Slashdot Mirror
Librarian Suspended over Patrons' Web Access
bsw149 writes "The head librarian of the Valparaiso Community Library in Florida was suspended
after investigators found that users had viewed adult content on public computers.
While the library has a policy against viewing adult material on library
computers, the librarian is facing possible dismissal. Is the best enforcement policy to
hold librarians personally responsible for the materials patrons' access?"
How is it the librarian's fault? They're not looking over the people's shoulder's all the time, and they could just hide the content when the librarian walks over.
Is it in their job description to monitor what users access? When they signed their job contract or whatever, did it clearly outline this? Cause if not, they librarians should not be dismissed.
By analogy, perhaps it would be best to fire any cop who doesn't manage to stop all crime on his shift?
TFA doesn't go into what actually happened, only that someone watched porn and from that the librarian is being dismissed since she "had not done enough to prevent the incident".
First off, it's an "incident" not "incident s ", so it probably only happened once, and if the history just showed one site, I can think of a thousand ways that could have accidentally happened.
We're missing some kind of important details here.
No, this is stupid. Librarians don't spend years in school earning higher degrees in library science to become nannies. The world has enough problems, why must they keep inventing new ones?
Tell me: if someone downloads kiddy porn at work, does the IT guy gets fired?
Same for this dude. He has nothing to do with it, provided he took reasonable precautions prior to letting patrons on the library computers (i.e. install "sanctioned" filters). If patrons know how to circumvent the filter, then it's either the patrons who should be arrested, or the filter's manufacturer who should bear some responsability.
What I'm driving at is that if the librarian did whatever he could to prevent downloading kiddy porn (and remember, he's no IT guy, he's a librarian, so installing a commercial web filter is about as much as he's expected to do) then he's not to be blamed.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
The issue is that of public access to the Internet, versus policing of that access. Libraries do not traditionally maintain collections of adult material on their shelves, so they are expected to extend that prohbition to the Interntet access they provide. But, time and time again, it has been proven that such prohibition is virtually impossible.
So, in essence, this is about everyone's rights online.
Knowing about how cheap the Valparaiso City Commission can be about things, I doubt the library was provided the funding for any kind of useful software to help in this task. But I cannot say authoritatively since the last time I visited the ValP library was back when the only computer there was a Commodore 64.
Typical Slashdot. Not just anybody viewing porn but:
"The director of the Valparaiso (Fla.) Community Library was suspended without pay in early August after city officials found that a registered sex offender had used library computers to access pornographic websites."
Since I don't know what really happened I won't dispute whether the librarian is at fault. I'll just note that filters really don't work well and for libraries it's either the choice of internet or no internet. Nothing much in between.
If internet access is so much of an issue, perhaps the computers should be put in a seperate room where you have to be over 16 or 18 to enter and use or have your parents sign a permission slip.
Personally I think it's all that streak of classic American puritanicism anyway, TV shows violence with people's heads and other body parts blown off every night of the week, or have realistic grotesque autopsies on CIS-like shows, or real grotesque surguries/diseases/etcetera on the scientific channels, or animals mating on any NationalGeographic or discovery channel yet a kid can't handle a glimpse of people doing the same?
If the sex offender viewed that stuff, put responsibility where it belongs and haul his ass to jail if he violated parole or whatever.
Read TFA.
The director of the library was suspended, not just any librarian. TFA doesn't go into the details too much, but the city officials were orchestrating this, and she have a hearing. That's pretty much how serious it is. Start thinking criminal charges. Maybe not jail time, but possibly community service.
Nor was it kiddy porn that the people surfed. They just charged the sex offender with possession, but TFA states that he (and some underaged boys, big surprise there) had looked at adult material using library computers.
Nice try, troll.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
Here's the lovely Catch-22 that's been set up for this librarian:
Librarians are not allowed by federal law to restrict what people view on the Internet.
Now, the librarians can be suspended/fired for NOT restricting what people view on the Internet.
What the hell is she supposed to do? Punt?
I have no tag line
Yes, that's a great policy. This way you motivate librarians to spy on patrons. They then become your agents, your pair of eyes in each library.
The library policy did say that they would monitor access. But constant monitoring is impossible. There are issues with monitoring in general: you don't want to invade patrons' privacy and you don't want to restrict adults' rights. But as everyone here should know, filtering is an ineffective solution. Filtering is also required for federal funding. Rock and hard place.
Have you ever tried to police activities by performing walk-throughs? It's damn near impossible, especially when the perpetrator carries no respect for the authorities. I helped oversee a 24 station computer lab for a local middle school, and no matter HOW diligent the lab monitor, each and every computer, without exception, at some point had to be reloaded because a kid or group of kids wound up installing some software which broke it, or downloaded music, or some violation of the usage policy. Even revoking privileges didn't help the situation.
If your duties are, by definition, limited and near impossible, you are doomed to defy those duties.
You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you allow full access, the users tend to run amok. If you prevent full access, then it's a challenge and those who circumvent the prevention are lauded as creative and gifted.
"what the hell does a suspension of a librarian have to do with my rights or anybody else's?"
An excellent question. Where to begin?
First, the library is one of the traditional places for persons to get information. Things related to your rights that concern librarians:
-Censorship
-Public Access to Information
-Public Access to Government Information
-Intellectual Freedom
-Privacy
-Copyright and Intellectual Property
There's more.
One of these issues is technological barriers to access, such as filtering, and how they impact people (adults and children).
The librarian is facing dismissal, and possible criminal charges for the actions of another. So if the system this, why could we not punish you for someone else's crimes?
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
No, i think you are the one that is freaking out.
The issue is that a person is getting fired for what appears to be out of their control. For a what seems to be a single incident.
