The implementation of internet filtering in Scottish public libraries

David McMenemy

16 citations0/0 files storedAslib Journal of Information Management

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Library Science and Administration Web and Library Services Information Science and Libraries

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the way that Scottish public library authorities are implementing filtering software as a public access internet management tool. The aim of the study is to determine the extent to which filtering systems are used as a public access internet management tool and to examine the nature of this implementation. This constitutes an analysis of the actual policies and procedures in place within each library authority to manage public access to the internet. Design/methodology/approach The paper utilizes a literature review and an analysis of data supplied by the public library services. The data required was gathered through Freedom of Information requests sent to all Scottish public library authorities. Findings A total of 31 of the 32 public library services operating within the 32 Scottish local authorities utilized some form of filtering software to control internet access. The main justifications cited for this were to prevent access to illegal or inappropriate materials; however it was found that in the majority of cases the decision to implement the software was not made by the management of the library but external IT staff. This raises major issues related to the historical role of the librarian as selector of content for their community. Research limitations/implications The paper presents results from a subset of local authorities in the UK, thus cannot claim to be anything more than indicative of the geographic sample. Practical implications The findings can help inform the rationale utilized by public library services in implementing filtering policies. Originality/value This paper is the only paper to directly address the issue of internet filtering in all public libraries in Scotland.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 16 citations exist upstream.

References

1989Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology 2008The Public Library 2003ICT and change in UK public libraries: does training matter?

Cited by

2014Regulating use of the internet in public libraries: a review 2015Management of acceptable use of computing facilities in the public library: avoiding a panoptic gaze?2013Regulating Internet access and content in UK public libraries: Findings from the MAIPLE project 2013Managing access to the internet in public libraries 2015Filtering wireless (Wi-Fi) Internet access in public places 2014"You don’t come to the library to look at porn and stuff like that": Filtering software in public libraries 2014Towards a public library standard for acceptable use of computing facilities 2023Limited knowledge and informal lobbying: internet regulation through content filters in Swedish public libraries

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.