In a similar case, the University of Oklahoma restricted access to various newsgroups to limit the possibility of obscenity charges, despite the fact that no actions had been taken against the university. A faculty member filed a legal challenge to the move, claiming that his First Amendment rights had been violated. Several institutions have begun the task of facing these types of concerns. While case studies such as these exist, there has yet to be a detailed study of university handling of these issues. Interestingly, libraries may provide the greatest guidance to the academic community when considering the censorship scenario.
Libraries serve the community and act as gatekeepers to vast quantities of information.
Some have argued that it is proper and correct for librarians to act as censors, as completely free speech is dangerous and provides speech a classification that no other entity can claim. An academic institution acts in a similar role as the librarian by providing the resources necessary to access electronic information, although the educational aspect of the university makes the issue more complex. It is proposed that a survey be undertaken to gather data regarding university responses to the problems and issues detailed above. At the time of the writing of this paper, a questionnaire is under development. A sample of approximately five hundred universities will be selected from the population of all academic institutions in the United States.