IP: Re -- two comments Re: The "Dangerous" Public Library

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

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>