KidLib Versus Porn Filters

Does filtering really work?

Filtering does NOT work as advertised. It does little to protect children from stalkers and predators. Pornographers and technologically savvy minors can easily find ways around filtering and blocking software. In some cases and jurisdictions, filtering may even be illegal. For more information on the debate about filters and filtering, we recommend you consult these American Library Association pages.

Unlike filtering spiders, our KidLib researchers are human and cooperative, and do not crawl the Internet day and night looking for porn sites. On the contrary, we research only the Best of the Web, not All of the Web, and index thousands of prime sites with our Photon indexing and search system, that rivals the most popular Web search engines. Best of all, librarians can customize KidLib - adding their own local and preferred sites to our selections.

Plus KidLib is library friendly - we offer screen options that are keyed to the Dewey Decimal System, so students can do Web research on a library machine, then turn around and find a matching book on the shelves. For an example, see this sample page.

KidLib also offers home access, based on users keying in their library card or bar code number. So students who can't make it into the library can still access KidLib from home or school.

Why is porn filtering defective?

Filtering technology relies on a fundamentally flawed linguistic model to exclude sites. Filtering simply doesn't work, and can be a costly hassle to monitor and manage. Also, any kind of filtering approaches the Web negatively and without distinguishing on the basis of quality, so users still get information overload and untrustworthy search results.

KidLib gives users the Best of the Web, with thousands of learning oriented sites chosen by our panel of award-winning educators and other experts, plus partners and clients.

Is KidLib cheaper than filtering in terms of costs?

Some U.S. school boards are spending over $100,000 a year in software, plus the expenses of monitoring and managing filters. KidLib offers far better value, plus it's a smarter and better option to address a growing problem, and one that won't go away with filters.

I want to build a "safe street" in our library. Can I do this with KidLib?

If you're looking to build a "safe street" in your institution, don't rely on porn filters. In our opinion, filter makers just try and dam the deluge by throwing mud in the cracks. The real problem is porn overload, not the existence of porn. A "safe street" protected by filters is a snare and an delusion, and the rapid growth of the Web means better judgment and more inclusionary systems like KidLib are needed to build this virtual safe street.

Even the American Library Association admits the obvious:
"The weakness of [filtering] technology is essential to our argument. There are tens of thousands of Web sites that are blocked that don't have anything to do with sex."
- Paul Smith, lead attorney representing the American Library Association (ALA) before the US Supreme Court, Mar 5, 2003.

What if I want to give my kids the widest possible access to the Internet?
Doesn't KidLib limit them?

Yes and No. KidLib may limit and narrow what is available on a screen, and deliberately so, but we like to think of it as creative focusing and channeling of the Web, and building sets of Internet resources from the bottom up, not trying to control the Web from the top down.

KidLib Web sets let young users focus on the best of the Web, without all the dangers and distractions that come with full Internet access.

There are many positive gains to be had in "narrowcasting" the Internet. Many schools are tired of "nannying" their students, and want a tool that can be used to give Web research a stronger curriculum focus, and to help beginning users cope with information overload - how can you teach Boolean search techniques using a base of billions and billions of sites? KidLib supplies that tool.

Others want to tame what can be a disruptive and unruly medium in a library or classroom, and make it work better. With KidLib, teachers can even build sets of Web resources that access ONLY their subject and nothing else. So subject dedicated machines can be easily developed and set up in the back of the classroom.

Then there are the legal minefields, which are a very real concern for schools and libraries. Some want to avoid the danger of potential lawsuits if students under 18 are exposed to illegal or dangerous materials inside their institution. In many cases it's a simple question of practicality. KidLib provides that security and peace of mind.

Should adult libraries use KidLib?

In some cases, yes, KidLib can be used to improve the user experience and meet special needs through the creation of dedicated subject or language machines. Virtually all public libraries and schools are now connected to the Internet, and the Web is here to stay. Some want to boost this wonderful new medium to complement existing programs and services. Others want to be Internet publishers, creating virtual public spaces to attract new patrons with a full variety of services and materials.

Some public libraries also want to promote Web use for "underserved populations" or special needs groups, or for disadvantaged people who might otherwise be denied the benefits of the new technology. But others are running into the hassles of having to remind teenagers their time is up and asking them to vacate the Web machine for another person in line.

We feel it's a question of choice, perhaps dependent on whether you are a public institution or a private one, whether you are constitutionally required to offer open Web access, whether you have political or religious constraints, or whether you just want to narrow or focus Web resources as a way to improve the user experience. You might, for example, want to provide a dedicated machine that only contains Web resources in French or Spanish or Chinese or Hebrew, or for the visually disabled. Or a machine that is plugged in to government, employment and health services only. With KidLib you have that choice.

Finally, many librarians are at the leading edge of of technology training, educating new computer users in search techniques and helping them evaluate online information, while at the same time not forgetting the print medium. KidLib can help, by providing a more rational Internet, one directly linked via Dewey numbers to the books on the shelves.

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