Think Before You Click 

The Greensboro Public Library today completed the implementation of a comprehensive education program that encourages responsible Internet surfing and allows library customers to filter their Internet searches at their discretion.

"Think Before You Click" is an educational program that incorporates literature, a "funbook" for youngsters, and public training sessions. The program, which includes the "Freedom to Filter" option, is designed to encourage parents, caregivers and children to learn about the Internet and to practice responsible Internet usage. The program includes defaults to filtered search engines on computers in the Children’s Room at Central Library and gives adult library customers the freedom to search the Internet with or without filters.

"This is the Greensboro Public Library’s ‘blueprint’ for addressing the ‘Internet dilemma’ of providing equal access for everyone while considering the concerns of the community for protecting children from inappropriate material on the Web," said Library Director Sandy Neerman. "We call it a blueprint because we have allowed room for change as the needs of our customers change."

Library staff, all of whom have received inhouse training on the program from the Library’s web coordinator, are prepared to discuss the program with interested customers and to provide one-on-one training as requested. Central Library and each branch library also will offer regular training sessions to educate the public about responsible Internet use and filtered search engines. The first public training will be offered during an "Open House" at Central Library on Sat., Feb. 26, from 10 am to 5 pm. Customers will be invited to visit the Library’s Computer Lab to learn more about the program and to learn how to use filtered search engines.

The combination of offering education and the option for filtered searching is a unique approach among the country’s public library systems. Many public libraries have installed filtering software, giving the user no choice of search options and potentially filtering out valuable information to the user’s Internet search. At least one public library has removed Internet access completely to resolve the issue.

"We did not feel that either of those options was the right one for the Greensboro Public Library," Neerman said. "Our mission, as a library, is to provide access to information for all of our customers, and not to restrict it in any way. We believe people have the right – and the responsibility – to decide for themselves and for their children what information they want to access on the Web, just as they select their books, music and videos."

The literature that accompanies the program includes a "Think Before You Click" brochure describing the program and tips for responsible and safe Internet use. A funbook for kids, titled "Weaving Your Way Through the Web with Webster and His Friends," is also part of the program. The book includes puzzles, games, an Internet scavenger hunt and an Internet Safety Pledge card that kids can sign and keep with them to remind them of their responsibility to use the Internet wisely.

More information about "Think Before You Click" and "Freedom to Filter" is available at any Greensboro Public Library branch and on the library’s website, www.greensborolibrary.org.