An Investigation into the Display of Potentially Offensive Salient Magazine Images

Abstract

The Victoria University of Wellington Library is planning to publish the student magazine entitled Salient online as part of the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC). The NZETC is managed by the Digital Initiatives Team at the Library. While scanning Salient staff noticed a number of images that could potentially offend readers. The images include nudity, violence, victims of war and images depicting suicide/execution. The Library currently has no policy in place to deal with such images in the NZETC. This report recommends the development of a Collection Development Policy for the NZETC and also an Image Display policy for the NZETC. Both of which should be made publicly available. It also recommends that all the offensive image content be made available but that the NZETC website architecture be modified to prevent these images from being displayed in search engine result pages.