I want students
to have access to
collaborative
tools that will
allow them to
practice
evaluating the
credibility of the
information they
encounter and
engaging in
social learning
networks as
responsible
digital citizens.

18. +
Third Question
Who, or what, are we
relying on to decide what
content is appropriate?

19. +
It is important that we do not remove
educational experts from the process
of deciding what content is allowed
and is not allowed for different
students at your school.
Involve your educational
experts, including your school
librarian, in planning your school’s
Internet Safety Policy and Technology
Protection Measures.
Give your educational experts the
authority to make informed decisions
about overriding internet filters.
Who, or what, are we relying on to decide what content is appropriate?
An educational expert like a
librarian, teacher, or school
administrator?
A computer algorithm?

20. +
What can
school
librarians
do?
CC Image courtesy of P. Manker
Review & update acceptable use policies.
Advocate for over-ride rights for educators.
Offer professional development focused on
evaluating websites & content.

21. +
Last Question
How will students benefit
from all this?

22. CC Image courtesy of Knowledge Without Boundaries
+
How will students benefit from all of this?
Students will have the ability to engage in authentic inquiry.
Students will have opportunities to practice critical thinking and evaluation skills.
Students will gain practice engaging in civil discourse and digital citizenship.

23. +
Let your school librarian help you
create and implement policies that
will not only keep your students safe
at school, but will provide a learning
environment in which your students
develop the 21st Century skills they
need to safely and successful
navigate our participatory culture.
CC Image courtesy of T. Galvez
CC Image courtesy of L. Ribeiro