TESTIMONY OF PATRICIA A. TUMULTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEW JERSEY LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEFORE THE ASSEMBLY ADVISORY COUNCIL ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN

The public library is a unique public institution. Interpretations of the United States Constitution have concluded the public library has unique First Amendment status in a community.The Internet is a unique information resource.The amounts of information contained are so vast that it is impossible to accurately catalog or classify. And the Internet is constantly changing. Before I am even finished speaking to you, there will be numerous new sites or revisions to existing sites made throughout the world.

In many ways, the Internet is overwhelming to librarians- we crave order, the ability to have control over our information resources. I know many librarians who knew the collections of their local library completely. Working with exactness they could tell their patrons where books were in the library on every topic.Once the Internet came into our lives, we lost that absolute control and certainty. We now view our roles quite differently. We are guides to the Internet – pointing the way through a maze of information and assisting patrons to select appropriate materials to meet their informational needs.

I know many of you on this Committee have wonderful memories of using your local public library as a child. Your local librarian would help you or your parents select materials that were appropriate. Through your local librarian, the joy of reading and the discovery of learning was first inspired. The librarians of New Jersey still view that as our most important role - so let me assure you that Internet safety is a major concern to us.

Yet, as this Committee is discussing, there are dangers on the Internet. Thousands of individuals use the Internet, not for informational purposes, but for harm.Thousands of websites now exist which have questionable content and people use chat rooms, not to share information, but to influence. Unfortunately, this now the reality we live in - we can’t go back.There are materials on the Internet that many would not wish to see or have their children see. Is there a magic solution that will keep every child from objectionable material on the Internet at home or in a public library?Is there a tool that will absolutely assure that no child has access to materials that a parent may object to?Unfortunately, the answer is no.

The larger question is, what is the role of the public library and Internet access particularly for children. This is an extremely complex issue. Libraries are held to a higher constitutional standard regarding access to information than other institutions including public schools.

BACKGROUND
The constitutionality of a library restricting access to the Internet has already faced several legal challenges and another will be under way in the near future. The first attempt was the Communications Decency Act that was passed by Congress in 1996.The CDA criminalized the online transmission“of any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image or other communication which is… indecent to a person known to be under the age of eighteen, as well as the display of patently offensive material in a manner available to a person under eighteen.” This law was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.In his book Libraries, the First Amendment and Cyperspace, author Richard Peck summarized the court’s position in this way.

”The U.S. Supreme Court has concluded that cyberspace receives the highest level of protection that the First Amendment affords.As a result, the same considerations that apply to printed words and images apply as well to the electronic word and the digital image.Any policy on Internet access that a public library adopts cannot adversely affect adult access to protected speech, must respect the rights of access of both older minors and younger minors who have a right to access protected speech and some speech that parents could find troubling but have serious value for youth, and must respect the rights of parents who choose to permit their children to access sites that others might deem appropriate only for more mature individuals.”

In October 1998 Congress enacted the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). This act was also declared unconstitutional in June 2000. The COPA law also established theCommission on Online Child Protection to study access by minors. The Commission was directed to evaluate the accessibility, cost and effectiveness of protective technologies and methods, as well as their possible implications on privacy, First Amendment values and law enforcement.The members of the commission were from a variety of well-respected organizations such as the Center for Democracy, the National Law Center for Children and Families, America Online, the Internet Content Rating Association and the Department of Justice. The recommendations of the Committee were released in October 2000. The Commission concluded that “the most effective current means of protecting children from content on the Internet harmful to minors include: aggressive efforts toward public education, consumer empowerment, increased resources for enforcement of existing laws, and the greater use of existing technologies.”

The New Jersey Library Association was extremely pleased that increased educational awareness was the first recommendation of the Commission.

Unfortunately, the recommendations of the Commission were overlooked, when in December 2000, Congress passed the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). This actwould require schools and libraries that receive federal e-rate funding or other federal funding for technology to filter objectionable Internet content for both children and adults. Legal challenges to this act are now being prepared by the ACLU and the American Library Association.

