SEND AN EMAIL: Don't Censor Search in Nebraska
Legislation in Nebraska would put unnecessary filters, blocks, and limits on school library research databases.
The Nebraska library community is very concerned with LB 635 (2023), a new bill that would limit and censor students' access to research databases to protect children. It is a re-tread of a bill that died last session and should not have been reawakened. Please join the Nebraska School Librarians Association, the Nebraska Library Association, and EveryLibrary in opposing this bill in the state Senate.
LB 635 alleges that Nebraska school library databases contain obscene or harmful materials. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Nebraska school databases are trusted educational resources like online encyclopedias, reference works, and news stories. It seems like a conspiracy theory to suggest that Funk & Wagnalls or Newsweek is obscene.
LB 635 wants to remove school librarians and administrators from making choices about the materials available to students by grade level. The bill would call for the creation of parent oversight panels. However, there are no procedures in LB 635 for how parents and guardians would report what they see as obscene or harmful or who would review the material. The bill also does not outline the procedures for parents and guardians who would speak in favor of materials that have been challenged.
The bill has some fundamental flaws besides that. While every school in Nebraska already filters internet access because of a long-standing federal law called the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), LB 635 seems to forget that fact in order to score political points. These filters are in place through school-provided internet and devices. In fact, it is safer for kids to use school library databases today than it is to use their phones or home computers. The choice to filter at home is up to the parents. Requiring school districts to filter personal devices restricts parents and guardians from making personal choices for their students.
LB 635 is a solution in search of a problem. There have been no reported incidents of students accessing potentially harmful or obscene content within approved educational research databases via school-provided internet and devices. According to an article in the Omaha World-Herald about the sponsor’s previous attempt to censor school library databases, “Neither [Senator] Albrecht nor Asher [bill supporter] said she knew of cases where Nebraska students have found obscene materials while using the databases available on school library sites.”
Please join library and education stakeholders across Nebraska in opposing LB635 now. We need to stop playing politics with something as important as student access to information, research, and scholarship. Send your message today.
SEND AN EMAIL: Don't Censor Search in Nebraska
Legislation in Nebraska would put unnecessary filters, blocks, and limits on school library research databases.
The Nebraska library community is very concerned with LB 635 (2023), a new bill that would limit and censor students' access to research databases to protect children. It is a re-tread of a bill that died last session and should not have been reawakened. Please join the Nebraska School Librarians Association, the Nebraska Library Association, and EveryLibrary in opposing this bill in the state Senate.
LB 635 alleges that Nebraska school library databases contain obscene or harmful materials. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Nebraska school databases are trusted educational resources like online encyclopedias, reference works, and news stories. It seems like a conspiracy theory to suggest that Funk & Wagnalls or Newsweek is obscene.
LB 635 wants to remove school librarians and administrators from making choices about the materials available to students by grade level. The bill would call for the creation of parent oversight panels. However, there are no procedures in LB 635 for how parents and guardians would report what they see as obscene or harmful or who would review the material. The bill also does not outline the procedures for parents and guardians who would speak in favor of materials that have been challenged.
The bill has some fundamental flaws besides that. While every school in Nebraska already filters internet access because of a long-standing federal law called the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), LB 635 seems to forget that fact in order to score political points. These filters are in place through school-provided internet and devices. In fact, it is safer for kids to use school library databases today than it is to use their phones or home computers. The choice to filter at home is up to the parents. Requiring school districts to filter personal devices restricts parents and guardians from making personal choices for their students.
LB 635 is a solution in search of a problem. There have been no reported incidents of students accessing potentially harmful or obscene content within approved educational research databases via school-provided internet and devices. According to an article in the Omaha World-Herald about the sponsor’s previous attempt to censor school library databases, “Neither [Senator] Albrecht nor Asher [bill supporter] said she knew of cases where Nebraska students have found obscene materials while using the databases available on school library sites.”
Please join library and education stakeholders across Nebraska in opposing LB635 now. We need to stop playing politics with something as important as student access to information, research, and scholarship. Send your message today.