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April 25, 2006
MySpace Discussion
There have been multiple stories in the news in the last few months about schools, libraries, and colleges banning MySpace for reasons of bandwidth-hoggery (which in a select few cases could be well-argued) or what's being sold as "safety concerns," "behavior issues," or "user protection." That last one makes me sick when I hear library staff touting it. Physically sick. Why? Because it's censorship. Plain and simple.
Recently a thread started on the LibRef-L listserv (library reference discussions) about MySpace and how to deal with the various behavior problems that were coming out of users using library computers to access the site. You can read the whole thread (look in April weeks 3 & 4 or search for subject line "myspace"), but here are the main points from my two responses on the issue, which I thought were worth sharing in this forum as well:
- Libraries have policies in place to deal with the behavior issues people raise in relation to MySpace: spending more than the allowed time on the computers, displaying obscene or harmful materials, being disruptive, etc. Enforce those policies, regardless of what activities your users are engaging in.
- It is not our place to judge what our users do with their time online, as long as it isn't violating any of our policies. To damn one site, when there are literally thousands of other sites out there just like MySpace (just not as popular at the present moment), is addressing a symptom, not the root cause--which is the behavior that is unacceptable in the library.
- We do not judge what people choose to read, listen to, or watch. Our professional ethics dictate that we provide access to all information. To suddenly have a different policy for online materials, simply because they are online, seriously conflicts with those ethics.
- If you're going to ban MySpace, then why not ban gaming, online gambling, dating websites, and the like? All of those could be said to cause behavioral issues in the library too. Where does that slippery slope end?
Someone took issue with my statement "Our professional ethics dictate that we provide access to all information." So I responded by pointing out the double standard that certainly exists in our profession today, and which makes me cringe when I see it in action.
- A user asks for an item that your library doesn't have on its shelves. The librarian on site had "carefully selected information resources" and didn't think this one was appropriate or important. However, the user has asked for the item. If the library can make the requested item available via ILL or other lending arrangement, then I believe it has an ethical duty to do so. No matter how much the librarian might disagree with the content, it would not be appropriate to say "No, I'm sorry--we're choosing not to make that available for you."
- In the same way, users are asking for MySpace and in an online world, it's much the same as the print world. To ban a site, to not make it available, is akin to saying that you won't ILL a user-requested item based on your own view of its content. To me, that screams censorship. "Online" is just another format. Why should our intellectual freedom standards be different because it's a new medium?
Finally, what do I think we should be doing?
- Educate your users about MySpace.
- Have materials available for parents and kids (depending on your type of library) outlining the issues with MySpace, online privacy, and personal information.
- Talk to them one on one.
But please...remember your professional ethics. Think about the double standard you're imposing on your users. Don't walk down that censorship path.
April 25, 2006 | Permalink
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Comments
Most everyone I meet over 35 tells me they think MySpace is for kids, and like me, thought it was something where kids made horrible looking pages.
Well, the horrible pages are there. And like every part of society, we need to watch what are kids are getting into.
But here's a breakthrough I had.. there are millions of real adults on MySpace. I did a search of "over 35" withouth five miles of me and got THOUSANDS of results.
Been building my network for the past month, meeting new people and targeted leads for my business.
There are other better "social network" sites.. but don't write off MySpace. (and don't bet against Murdoch.. he's usually right whether you like him or not)
Posted by: Warren Whitlock | December31, 2006
I think part of what one does with MySpace depends on your library's mission (as do so many things in the library world!).http://cssmob.com If you're a private Catholic high school library, it may be appropriate to block access. If you're a college library whose computers are intended for research and paper-writing, it may be appropriate to discourage access in favor of academics. If you're a public library, though, I think LiB hits the nail on the head.
Posted by: Nik | October18, 2006
That is one opinion. I think you will find that most kids and teens would disagree, however, and as they are using the site, it falls to adults to be able to tell them how to use it safely and to coach them into prudent practices not only on MySpace, but on the hundreds of other sites just like it. That's our role--not outright globally banning things left and right that we don't like.
Posted by: Sarah Houghton (LiB) | September15, 2006
I do not think that myspace should be abled through a regular at home computer never mind in a public place.
There are too many issues with the entire aspect of MySpace.com that teenagers should not be involved in never mind young children walking by.
Some of the stuff is just not approiate for them.
mySpace should be banned
Posted by: brianna | September15, 2006
I personally use MySpacedUP.com for all my MySpace accounts, there are many other resource sites out there.
Posted by: Franky | September 7, 2006
hi
Posted by: Rosa | May16, 2006
I think part of what one does with MySpace depends on your library's mission (as do so many things in the library world!). If you're a private Catholic high school library, it may be appropriate to block access. If you're a college library whose computers are intended for research and paper-writing, it may be appropriate to discourage access in favor of academics. If you're a public library, though, I think LiB hits the nail on the head.
Regarding Kathy's comments on parental control over a child's use of the Internet in public libraries--most libraries I've worked at in the past have had a similar system. I do strongly support parents' rights in deciding what their minor children access. However, I don't think we have the right to make that decision for the parents, and if you have policies or filters that block specific sites, the library is the one making the decision--not the parent. And that is not our role. Filters that block access to sites that are illegal for minors to view are fine, as we're upholding the law. Filters that block access to anything because some of the content may be deemed questionable by segments of society are not, to me, because we're then making the value judgment.
Posted by: Meg'n | April27, 2006
Just wanted to say that I enjoy reading on what you had written about MySpace. At the library I had done an internship with, we saw quite a few students logging onto MySpace (on the Internet computers which had a 1 hour time limit) with no initial problems.
However, in the middle of the semester we had several students complain to us. They felt that since they had legitimate work to do, why should they have to wait on another student who was playing around with MySpace.
There was some discussion of what to do (since gaming and ebay are heavily discouraged on all the computers, should MySpace be blocked?). Ultimately, the library staff added a note to their half hour reminders indicating that the 'net computers were for academic work only, and that MySpace was not included within the scope of "academic" work.
MySpace may be popular and yes, blocking it may raise some censorship alarms. But we have to make sure that constant MySpace is not getting in the way of students and faculty who actually need the computers for work.
Just my two cents...
Posted by: Allen | April26, 2006
I will venture out on a limb and say that the Internet is NOT like a library collection of materials - never has been, never will be. I made the analogy some years ago when we started providing Net access that it is like giving open access to a telephone - at that time phone sex lines were the thing. And we would allow anyone who walked into the library access to any number they wanted to call. That is not selection, as we do with books and online resources. Adults should have that option as we don't censor what they do or look at.
At that time our library decided to have parents sign a permission slip stating that they understood that their children would have access to the web - or they could NOT sign a slip and their children's cards wouldn't let them use the stations. Many parents opted for a third option of having a filter activiated with their child's card. It worked well. Too bad it isn't used by more institutions.
My two cents, and I look forward to further discussion.
Posted by: Kathy Shields | April26, 2006
Great post and thanks for the link to the discussion!
In a recent workshop, one of my participants got really upset about MySpace before she'd even heard that some libraries are getting accounts. I think we need to educate ourselves and out users about these online forms of interaction! Thanks!
Posted by: Michael Stephens | April26, 2006
All good points, and I agree. As you know, I've previously mentioned that I'm of two minds about MySpace. I like it, but also recognize that there may be unintended consequences for colleges and schools. User education at libraries, schools, and colleges that have access to MySpace is, I think, a good idea.
Posted by: Library Guy | April25, 2006
