In this article, the author states that school librarians can contribute to an atmosphere that supports intellectual freedom by drawing attention to the subtle messages about community values--messages that are communicated by virtue of what is included or excluded from curricular and co-curricular offerings. The author address issues with…

The article is divided into three sections. The main section, "Filtering beyond CIPA: Consequences of and Alternatives to Overfiltering in Schools" (Kristen Batch) describes factors that contribute to the overimplementation of CIPA. Internet filtering is a routine practice in public schools and libraries. The Children's Internet…

Participatory culture has many mechanisms to support peer-to-peer learning as young people enter interest-driven and friendship-driven networks. In this article, the authors argue that school librarians can help bridge the gap between the excitement of having students experiment with new forms of social learning and new digital-media practices,…

This selected bibliography contains 63 publications and 21 Web sites that can help librarians learn more about how they can use the metaphor of the information commons to advocate for the public's information assets. (MES)

Describes several projects aimed at building the Information Commons, including: Knowledge Conservancy plans to create a database of all freely available digitized content; the Universal Library, a project with the long-term goal of providing free, online access to all books; and several projects of the Creative Commons intended to build a robust…

Discusses the control of digital content and the stakes for libraries and our democratic culture. Highlights include copyright term extension, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, use of contract law to limit the public domain, database legislation, trademarks versus the public domain, the void in our cultural vocabulary, and the concept of the…

Discusses the key role of the school library as an information commons that prepares tomorrow's citizens to recognize their rights and responsibilities in the information age. An action agenda for school librarians aimed at ensuring that young people will continue to have opportunities to participate in a digital age democracy is suggested. (MES)