Chat Room- How to Handle Terminal Cases

Making sure Library Patrons use Online Terminals appropriately has been an issue for librarians ever since the mid-'90s, when the public first began to use Internet stations in libraries. If you've worked with Net stations in a library, you know that there are always war stories to share. Back when I was working for a big public library, we sometimes saw teens sitting across the room from one another, sending online obscenities to each other, and then reading them aloud. Finally, one of us had to go over and tell them to quiet down or leave. During our busiest times, I literally witnessed fistfights break out between library users who were convinced that it was "their turn" to surf the Net.

Most school libraries and public libraries have appropriate use policies (AUPs) governing the use of computers and the Internet, and in those libraries users are required to follow the rules. Still, kids and teens (and adults) are always trying to see what they can get away with.

I recently asked several librarians how they were doing managing students' and adults' use of the Internet. Most librarians seemed to feel that they've pretty much figured out what they need to do to keep Net terminals accessible and encourage users to follow the rules. But there are still a few problems, the biggest one being the amount of time librarians spend checking the monitors, catching kids who are looking at eBay instead of the online encyclopedia.

In school libraries, students who don't follow the AUP can rack up real penalties, such as the loss of privileges or suspension if they misuse the stations. But because the media specialist is serving in loco parentis, students must be monitored fairly closely. J'aime Foust, a librarian at Queensbury (NY) High School, says that even though her students are supposed to be researching assignments on the library net stations, "It's not all academic, all the time. We only have eight monitors in our library for about 1,000 students. I ask students—politely—to move if they're not working, and they're usually off in three minutes or so." She says that it used to be necessary to monitor what was on the screens pretty closely, but since her school has installed a filter, it's not so critical. "I don't like filters, but they do take some of the pressure off," says Foust.

Camille Atkins, the head librarian at Highland School, a private K–12 school in Warrenton, VA, says that she still spends a good bit of her day keeping her eyes on the screens. "The kids are on an honor code, but when your back is turned they might be playing games or printing out [nonacademic-related] pictures." Highland School is now updating its AUP to take more of the things students do on the Net into account that are not usually academically appropriate, such as Instant Messaging friends on school PCs.

Public libraries have different problems, many involving adults instead of kids. In the Campbell Public Library (CPL), in the heart of California's Silicon Valley, Children's Librarian Lisa Mead Hughes feels that CPL's staff has a system that works well—most of the time. CPL has 11 filtering-optional terminals in the adult area, but only two filtered stations in the children's area. Hughes says the library has a posted AUP that does not permit an adult to use a terminal in the children's section unless a child accompanies them. Some adults object to this policy—especially when none of the adult computer stations are available and those in the children's room are free, and particularly when most children are in school. "I have to explain to them that we have parents with preschoolers who want to use the computers, as well as homeschoolers coming in," says Hughes. "Once they understand why we do it, they're usually pretty good about it."

Downers Grove (IL) Public Library (DGPL) has a similar policy that restricts adults' use of computers in the children's section, according to Sharon Lawrence, a DGPL children's librarian. The policy makes it easier to avoid uncomfortable situations, she says, such as an inappropriate adult image appearing on a children's-area monitor. "We get a little flack from adults who 'need' to get online," Lawrence says, "but once we explain the rationale behind the policy, they're accepting of it. Emphasizing the safety of children really works around here—how can you argue with that?"