June 08, 2023
At the Haliburton County Public Library we provide access to over 50,000 physical items on our shelves in 7 branches across Haliburton County, and access to over 100,000 online items including e-books, downloadable audiobooks, and online magazines via OverDrive. Add to that, we provide access to two on-demand services, Kanopy for streaming video, and PressReader for newspapers and magazines. The quantity of items means that to match patrons with their items and save you time we have a number of different tools. One of these tools is content filtering.
You likely have used content filtering already in your internet lives. If you’ve been online clothes shopping and want to limit your search results to a specific size or colour, you’ve applied filters so that your search results are limited to the items you are most interested in. OverDrive and Libby also have content filters available to you when searching for e-books and audiobooks.
As a public library, HCPL provides access to materials that satisfy a wide range of interests. That means that we’re going to have items that you simply aren’t interested in – and that’s okay! I love quirky science fiction, but the science fiction collection, at 3,230 items, on Libby is comparatively small compared to other genres like romance (22,690 items) and mystery (16,610 items). But I can limit my search results by selecting the science fiction subject filter to just get science fiction if that’s what I’m most interested in looking for, without wading through other subjects I’m not as interested in.
Filters can be refreshed during each search, but some can also be pinned so they apply to all searches. For example, if you’re a parent and you want to introduce your child to exploring e-books independently using the Libby App, you can pin search filters by audience. So, you can pin a search filter that limits search results to Juvenile, to ensure your child is searching only for children’s books. You can use search filters for subjects as well if you know your child has specific interests – this is particularly good for young folks who need to be really interested in a subject to get them reading.
Using content filters can also serve a purpose for readers who may experience emotional distress from certain subject matters. Who among us didn’t pick up a book by Stephen King at a young impressionable age and was left with a fear of clowns, isolated snowy lodges, or demon vintage cars? And while for some that might have been the start of their love of the horror genre, for others it meant that reading scary stuff requires all the lights in the house to be on at night for a week. Don’t want to accidentally check out a scary book? Avoiding the horror filter in Libby is the right move for you.
Libby isn’t the only service that we have that has content filters available when searching. Our online catalogue for our physical items lets you filter by topic, format, and audience, among other things. It also lets you filter by “Available Now” which gives you an idea of what books are currently available. Through our online catalogue, you can place a hold on any item in our library system and our staff will contact you when it’s ready to pick up at the circulation desk – no need to browse through the shelves if that’s not your thing.
For streaming video, Kanopy also has a content filtering when you do a search, letting you narrow your search results by genre such as drama, comedy, and the like. They also have a kids section where you can browse only items intended for children. This feature includes a passcode so that if you pass your device over to your child, they’ll need you to enter the passcode in order to leave that section.
It’s important to keep in mind that content filtering isn’t perfect, and occasionally a result you didn’t want may appear. So, it’s important to think about what you’re searching for and what you want out of that search. If you’re a parent, ultimately you are responsible for what your child accesses at the library both on our shelves and online, and you are always the best filter for your child. But also, as a parent, it can be difficult to keep track of what media is appropriate for the age of your child. That’s why we also have some tools you can use to make sure your own filtering skills are up to date.
Novelist Plus and Novelist K-8 Plus are two services that you can access through our Digital Library at haliburtonlibrary.ca. These services let you search for books using filters for audience, interest, reading level, and other factors. They also feature a fun section called “For Fans of” which lists books that have some of the same appeal as popular games, books, movies, and television shows. If you want to learn a bit more about a particular book before you or your child reads it, looking it up in Novelist Plus or Novelist K-8 Plus is a good way of getting a preview of what it might be like, as well as an expert opinion on who might like it.
Also, from our Digital Library page we link to the YouTube channel for Common Sense Media. This channel features short videos on various media including movies, games, and television shows, assessing how appropriate they are for certain age groups. They also provide conversation starters so that you can discuss issues that may have been brought up during a movie or television show.
The world is full of different tastes, ideas, perspectives, and worldviews, so it’s perfectly natural that not every book, movie, or magazine will appeal to you. Thankfully, there are plenty of tools to help you find what you do like in the wide range of material out there, and a chance for everyone to find their next favourite thing.
By Erin Kernohan-Berning