Filter = censur? En enkätundersökning om bibliotekariers rätt att begränsa information med hjälp av datorfilter.

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to examine librarian's opinion of computer filters, to bring order in the debate on these filters and also to encourage future debate on this subject. The main problem is whether librarians themselves think they have the right to limit the public access to information on the Internet by using computer filters. We will also see how many public libraries are using filters, why they have chosen to use or not to use them, what is the librarians' opinion of filters, what rules exist regarding the use of the Internet, and finally if it is legal to use filter programs in public libraries. We have also included a short report on what filters are and how they work. This paper deals only with Swedish conditions on a number of public libraries. The methods used are principally survey and interview. The surveys are accounted for according to the themes we have discovered. The result of the surveys shows that the use of filter programs is yet relatively unusual. This is partly because some people mean that using them would be censorship, and partly because filters are not thought to be reliable. The opinion regarding what censorship really means is divided, and so are views about whether using filter programs are censorship or not. Not even the law can clearly say if filters may be used in public libraries. An animated debate on the subject exists, but the contributions are often too emotional.