PREAMBLE:

In support of our mandate to meet the recreational, information and education needs of our public, free access to the Internet available in all branches of the City of Greater Sudbury Public Library. The Internet is an unregulated and constantly changing source of information. While library materials are selected for inclusion in the library collections, content from the Internet is not selected but made available to the public. As such the Internet is both a valuable resource that provides access to a wealth of information and a resource that is not always accurate and appropriate.

STATEMENT OF BOARD SUPPORT FOR INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

The Board supports the public’s right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and endorses both the Canadian Library Association’s Statement of Intellectual Freedom and The Ontario Library Association Statement on the Intellectual Rights of the Individual. The Sudbury Public Library Board recognizes that it is the right of all members of the public, regardless of age, to utilize any of the public workstations.

STATEMENT REGARDING DUE DILIGENCE

It is the intention of the Board to exercise due diligence in its provision of Internet services to the public. The library will take all reasonable care to ensure that obscene material is not exposed to public view. The library does not allow Internet stations in the library to be used for any illegal activities including but not limited to the possession and printing of obscene materials, child pornography, the promotion of hate literature and the infringement of copyright and other intellectual property rights. The library will respond to all warnings and complaints regarding obscene materials, child pornography, hate literature, and infringement of intellectual property rights and will take action in all situations where the material being viewed or printed is found to be illegal.

FILTERS

The Library Board supports the installation of filtering software on most, but not all Internet terminals. A minimum of one station at each branch and three stations at the MacKenzie Street location will be unfiltered. Unfiltered stations will neither be located in or adjacent to any children’s area. Parents or guardians are responsible for monitoring their children’s Internet activity and for their children’s choice of workstation. Filtering software does not replace the need of parental guidance.

While the Sudbury Public Library provides a mix of filtered and unfiltered stations, no filtering product can effectively block all offensive sites. The library assumes no liability or responsibility in the event that a filter is not totally effective. While the library updates its filtering software on a regular basis, the library assumes no responsibly for the currency of the filter or the content provided through it.

PRIVACY SCREENS

Privacy screens will be installed on all unfiltered Internet workstations so as to minimize the risk of exposing sensitive and obscene materials to public view.

SEARCH HISTORY

Workstations in public areas will be set-up to prevent clients from viewing the cache and search history. To minimize the risk of exposing subsequent users to offensive material, public terminals have been set-up to prevent clients from downloading to the hard drive.

EQUITABLE ACCESS

To ensure that all library clients have equitable access to Internet workstations, all public Internet stations will be set-up to periodically broadcast a message that their time on the terminal is almost up. At the end of the time period allowed, the Internet browser will be disabled briefly and a message will be broadcast asking the client to relinquish the station if other library clients are waiting.

CLIENT COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNET USE GUIDELINES

Every client using the Internet in the library should be required to acknowledge and agree to comply with the Library’s Internet Use Guidelines. A computer screen will appear on each public workstations at the start of each session that will display the full text of the Internet Use Guidelines. Clients will be required to electronically acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions of the Guidelines. Furthermaore, paper copies of these guidelines will be available at, or near each workstation.

Clients who are in violation of the library’s Internet Use Guidelines may have their Internet and /or library privileges revoked. The appropriate authorities will be notified of all illegal activities including but not limited to the possession and printing of child pornography the promotion of hate literature and infringement of copyright and other intellectual property rights.

DISCLAIMERS

The City of Greater Sudbury Public Library assumes no responsibility for the quality, reliability, accuracy, currency, or age appropriateness of any Internet site accessed by library clients. The Library Board assumes responsibility only for the information provided on its own web pages. The library provides Internet links on the Meteor/Météore site. Linking to a site does not imply endorsement of that site or of any products promoted on that site.

The Sudbury Public Library Board recognizes the library client’s rights to privacy. Although the library has taken measures to increase the privacy of Internet users, complete security is technically difficult to achieve and complete privacy of electronic communications and files is not guaranteed.

SIGNAGE

Signage will be posted at the top edge of the monitors of all public workstations. The signage will state that all users are required to read and agree to the Internet Use Guidelines. The signage will identify whether the station is filtered or unfiltered. Signage on unfiltered stations will include a warning that users of these stations may be exposed to offensive or explicit materials.

STAFF SUPERVISION AND ASSISTANCE

Sudbury Public Library staff will be advised to exercise a reasonable degree of supervision over the public Internet workstations. Staff should watch for and respond to patron concerns about illegal use of the Internet and of Internet workstations.

Library staff will assist clients with Internet use as time permits but are not expected to provide individualized instruction sessions to users. Group instruction or information sessions will be offered by the library at designated times.

December 2001

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