Recently, administrative regulations to implement CIPA have been announced in the Federal Register. In our response to these proposed regulations, the New Jersey Library Associationvoiced our concern that libraries would be required to install filtering devices, yet a study to determine the effectiveness of such devices would not be made until eighteen months afterthe new lawbecome effective. It is our firm belief that many libraries could be forced to purchase filtering devices that were extremely expensive and, later determined, to be ineffective.

In the wake of the CIPA legislation, Consumers Reports, a noted consumer publication, published an article in its March 2001 issue discussing the effectiveness of home Internet filters.The article states that recent studies indicate that about 2 percent of websites contain sexually explicated material.But it also acknowledged that it is often very easy to reach such sites with very little effort.This study reviewed six web filters and AOL’s parental controls.What it found was somewhat disturbing. Approximately 20% of the time, filters permitted some objectionable content to get through. In addition, the filters also blocked access to many other sites such as the Southern Poverty Law Center that did not contain objectionable materials. It concluded that although filters are getting more sophisticated, the best form of filtering is parental control.

There have also been several local court cases. The board of trustees of the Loudon County Library in Virginia attempted to filter all computers in the public library and was sued. The library lost the lawsuit when the judge ruled that the library could not block access to materials to adults in the hope of protecting children from some sites.

In another recent lawsuit, a parent unsuccessfully sued the Livermore Public Library in California. The plaintiff discovered that her twelve-year-old son had, on several occasions, downloaded images of naked women at the public library and later printed the pictures at a relative’s house. A state court judge dismissed the lawsuit as being without merit; the constitution provides no grounds to force a library to filter.

NEW JERSEY EXPERIENCE

The New Jersey Library Association has been focused on Internet safety for many years.Our Executive Board has developed the policy statement that is attached to my testimony. Through our policy, we summarize our Association’s core philosophy regarding Internet access in public libraries. Let me share the statement with you:

The New Jersey Library Association:

1. Affirms the right of all users to have unrestricted access to the Internet.
2. Affirms the right of libraries to make filtering software available to those whodeliberately choose to use it.
3. Acknowledges the right of parents to determine the level of Internet access for their minor children.

Our policy confirms the constitutional responsibility of public libraries to provide open access to information. The policy also acknowledges that libraries may want to have some filtering software available for those patrons who wish to use filters. It states that it is the responsibility of a parent to determine the level of Internet access for their children. Librarians can not make those decisions for every child or every parent, just as we could not make those decisions regarding which book a child selected.If libraries do provide filtered machines, we stress that libraries place signs on the machines to indicate that filters may not be completely effective and that objectionable materials could still get through. We wonder what type of legal liability a library would face if a child was exposed to questionable materials on a machine that said it was “filtered”. As the recent study by Consumer Reports confirms, filters do not always work and those who use a filtered machine may have a false sense of security. NJLA was probably the first library association in the country to suggest that filters in libraries are an appropriate option for libraries that wished to offer them to the public. It is our position, however, that they cannot be mandatory.

The New Jersey Library Association has also held meetings for our members where speakers reviewed strategies for providing Internet access in public libraries.We have held programs where various types of filtering software were demonstrated including products called I-Gear and Safe Guardian.These are very expensive products that permit a parent or an individual to determine the level of Internet access for themselves and their children.

We are currently developing a document called Webwise: Discover The World Wide Web: a program guide for children and their parents in grades 4-5. We had reviewed a draft of this document several days before I was asked to come and meet with you. I have included a draft of the “Webwise” document in your packets. We hope to finalize this document in the near future and place it on our website, so you can see that our commitment to Internet education and safety issues is on-going.

In addition, we encourage our libraries to use materials developed by the American Library Association. They have produced several excellent documents to explain Internet safety to parents. I have included samples in your packets. Materials include Guidelines and Considerations for Developing A Public Library Internet Use Policy and The Librarian’s Guide to Cyberspace for Parents and Kids. ALA created a list of 700 websites that are recommended for children. Many public libraries have included this type of information directly on theirwebsites.

In addition, we participated with the New Jersey Library Trustee Association in sponsoring a workshop on Internet policy development for public library boards of trustees.

