frequently includes offering training to patrons on how to use
the Internet, including how to access the information that they
want and to avoid the materials that they do not want. Another
technique that some public libraries use to direct their patrons
to pages that the libraries have determined to be accurate and
valuable is to establish links to "recommended Web sites" from
the public library's home page (i.e., the page that appears when
patrons begin a session at one of the library's public Internet
terminals). Librarians select these recommended Web sites by
using criteria similar to those employed in traditional
collection development. However, unless the library determines
otherwise, selection of these specific sites does not preclude
patrons from attempting to access other Internet Web sites.


Libraries may extend the "recommended Web sites" method
further by limiting patrons' access to only those Web sites that
are reviewed and selected by the library's staff. For example,
in 1996, the Westerville, Ohio Library offered Internet access to
children through a service called the "Library Channel." This
service was intended to be a means by which the library could
organize the Internet in some fashion for presentation to
patrons. Through the Library Channel, the computers in the
children's section of the library were restricted to 2,000 to
3,000 sites selected by librarians. After three years,
Westerville stopped using the Library Channel system because it
overly constrained the children's ability to access materials on
the Internet, and because the library experienced several
technical problems with the system.