Public Internet Access in Libraries and Information Services

Public access to the internet is arguably the most important current development in library and information services. It presents a series of highly demanding issues for information professionals in all sectors. Public anxiety about harmful internet content and inappropriate use, particularly by children, continues to be debated. All this is against a background of ongoing concern about how the new technology affects legal and human rights areas such as copyright and other intellectual property; confidentiality, privacy, data protection and official secrecy; freedom of information; and harassment, obscenity and defamation.This book is a much-needed guide for information professionals requiring a fuller understanding of these areas of law and ethics, and provides essential guidance on access policy and management. Whilst working on the basic principle that freedom of expression and freedom of access to information are simultaneously human rights and fundamentals of librarianship, it also takes into account the ethical and legal ambiguity of internet provision and uset. A step-by-step guide to developing an internet access policy is offered, including guidance on controversial aspects such as surveillance and monitoring of use, and software filtering and blocking. Helpful appendices provide access to a range of current codes of conduct, guidance documents, internal policy documents and public policy documents, together with Council of Europe Guidelines originally drafted by the author. The major areas covered are: public access to information on the internet, the internet problem, the ethics of internet access management, the law and the internet, managing internet access, making a policy for public internet access. (EDITOR).