_________________________________________________________________ ALAWON Volume 7, Number 122 ISSN 1069-7799 October 7, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (96 lines) NCLIS TO CONVENE HEARING ON KIDS AND THE INTERNET ________________________________________________________________ NCLIS TO CONVENE HEARING ON KIDS AND THE INTERNET The following notice is from the Federal Register October 7, 1998, Page 53937. ALA is discussing with NCLIS the participation of ALA President Ann Symons in the Commission's hearing. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION SCIENCE Sunshine Act Meeting; The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) Sunshine Act Meeting and Open Hearing TIME, DATE, AND PLACE: NCLIS Business Meeting, November 9, 1998, 2:00-5:00 p.m., Holiday Inn Westpark Hotel, 1900 North Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, VA. Open Hearing on ``Kids and the Internet: The Promise and the Perils'', November 10, 1998, 9:00-4:00 p.m., The Freedom Forum, Rooftop Center, 1101 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA. Purpose of the Hearing: The NCLIS hearing is being held for the purpose of producing a report with solid, practical recommendations for front-line library managers to deal with problems arising from public access Internet terminals in libraries where children may use them. Foremost of these problems is the potential for predation by pedophiles, but the hearing will also deal with the concerns parents express about their kids' having access to inappropriate material, generally sexually explicit matter, but also hate language, cult messages, and other troublesome material. Additionally, NCLIS intends to explore the issue of privacy, especially in the case of marketing efforts that entice kids to provide a host of consumer information about themselves and their families. The issues will be examined in a context of a deep and abiding regard for First Amendment freedoms and the library community's historic aversion to censorship. This hearing is open by invitation to anyone interested in this topic. Requests for invitation should be received by October 23, 1998. Because of time constraints, participation will be limited. Written testimony will be accepted for those unable to appear in person. Written requests for invitations must be submitted to NCLIS, Attn: Barbara Whiteleather, 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW., Suite 820, Washington, DC 20005-3522; fax: 202-606-9203; or e-mail: bw_nclis@inet.ed.gov. Written comments will be accepted before, during, or up to 30 days after the hearing provided that all such comments are received at the above address no later than the close of business on December 10, 1998. To request further information or to make special arrangements for physically challenged persons, contact Barbara Whiteleather (202-606- 9200) no later than one week in advance of the meeting. For further information contact Robert Willard, Executive Director (202) 606-9200. Dated: October 2, 1998. Robert S. Willard, NCLIS Executive Director. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/ subscribe.html or send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Carol C. Henderson Claudette W. Tennant All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. _________________________________________________________________