Interesting People mailing list archives
IP: Re -- two comments Re: The "Dangerous" Public Library
From: David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Sun, 20 Jul 1997 18:32:33 -0400
From: "Robert Raisch, Internet Consultant" <raisch () internautics com> Dave, thanks for adding me to the list. A few thoughts: It seems to me that the question of librarians exercising "editorial control" over their collections is the same one facing all Internet Access Providers. Simply put, the question is: are you a publisher? If the answer is yes, then the Internet Access Provider creates a product based on the selection process it exercises over available information. Time Magazine doesn't carry each and every article submitted by its writers or editors; it maintains editorial control over the sum of available news, providing (one presumes) some valuable perspective or point-of-view by doing so and if that point- of-view meets my requirements as a consumer, I buy the magazine. If the answer is no, the Internet Access Provider simply provides a venue or channel through which information can flow, irrespective of its source. Traditionally, this is the role of a 'common carrier.' Now, while it is true that libraries have exercised a type of editorial control over information, I suspect it has been predicated more on availability of economic resources not as any attempt to establish an editorial point-of-view. Libraries are funded with the expectation that they will provide a representative selection of the available universe of information. The Internet Access Provider faces the same issue when it chooses to limit resources it provides to its customers, when it filters Usenet or blocks access to certain Web sites. Prodigy faced this problem when it chose to block any public posting that contained words Prodigy deemed inappropriate to its "family oriented" constituency. By doing so, Prodigy risked their (ad-hoc) status as a common carrier, becoming liable for ALL communication flowing through their service. I suspect that libraries can become similarly liable for the content they provide and risk their public funding by exercising editorial control, establishing a point-of-view, and becoming publishers. </rr> Rob Raisch, Consultant -- "O brave new world, That has such people in't!" <http://www.internautics.com/raisch>
Current thread:
- IP: Re -- two comments Re: The "Dangerous" Public Library David Farber (Jul 20)