Leadership: Filtering and Social Media

Libraries that receive Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds or Internet access through the Universal Service Fund E-Rate Program are required to comply with the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA). This Act was passed in 2000 and the Supreme Court ruled that it was constitutional in 2003. Since then, legal and professional opinions about CIPA and Internet filtering, based on librarians’ and their patrons’ real-world experiences, are ever more wide-ranging.

NAVIGATING CIPA

In relationship to CIPA and filtering, there are, however, a few sure things for the school librarian:

• The purpose of the filter is to “protect against access” to materials that are obscene, child pornography, and anything “harmful to minors” under the age of seventeen.
• There is no obligation to use any particular filter.
• Filtering is inherently imperfect.
• A “good faith” effort constitutes compliance with CIPA, and therefore,
• Schools and libraries have some leeway in terms of selecting and modifying filtering technology (ALA 2009).

Since 2008, schools in the E-Rate Program must also specify that students are being taught how to appropriately use social networking sites and to guard against cyberbullying in their Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs). “With the new CIPA requirement, school librarians are in a position of strength to ensure that students receive regular digital citizenship education—a far more effective strategy than rigid filtering” (Adams 2012, 29).

Classroom teachers and school librarians know that a handful of students will choose to skirt the filter, and some will introduce inappropriate material into the academic environment. When teaching digital citizenship, the goal is to help youth make better choices and help schools maintain positive and appropriate learning environments. If CIPA is the law of the land for librarians serving children and youth, how, then, can school librarians take a leadership role in providing the least possible restrictions when accessing and publishing to the Internet?

WEBSITES

Banned Websites Awareness Day was born as an effort to spotlight the challenges inherent in Internet filtering (http://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/bwad). Originally sponsored by a dedicated group of high school librarians, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) adopted this initiative to publicize the fact that censorship, which is often thought of exclusively in relationship to books, also happens when school district filters block students, teachers, and librarians from accessing educationally sound websites. Awareness is an important first step. Action is the logical next step.

What should school librarians do when a useful website is blocked by their district’s filter? Working with district technology departments, librarians can most easily make a case for unblocking sites that support standards-based learning. The tricky part can be supporting students’ access to information for personal knowledge that does not necessarily relate directly to mandated curriculum. In 2011, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched the “Don’t Filter Me” campaign, an inquiry into whether or not school filters were blocking access to Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender (LGBT) information and organizations. A lawsuit followed and, ultimately, a federal district court ruled that a Missouri school district must “begin using a filtering system that blocks pornography without discriminating against LGBT-related content” (ACLU 2012).

School librarians are in a position to make every day in their schools and libraries banned websites awareness days. Taking action to ensure access for all students and teachers is at the heart of librarians’ mission to serve the needs of all and protect the First Amendment rights of library users.

SOCIAL MEDIA

In many school districts, filtering extends to social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, wikis, and more. When educators strive to make in-school learning more authentic and relevant to students’ out-of-school technology-infused learning and living environment, their attempts to integrate social media are frequently pulled up short by the filter’s block. How can educators use participatory culture tools and involve students in knowledge creation if the filter gets in the way?

This situation often leads to “connected” students rightly concluding that what they do in school is disconnected from what they do outside of school. In the Common Beliefs, the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner note: “Students need to develop skills in sharing knowledge and learning with others, both in face-to-face situations and through technology” (AASL 2007). Advocating for students’ access to and appropriate use of social media websites during the school day when they can be guided in developing digital citizenship skills is part of the librarians’ charge. Integrating these tools into learning and teaching can help motivate and inspire students to create knowledge and use the Web to share their ideas with others.

Patrons of all ages using public library computers in the communities with which I am most familiar (in Tucson, Arizona and Denton, Texas) have access to blogs, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, wikis, and more. These sites invite participation in larger conversations that can make school-based learning more meaningful to students. If we are committed to the idea that 21st-century people, pre-K-12 students included, can and should be producers as well as consumers of information and ideas, school access to social media sites should not be different from access provided by the students’ local public library.

A LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY

As with other aspects of digital citizenship, we can look to AASL’s Standards for the 21st-Century Learner for support for our efforts to provide students with opportunities to practice essential learning skills required for their success. When school librarians work collaboratively with district-level information technology departments, everyone’s goal should be to provide access to appropriate resources and social media tools in order to offer a rich and engaging menu of resources and tools for 21st-century learners. When we apply our knowledge of curriculum, instructional strategies, and technology resources and tools, we can help make in-school learning more relevant to students. Let’s lead and make sure students and teachers have access to websites, including social media sites, to support curriculum as well as personal learning goals and needs.