censorship on library computers
Dear Sir or Madam,
Your literature states that computers in the libraries are not censored except in the children's area. My experience, based on every computer used in five different branches is that they all are. Since being shut out of UCLA psychology dept. research papers as pornographic I now make a point of testing any computer I use for the first time.
Is there, in pracice, any computer that is not censored and if so where. Or is your leaflet trying to give a false impression of freedom.
Yours faithfully,
A. Roberts
Dear Mr. Roberts,
Libraries in Oxfordshire are managed by Oxfordshire
County Council so I cannot provide the information you have requested.
If you wish to make an enquiry of Oxfordshire County Council, you can
e-mail them at [email address].
I hope this assists, but if you disagree with any part
of this response you are entitled to ask Oxford City Council for an
internal review of the decision(s) made. You may do this by writing to
The Monitoring Officer, Oxford City Council, The Town Hall, Blue Boar
Street, Oxford, OX1 4EY. If, after the result of an internal review, you
are still not satisfied, you may ask the Information Commissioner to
intervene on your behalf. You may do this by writing to The Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Hughes
Project Manager & Acting Freedom of Information Officer
Oxford City Council
St. Aldate's Chambers
St. Aldate's
Oxford
OX1 1DS
Tel: 01865-252669
Alex Skene left an annotation ()
The email address above is foi@oxfordshire.gov.uk - the WhatDoTheyKnow site hides them to prevent spam
You can also make a FOI request to them here:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/oxfor...
David Hearn left an annotation ()
Both County AND City core IT management has apparently been merged and is run jointly by shared staff from 1 of the (?Clarendon) business suites near the entrance from Cornmarket to the Clarendon Centre. Which may make targeted censorship and surveillance at least possible.
Alan Roberts left an annotation ()
The big change I have noticed is that now you have to log in with your library number so they know exactly who is using which machine when. Loging in a "guest" may avoid this but it is not possible to reserve or book as guest. I also notice the login says "loading your personal settings". Do I have different setting from others?
Visitors a to the new offices in the Clarendon Buildings are left in no coubt that they are neither wanted or welcome there.
My original query remains unanswered. The most recent reprint of the literature re use of library computers still states that unfiltered access is available away from children's areas but no one can tell me where these are. I've never found one. Similarly no one can tell me the difference between filtering and censoring. My question is not whether the computers should be censored or not, that is a different matter, but why all the literature states some are not when in practice all are. Filtering / censoring on the recently available wifi seems to be more severe than on other machines.
As a footnote I have one or two sites which I use for checking since I first had my own childrens stories blocked as pornographic. These are no longer on the web anyway. My railway photo albums are still blocked as pornography, recently a cooking with mushrooms site was blocked as "ilegal drugs" and a sewing nachine maintenance diagram as "terrorism"
David Hearn left an annotation ()
Re: "now you have to log in with your library number so they know exactly who is using which machine when".
No. They only know which number / password has been typed in. Administrators of their net can easily find out what those are, and could abuse them in one's stead, if wished.
And LAs and many other bodies in our Big Brother culture doubtless intercept all sorts of private communications.
A benefit of the new login is that where users once logged in more than once on terminals in different county libraries or in the same library (i.e. hogging the facility), now with the number just a single login countywide is feasible. Unless an authorized technician or librarian grants more time e.g. by use of a "masterkey" number login / password.
Alan Roberts left an annotation ()
I'm speaking from experience. Recently I had to change my password when I found someone else had been using it. They would probably have got away with it for longer if they had not tried to book an hour a day for the folowing week. Library staff simply denied that it was possible but as they knew me personally helped me cancel them. As for booking more than one session, I agree you can't but you can log on as guest on any computer that isn't already booked though I don't see this as a problem, if it isn't booked why not let someone who wants it use it even if they have already had their official hour. I haven't checked the literature on this one but it used to say that you were entitled to an hour (subject to availability) but could have longer if the computer was not required. The new system shuts you down on the dot of 60 minutes even is the computer isn't required. I have been shut down 95% into a download when another 2 or 3 minutes on a machine that was not required was all that I needed. I understand that staff have the ability to over ride the shut down but on that occasion staff told me they couldn't.
My original question remain unanswered. Why does the l;iterature say the computers are not censored / filtered when they are. All I'm asking for is honesty.
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now
Alan Roberts left an annotation ()
I was advised by the main library that they are run by the city council so I submitted my request to them. They have replied that libraries are run by the county council and I should submit my request to them at the email address provided. The address was NOT actually provided.