This has nothing to do with freespeech/etc. Its about the transposing of fault to innocent people.
The person doing the viewing is at fault and should be punished, not the person running the building.
The only thing it should do for the librarian is serve as a wakeup call that their blocking procedure isn't adequate.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
The fallout of government censorship comes from the government censoring. The increased in public libraries is one of the more positive changes that has occurred with respect to access to information, government or otherwise. While it is true that if the libraries did not receive public money the government would not be in the same position to affect library policy (and censor), there is far less ability for the public to affect private information policy.
People read stories like this, and then wonder why so many people are so hostile to the idea of municipal broadband servies.
I will take my Internet service without Big Brother government watching, thanks.
Why do you citizens put up with this shit?
Isn't it time you started demanding that things change?
Come on, mobilize already!
Your religious right is going to completely fubar your society and culture if you don't start demanding better. You can't afford to sit on your fat asses pretending that this stuff doesn't hurt you.
--
Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
I picked my examples with a modicum of deliberation. Lolita and Portnoy were both underage, as were many of Rueben's models.
KFG
Let's pull the zoom lens back out to a statewide standpoint. Florida in general has been beset by one major sex related crime after another. Their CPS is a dog's lunch and is currently paralyzed by the scandals surrounding it.
The bottom line is that when something remotely sex related is found on a public access terminal in Florida, there is a kneejerk reaction to find a scapegoat and lynch that person as quick as possible.
If this were anywhere else in the nation, there would have been a Gaelic shrug and beefier security procedures put into place, no one getting crucified over it.
First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.
I know you're being sarcastic. But I'd like to chime in my own obvious answer: don't let people out of prison/jail that you want to punish. Letting people out of prison "early" while placing any sort of restriction on them is paramount to turning the whole state/country into a prison. The fact that the librarian is being punished over this seems very clearly Florida's way of saying that the prison guards (police) aren't too happy with her conduct.
If Florida really wants sex offenders to be punished for the rest of their life, they better be prepared to adequately shelter them in prison for the rest of their life. If every felony meant life imprisonment (think of all the ex-felons who can't vote), I think Florida would be a quite different state.
Eurohacker European paranoia, gun rights, and h
A significant part of what destroyed rome was relying on a specie-based currency. Controlling the money supply is very important for keeping the economy healthy. Hard currencies make it imposible to increase the money supply in times of economic trouble, preventing depressions from being converted into mild recessions like the one we just had.
Why are so many Slashdotters anti-technology?
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
There is no "best enforcement policy" for irrational laws, rules and in general attempting to dictate to adults what they may do with access to the Web. That the access happens to be in a library paid for by taxes should not mean that Congress critters or whatever set of Mrs. Grundy types who scream the loudest get to monitor or restrict content accessed.
"If anyone should be fired "
And that's the point. No one should be fired over this incident. The librarian is there to assist patrons in study and scholarship, not to be a net nanny that makes sure nobody is downloading porn.
This is an unfortunate incident that a politician is trying to make a name from. If anyone should be fired its the commisioner who is now on a witch hunt.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
Where did the article say that child porn was being viewed on the library terminals? If it had been, you can be sure that they'd have trumpeted it.
Instead, it appears that the 'registered sex offender' (Since when do they have to carry signs so everyone can see who they are at all times? Since when do they have to inform librarians of their status just to browse for books or on the 'net?) was found with CP in his own possession, and plain ol' vanilla porn was viewed on the library terminal.
I love the way child porn is thrown into the article to make it seem tied in to the incident, but the two appear to be completely seperate cases. The perp was charged with posession of CP, so must have had it on their own computer or in hardcopy.
This is terrible. The librarian did nothing wrong. Hell, the 'offender' did nothing wrong as far as I know, not at the library itself - MY public library has actual SEX MANUALS on the shelves, in hardcopy! (The Joy of Sex and several others) I can probably also find several pictures of nude bodies if I look.
I have great respect for librarians and the job they do. I'd much rather see whoever suspended the librarian fired for their knee-jerk reaction and blame-throwing.
I'm really sickened to see the direction this country is headed in.
"Historically, only violence has been a successful solution to dictatorship."
I can think of one case where a dictatorship did go away without violence. Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_of_Spain who is the King of Spain, and oversaw the transition from dictatorship to democracy.
(Basically, Juan Carlos was the prince, and the dictator Franco designated Juan as his heir. However, once Franco died, Juan took things in a very different direction to what Franco expected.)
But, this required the dictator to die a natural death and the dictator to groom an astute heir that (presumably secretly) cared more about the people than the dictatorship; so it perhaps may unfortunatly be a unique occourance.
I don't think USA problems are because you have a Fiat currency.
...are
1) *what* investigators?
2) *why* were there investigators?
3) who sent them?
And a hearty thanks to all those who voted Republican, and so supported Christian neo-fascist "political correctness".
mark "and libertarian votes help the GOP"
Except for the librarian in question, for whom this is undoubtedly a stupid horror, this is just another high water mark that indicates the general stupidity of contemporary U.S. society, especially Florida which I'm sorry to say, may have a couple positive news stories but in general looks like an example of massive social deevolution.
Even IF the librarian had a written contract guaranteeing perfect surveillance and control of the Internet kiosks, it is most likely a minor footnote compared to all the good done for the community. Or to put it another way, the inability to restrain suspicious conduct by a felon was found to outweigh all other contributions. Maybe an accounting of the tasks that were done instead of policing the kiosks would be illuminating.
Possibly there is a secret war against sex offenders that requires the public library to be some kind of gauntlet the newly released offender has to run. Not sure if that wouldn't in fact count as entrapment but.. heck Florida doesn't think libraries and custodians of knowledge are that important so screw 'em! There's a limited number of slots in the Ivies and Big 10 schools anyway.