Policy

The library's policy on Internet filtering, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners, provides filtered access for children age 12 and younger unless the parent or guardian has allowed a choice of filtered or unfiltered access. Young people age 13-17 have a choice of filtered or unfiltered access unless their parents have specified filtered access only. Adults age 18 and older may choose filtered or unfiltered access. All computers with the children's interface are filtered. The library's commercial filtering software blocks material that it determines may be pornography.

Commercial filtering software often blocks material in error or fails to block sites that do fit its blocking criteria. The library will evaluate and respond to patron requests to unblock or block sites in order to reduce the filtering error rate.

Rationale

We know from our own testing that our commercial filtering software may sometimes block sites that should not be blocked. The filter is set to block "child pornography" and "adult pornography." But sometimes sites that contain no sexually explicit material are blocked for reasons that aren't entirely clear. This is commonly called overblocking.

All reference staff who maintain selected web sites for children, teens or adults will check their sites with the filter engaged, so that they can arrange unblocking of any site that the filtering software is blocking before they add it to one of our lists of selected sites. URLs for these sites can be added to a list of sites that will not be blocked in the future by sending an email to Jon Worona with "unblock website" in the subject line. Please include the URL of the website in question in the body of the message before sending on to Jon Worona.

Children and teens who are required to use filtered Internet access by the library's policy or by their parent's request may find that they cannot get to material that they need and want to use. In practice, other libraries that have introduced mandatory filtering, including those that require all adults to filter, have very few requests to unblock overblocked sites. However, we want to encourage patrons to report overblocking so that we can ensure that everyone has access to the information they need.

Procedure for handling requests to unblock a site

If a child or teen who is required to use filtering in the library (or the child's parent) asks to have a website unblocked, anyone working the reference desk can field the request. Here are the steps to take:

1. Ask the patron what message appeared on the screen when the site was blocked.
2. If the filter is blocking the site, the user receives the following message: The website you tried to reach has been blocked by the Library's commercial filtering software. Library staff are available to help you find the information you need. If you need help, please ask a staff member.
3. If the young person has an immediate need for reference material from the site, the reference person will check the site to see if it has obviously been blocked in error. The reference person will either print out needed material from the site at a reference station, if that is appropriate, or find comparable material on another site or in the library collection. 
4. The staff member who takes the request will send an email to Jon Worona with "unblock website" in the subject line. Please include the URL of the website in question in the body of the message before sending on to Jon Worona. They will review the site and consult as needed. Generally, when in doubt, we will not unblock. They will respond to the patron.

If an adult using filtering software asks to have a site unblocked:

1. Determine that the site has been blocked by the filter, not by a proxy server error. As described above, proxy server errors should be reported to the Help Desk immediately.
2. Explain to the adult that the filtering software is intended to protect children from sexually explicit material that could be described as pornography and is not appropriate for young people. If the adult is reasonably sure that the site does not meet that definition and is probably overblocked, send an email to Jon Worona as described above so that the site will be reviewed. The patron will be notified of the decision by the review team.
3. Suggest that the adult switch to an unfiltered search to access the site if the site contains information that the adult needs.
4. An adult using a filtered Internet guest pass will not be able to switch to unfiltered access. Suggest that the adult visit the circulation desk the next day and provide ID with proof of age to obtain an unfiltered pass. See the Internet Guest Pass Policy.

Procedure for blocking sites that are underblocked:

Filtering software also sometimes fails to block a site that it should be blocking.

1. Staff who receive a request to permanently block a site that was allowed to come through the filtering software should send an email to Jon Worona with "block website" in the subject line. Please include the URL of the website in question in the body of the message before sending on to Jon Worona to document the request. The review process will proceed as described above.