Haynes walked into the Groves Public Library on 19th and Chicago on June 2nd and brazenly used a digital camera to peer up a woman's skirt and snap a picture. .... Corporal Mark Long says, "One of the people got a license plate number and we found out who he was and all the convictions he had for sexually violent offenses." Lubbock Police instantly alerted patrol divisions and put up warning posters with Haynes' picture and vehicle. Fritz says, "We assumed of course he wouldn't come back, but he did." On Wednesday, Haynes boldly returned to Groves Public Library and sat down at a computer. A library employee recognized him and called 9-1-1. Police arrived minutes later.The American Library Association would have us believe that public library computers rarely attract criminals. Along comes this story. Even a criminal caught in the act who escapes can't stay away from the computers and gets caught at them. Now in this library, their policy doesn't help much. For example, on their teen page, they have as the only "health" link a link to Go Ask Alice that teaches children about bestiality, autoerotic asphyxiation, fisting, etc. http://library.ci.lubbock.tx.us/teen/internet_links.htm Don't you think it's fine that a public library links to a site that teaches children how to strangle themselves just enough to have a heightened orgasm? Be that as it may, at least the librarian called the police. That's something the ALA is usually against as well. When will people realize they need to remove the influence of the ALA from their libraries so their citizens will not continue to be victimized? Instead we see a convicted sex offender returning to the public library for more action. See www.plan2succeed.org for more information.
Ping - see my comment above.
At the university library, we have many Public access computer terminals that are open to any patrons. In the department where I worked, we had many vagrants who would look at pornography and make print-outs of the material. The dean of the library established the policy that we could not say anything to people about such behaviour unless we were certain that they were a minor or were flagrantly harrassing other patrons. The management of most of our libraries is this permissive and that is where citizens need to take action. Also, libraries need to stop worshipping the ALA and take the desires of the communities which they serve into consideration.