The University library’s porn filter tracked 1121 hits during its trial period last autumn. Despite the demands from the library, the university choose to scrap the plans for a filter which would have covered the whole campus.
Last year, the university library received a number of complaints from upset visitors who felt that they were uncomfortable in how other visitors were using the library’s computers to view “explicit content.” At the beginning of the autumn term in 2011, the library tested a filter against pornographic material for a trial period. During the 16 day trial, 1211 search requests were denied.
However, to retain this filter, more money would be needed. So the library turned to the central administration.
“We wanted to make the filter a permanent feature here at the library, but we reached the conclusion that it would be too costly. We also suspected that the people who were blocked here would just turn to another computer on campus. So we suggested the idea that the university could impose this across the whole district,” Annika Rodman at the University library, who was the departmental head at the time when the filters were tested.
But, at the general management of Lund’s university, there was little interest. They decided that this was a problem which had to tackled by each individual department, says management director Susanne Kristensson.
“The question was raised during the spring amongst the heads for general management of the University, which includes departmental and administrative chiefs. The conclusion being that there wasn’t any interest in acquiring a joint filter”, adds Susanne Kristensson via email.
Kristian Knutsson, who works at the library often passes by the computers and states that this type of behaviour occurred long before computers became the norm.
“This isn’t a new problem for the library, it‘s just existed in different forms through time.”
Have there been any complaints since last year?
“No, we’ve hardly had any since last autumn”, says Kristian Knutsson
Last year, this was a major problem, why the sudden change?
“We don’t know if the filter acted as a preventive entity, but it may be so. It has probably been just a few individuals and it could be that they had enough after a few denied attempts,” says Annika Rodman.
text: Filip Lyrheden
translation: Jens Hansen