Tuesday, November 1, 2011

E-Rates: A Bribe for Censorship


I aced my last paper. I was a little worried because I used EndNote for the very first time and did not have as much control over building my References page. But it worked out.

Discussion Post. Below is my discussion post for the week. I entitled it "E-rates: A Bribe for Censorship." It has to do with government contribution to library operation costs, that end up costing libraries some intellectual liberty.

I understand that my title for this thread regarding pages 348-352 of the text is a bit simplistic and exaggerated, but I could not help but entertain these thoughts.


In essence, the government has been trying to exchange economic benefit to educational institutions for compromise in the area of censorship. Those institutions that apply for and are granted the special “E-rates” are then subject to evaluation to ensure that proper monitoring of use is applied. This left me appalled and saddened, since I can definitely see how easy it would be to compromise standards for some financial relief especially in our current world.

By the same token, I feel it is important to remember that this is not only “Big Brother” wanting to get their hands into everything. While that may play a part in their reasoning, outwardly, the purpose of this censorship is for the children’s benefit. Restricting child porn, preventing illegal activities and eliminating cyber-bullying are very good goals to strive for, especially in environments that cater to minors. However, the implementation of these restrictions would also infringe upon rights to information, which is why librarians oppose them.

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