Dear Senator

Steven Cohen has a good point when he questions why librarians are fighting so hard against DOPA while the software companies that are being targeted don't seem to care. Still, I fear that it will be impossible for libraries to comply with DOPA while providing any internet access at all. I fear that the law will have a chilling effect on library innovations on the web (not much point in having an interactive catalog if you can't run it on the library's public computers). I fear that students will show up at college having developed their social software skills in the back alleys of the internet and it will be soley up to academic librarians and other university personnel to educate them on appropriate and safe behavior (we are not well-equipped for that role and college students are not the ideal age group to reach when you want to reduce risky behavior).

To tell the truth, though, I probably wouldn't have written to my senators if I hadn't come up with a metaphor that was too fun not to share. I'll put it at the bottom of this post.

Congress goes back in session on September 5. This is a good time to write to the senators at the home offices instead of the Washington office if you're inclined to use paper, an envelope, and a stamp. ALA has some good background information on DOPA.

Here's my letter:

The Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) has a great title, but it is a bad bill. Since many members of Congress apparently have little or no experience with social software, I have invented a metaphor that I think will be helpful.

Suppose that society decided that sports cars going too fast on the highways are big problems because their actions cause too many accidents. A member of Congress authors the Stopping Overly Fast Autos (SOFA) bill. That is a great title, one that will make Americans think that their Congress members are really addressing the problem. But what if it were a bad bill, like DOPA? Suppose SOFA did not really do anything to stop overly fast autos, but instead banned all vehicles carrying families from the highway system. That would arguably make families safer, but at a cost of prohibiting them from using a shared resource that is a great convenience.

The Stopping Overly Fast Autos bill would be a good bill if it actually did something to address the actions of the speeding drivers, instead of banning innocent people from using an important resource. It would be an even better bill if it provided for the education of moms driving minivans, helping them become more defensive drivers. That is what DOPA should be—a bill that goes after bad guys, while educating good citizens about how to use social software safely to develop themselves and their communities.

As the Web Services Librarian at Washington University, I have been giving presentations to a variety of libraries and librarians called “Reach Out! Social Software in Libraries,” demonstrating the many uses that libraries have made to reach patrons where they are, providing material that educates, informs, and builds communities. Under DOPA, these libraries will have to ban portions of their own sites from their computers. I would be happy to demonstrate libraries’ use of social software to your or your staff. Please contact me if that would be helpful.     #

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