How “Safe” Should Libraries Be?

Authors

  • Brian Sturm University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3776/ncl.v63i1.63

Abstract

Contemporary American society seems fraught with concern over our lack of “safety” – whether in the form of national security (USAPATRIOT Act, fighting terrorism internally and abroad, building the nation’s economic underpinnings, etc.) or individual security (identitytheft, Child Internet Protection Act, criminal background checks available online, etc.). We are both fascinated and frightened by the growing global community and the global information infrastructure, and we are struggling to find our place in it: individually, socially, ethically, and legally. Safety has turned from an American assumption into the consuming American question, and this change is transforming our culture, for good and for ill.

Author Biography

Brian Sturm, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Interests: Storytelling and folklore, children's and young adults' literature and public library services, children and technology, bibliotherapy

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Published

2008-05-15

Issue

Section

Features