Transcript Slide 1

TCSG Library Council
Q2FY09 Report
Members - Ciara Healy, John Lassiter, Michael Miller,
Christina Teasley, Wendy Wilmoth, Don Auensen
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
Prior to Spring 2007 - Repeated complaints of
blockages and failed attempts to unblock
internet websites reported anecdotally to “DTAE”
Library Council (LC)
Winter/Spring 2007 - Focus on access to social
networking apps; Griffin Tech policies, procs
implemented; Bunnell et al presented white paper
& recommendations to DTAE Presidents Council
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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Spring 2007 - Stovall et al researched, surveyed
and educated LC on how WebSense works, what
is being blocked
Winter 2007 - Internet Access Committee (IAC)
formed in response to continued blocking
problems; researched, collected examples,
moved them to TCSG Library Council Wiki
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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Includes examples of TCSG website blocking
Examples include filtered category (e.g., Weapons,
Violence, Drugs), program (e.g., Criminal
Justice/Forensics/Paralegal Studies), impact on
students (e.g., denied access to information about
firearms), and resolution/status.
Ironically, schools experiencing the worst filtering
were/are blocked from accessing the wiki via the
WebSense software, so this initiative was crippled…
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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Spring 2008 - IAC created proposal to address
blocking problem; LC ratified, sent to TCSG
system office
June 2008 - Dr. Perren issued memo to
Presidents encouraging resolution by library
and IT directors; Perren, Dr. Roberson
requested status updates
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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
Aug 2008 - IAC created, administered survey to
obtain 2 month status update
Winter 2008 (this meeting)- IAC reports status to
LC, Perren, Roberson
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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“…Please reply to this … survey ONLY if,
prior to June 18, 2008*,
students in your library were prevented,
via internet filtering,
from accessing educational content relevant to their
program of study…”
*date of Dr. Perren’s email to TCSG college Presidents regarding
blocking of internet web sites
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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Internet blocking was preventing students
at 11 TCSG libraries from accessing
educational content relevant to their programs.
Access Not
Blocked (22)
Access Blocked
(11)
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“... fewer than 5% of all 2- and 4-year
institutions of higher education nationwide
presently filter their student computers…”
Bourdon, C. (2002, September). Filter-free Freshmen. American
Libraries. 33(8), 79. Retrieved May 14, 2008, from ProQuest Research
Library.
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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“…I see the problem of internet filtering of
educational content in my library, at the
present time, to be
•Very Unimportant
•Unimportant
•I am ambivalent on this issue
•Important
•Very Important”
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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Blocking problem remains
very important or important
at 8 of the 11 affected sites
Very important/important (8)
Ambivalent (1)
Very unimportant (2)
0
2
4
6
8
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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“…Which of the following statements most
accurately represents the status of internet
filtering (blocking) of educational content in your
library at this time?
Blocking of educational content has
•Been Eliminated
•Been Reduced
•Stayed About The Same
•Increased Somewhat
•Increased Significantly”
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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Success!
Blocking eliminated/reduced at 1/3 of problem sites
Access Not
Blocked (22)
Blocking
Reduced or
Eliminated (4)
Blocking About
the Same (7)
TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
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Work to be done:
Blocking continues at 1/5 of TCSG Libraries
Access Not
Blocked or
Blocking
Reduced (26)
Blocking About
the Same (7)
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TCSG Library Council, Internet Access Committee
School A (Confidential) –
“… You can go to Chattanooga State's website and
look at their use of Second Life to see the educational
opportunities afforded by use of the Internet. Our
students are blocked from such sites. I have worked
at libraries at… (omitted to protect anonymity)…and
this is the first time I have dealt with filters. I never
had a problem with students going to inappropriate
sites at these other colleges. Our VPAA is working to
have filters unblocked in the library, with the
exception of the three mandated categories. This has
run into a few roadblocks, but will go before our CIA
committee at its next meeting…”
TCSG Library Council, Internet
Access Committee
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School B (Confidential) –
“… Fortunately the IT dept. here is responsive when I
report a site that is blocked that a student needs to
use. However, they no longer set 'policy' as to
categories that are blocked. There is not a committee
and the response to Mr. Perren's e-mail by our VPAA
was that he didn't see a need for one. I am concerned
as to future policies that might come about. I would
prefer more open access. Librarians MUST be
included in any decision making and I don't see that
happening here…”
TCSG Library Council, Internet
Access Committee
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School C (Confidential) –
“… The two most academic sites filtered are:
YouTube and Second Life. YouTube includes videos
critical to academics and political freedom -such as
the official sites for republican and democrat elected
officials. Second Life is used for enhancing classroom
teaching. Here is a typical Second Life site for a
technical college:
http://www.chattanoogastate.edu/sl/slblog.asp ”
TCSG Library Council, Internet
Access Committee
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Middle Georgia TC –
“… We have found that blocking of legitimate
educational sites does seem to be a major problem.
When a blocked site is encountered a quick email to
IT usually results in the site being opened. It would
be best if the sites were not blocked to begin with,
but under the constraints imposed by blocking with
WebSense we have found that we have relatively few
complaints about inaccessible sites…”
TCSG Library Council, Internet
Access Committee
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South Georgia TC –
“… The Library Council should work towards
eliminating unnecessary restrictions on student
Internet usage…”
TCSG Library Council, Internet
Access Committee
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Savannah TC –
“… The current WebSense administrator at Savannah
Tech filters only the required categories for the most
part. However, ‘Games’ continue to be completely
filtered and ‘Web Hosting’ sites require the use of
quota time. Games of an educational nature would be
useful to supplement classroom instruction in the
areas of developmental English and Math. The
required use of quota time for Web Hosting sites
could discourage a student or faculty member from
maintaining a website for educational purposes…”
TCSG Library Council, Internet
Access Committee
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•Website blocking is rare in the academic
library community
•Website blocking of educational content
was a problem at 1/3 of TCSG libraries
•Website blocking problem is seen as an
important or very important problem at
most affected libraries
TCSG Library Council, Internet
Access Committee
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•Dr. Perren’s action helped reduce/eliminate
website blocking in some TCSG schools
•Some libraries are working with IT or with their
VPAA to address this problem locally
•Blocking of educational content on the internet
continues at 1/5 (7 of 33) TCSG libraries
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Access Committee
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