FILTERING SOFTWARE IN JAPANESE PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THEIR PERFORMANCE
Keita Tsuji, Akiko Yahagi · 2009
Introduction: This study clarifies the current status of implementing filtering software in Japanese public libraries and their performance. Method: 253 municipal libraries and 47 prefectural libraries that provide Internet terminals to their users were chosen as the target, and a mail survey was conducted from November 2007 to January 2008. We received usable responses from a total of 155 libraries. As for the performance of filtering software, we manually checked 4,640 web pages by using PCs on which i-FILTER and InterSafe were installed. We determined whether they content that “should be blocked and, conversely, whether they excessively content that should not be blocked. Result: We found that 85.3% of prefectural and 76.9% of municipal libraries installed filtering software. The most chosen software applications were i-FILTER, InterSafe, and CYBERsitter. Among the complaints from users, some mentioned that they could not access the pages of online bookstores, which are considered useful to library users. The survey revealed a trade-off relationship between i-FILTER and InterSafe regarding the blocking rate for harmful pages and the incorrect blocking rate for non-harmful pages. Moreover, block leaks are common for relatively new concepts such as 学校裏サイ ト (student run school site). Conclusion: Filtering software is now common among public libraries, but vendors’ offerings perform differently. Public libraries should select and set up their software in correspondence with their own information supply policies.