Hot Topic @ ILA: Balancing Security with Human Rights

One session that stayed with me after the conference was over was the discussion panel on security and human rights. This could have been a full day (or three!), as clearly there are no easy answers here. Many questions were raised:

• When and how should a parent have access to a child's account?
• How do we create a safe environment for our staff?
• What criteria should we use to ask people to leave (how bad do they have to smell? How much of a disruption can they cause to others?)?
• Where do we draw the line with "porn?"
• Should we use technology to further restrict Internet use, or should we do all we can to give patrons more privacy?
• When should we call 911?
• Should anyone work alone in a library, and how do we handle threats if this can't be avoided?

The list goes on. We all know the issues, and we know the philosophies behind them. We also know that the philosophical response isn't always applicable in our day-t0-day work life. What suggestions do you have in terms of practical ways to manage these issues in the real world?

ILA Conference '06

By now, we're all home from the ILA conference in Council Bluffs and back to the grindstone! Before I ask NWILS consulting team to share their conference experiences here, I thought it only fair to get the conversation started with my favorite session.

It has to be Wednesday's preconference with Michael Stephens; he was also the keynote speaker on Thursday. I heard him speak at PLA in Boston, too. He's a vigorous supporter behind the notions of Web 2.0/Library 2.0. Life on the web is now all about social networking. With great explanations of blogs, wikis, IM, podcasts, Flickr and more, he inspires libraries to be about social networking too.

For a good article on that topic, he recommends the cover story in Newsweek from 4/3/06: "Putting the WE in Web." You probably subscribe to Newsweek, but it's also available in full text in EBSCO. Do a little networking yourself and email the article to your board!

Lots of ideas are racing through my head as a result, including bringing Web 2.0/Library 2.0 topics to C.E. JAMBOREE in the spring. While I ponder that and set about buying his book and loading the car for 2 days on the road, check out Michael Stephens website: ww.tametheweb.com
Look for other conference highlights here soon...Bonnie McKewon