ALIA's letter to the Australian Broadcasting Authority on the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act and how it may apply to libraries and information services

22 October 2001

Mr Andree Wright
Director
Policy and Content Branch
Australian Broadcasting Authority
PO Box Q500
Queen Victoria Building
Sydney NSW 1230

Dear Mr Wright

I refer to my letter of 16 May 2001 in which I sought advise from the Australian Broadcasting Authority on the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act and how it may apply to libraries and information services.

Online content and regulation issues are of central relevance to the provision of library and information services. ALIA has a responsibility to consider and respond to online issues of relevance to its members. To do this ALIA has established an Online Content and Regulation Committee.

ALIA's Online Content and Regulation Committee seeks advice from the Australian Broadcasting as to the definitions of Internet Content Host, Internet Service Provider and Internet Content Provider as they may apply under the Broadcasting Services Act.

ALIA would like to be in the position to inform member library and information services what their obligations are under the Act and how these definitions may be applied to library services that provide public access to the internet.

Library and information services provide online access to the public in a number of ways including:

• knowledge management services, providing access to information and data only to members of the organisation or company;
• electronic catalogues of library holdings, accessible through the library's own webpage;
• web pages, which include library holdings but also include links to other websites;
• hosting web pages, for community groups such as the local historical society;
• providing access to selected links and internet search facilities and;
• hosting information, providing access to local webpages and subscription to electronic services.

The intention of the legislation would appear to be the creation of an environment in which individuals can feel confident that they will not encounter objectionable or illegal material by accident on the Internet and that minors will not find unsuitable material.

Libraries can create the 'safe environment' indicated by the legislation in a number of ways, most of which are examples of judicious practice, derived from a code of professional ethics. These include the development of policies, guidelines and procedures for acceptable use of the Internet, the establishment of clear procedures for dealing with complaints, the development of an effective community education program on Internet use and the establishment of an appropriate program of staff training. The Association believes that the use of filtering products cannot provide that safe environment and further, they restrict access to legal and valuable information.

ALIA would appreciate your advice on whether any of the activities outlined above would mean that libraries or information services are considered to be an Internet Content Host, Internet Service Provider or Internet Content Provider under the Act.

I look forward to receiving your written advice on these matters. If you should wish to clarify anything in this letter, please contact me, on 02 6215 8214.

Yours sincerely

Jennefer Nicholson
Executive director