We continue to look for ways to work with our members to increase their awareness of Internet safety issues and develop model materials that they can use in their local libraries and in their communities.

RESPONSBILITIES OF LOCAL BOARDS OF TRUSTEES

The New Jersey Library Association is an advisory body. Our Internet policy was developed as a policy statement that would provide guidance to the library community. But the development of Internet policies for local libraries is the responsibility of local boards of trustees and county library commissioners who are given legal authority under New Jersey Law to adopt policies for the administration of local libraries. Local policy development is extremely important. The vast majority of public libraries in New Jersey have adopted “acceptable use policies” which indicate the terms and conditions for using the Internet in the local public library. I have attached several examples.We believe that local “acceptable use policies” are the best way to determine how the Internet will be made available to residents of a specific community.Policies are developed by local library boards that are comprised of citizens from that community. They can determine the best policy for the library that they govern. Many factors may influence how the policy is written- the size of the library, if it has a separate children’s room, where the computers are located - just to name a few.

Given the local decision-making authority of boards of trustees, local libraries in New Jersey have developed a variety of options regarding providing the provision of Internet in our public libraries. The solutions vary depending on local choice. Let my summarize the situation:

• Most libraries have decided not to filter Internet access;
• Some provide filtered and unfiltered machines
• Some have privacy screens
• Some filter only in the children’s area
• Some require parents to sign Internet permission slips
• Some have the computers facing reference staff
• Some use the expensive filtering software that can determine levels of access for each patron.
• Some libraries are holding Internet safety classes or are developing Internet safety procures for parents and caregivers.
• Some libraries permit e-mail and chat rooms- some don’t.

Solutions vary because of the local decision making authority of library boards of trustees. I have enclosed an interesting article comparing the approaches of two public libraries on access to the Internet from Thursday’s Philadelphia Inquirer.This article points out the importance of local decision making with regard to Internet access.

THE FUTURE
As librarians, we see the future of the Internet lies in education. We must educate parents and children on effective use of the Internet. Internet safety will always be a major concern in public libraries. Just as we teach children how to be safe on our streets, we must also teach them how to be safe on the Internet.

In the past several years there have probably been thousands of Internet searches conducted in our libraries. I am happy to report there have been very few incidents. Can I assure you that a child will never view materials in the library that someone considers inappropriate? The answer is simply no. Just as I could never assure you that someone would not be waiting outside a library for an unsuspecting child and could follow them home. There are dangers on the Internet and on our streets. It is an unfortunate reality of our times.

We do, however, have a responsibility that all children and their parents understand the joys and opportunities on the Internet

We believe that it starts with strong school libraries with media specialists who can teach children how to effectively evaluate information resources on the Internet. Children must learn how to determine the validity of information and critically evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of the information that is provided. Children and adults need to know that just because it is on the Internet it is not necessarily true or accurate.
Children must be ingrained with the same awareness of Internet safety as they are with personal safety. Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t give out any information on the Internet; Don’t agree to meet with anyone you met on the Internet. If you get into a site you are uncomfortable with- call for your parents or the librarian for assistance. Parents must be comfortable with the Internet and how to work with their children in locating materials on the Internet.

I have included in your packets materials from the Ocean County Library website which lists several pages of Internet websites designed to help parents learn more about the Internet. The library has also produced two videos in cooperation with other county officials such as the Sheriff’s Department and the Commission on Exploited and Missing Children. In these short tapes, children and young adults present dramatic scenarios that emphasize important information and guidance for their peer groups about the dangers of the Internet. These videos are available in every branch of the library.Even though Ocean County’s website is probably one of the most extensive library sites on Internet safety, many libraries provide materials such as “Child Safety on the Information Superhighway” published by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. These materials are either distributed at the library or are located with a direct link from the library’s website.

The library community of New Jersey believes strongly in the power of the Internet. There is no other educational resource like it. But we, as librarians, realize that we have a tremendous responsibility to teach the public how to use the Internet safely and effectively. We would look forward to working with this Committee in any way possible to further that goal.