Posted on 10/13/2005 4:58:56 PM PDT by BenLurkin
LOS ANGELES - Internet filters will be installed on all county library computers, the result of a mother with her 4-year-old daughter encountering inappropriate images on another patron's computer screen at the Canyon Country library. Children's computers in the county's 84 libraries will have a more inclusive filter, while adult computers will have a filter that blocks only sexually explicit images. Most blocked images can be unblocked at an adult patron's request.
The move comes at the urging of Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, whose 5th District includes the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys.
After the mother complained, the Board of Supervisors directed county Librarian Margaret Donnellan Todd to investigate options to limit access to pornography in county libraries.
Todd's first report, dated Sept. 9, suggested privacy screens and special monitors so that if adults are viewing porn, people walking by cannot see it easily. That report recommended against filters, saying a broad filter would block sites that aren't objectionable, while a limited filter would require library staff to unblock pornographic sites if the patron requested.
"At that point, the issue of preventing inadvertent viewing of the screen would remain unresolved," the report said.
The report drew a strong reply from Antonovich, who insisted that the library "employ all measures necessary to block access to pornographic Web sites on computers in county public libraries."
An Oct. 6 report from Todd suggested the limited image-only filter on adult computers and won Antonovich's approval, along with unanimous support from the rest of the supervisors at Tuesday's board meeting.
The revised report also calls for privacy-screen monitors on adult computers and for a reconfiguration of library layouts so adult computer screens are not in the direct walking path of children.
Antonovich called the revised recommendations "a step in the right direction to protect our children from exposure to harmful materials in an otherwise safe environment."
His motion, approved Tuesday, directs the Chief Administrative Office to help identify the funding necessary to implement the recommendations.
Todd estimates implementing all the recommendations will cost $344,000, with $237,000 going for new monitors, $32,000 for the floor-plan reconfigurations and $75,000 for the limited filters for the adult computers. The library maintains more than 650 public-use computers, about two-thirds of which are designated for adults.
The county will revisit the issue in six months to see how the policy is working and review any new technology to assist in blocking porn, Antonovich spokesman Tony Bell said.
"The recommendation to continue to adopt privacy technology as it becomes available is particularly important because the constant advancement of technology will play a crucial role in the county's policy and approach in this endeavor," Antonovich said.
In the Antelope Valley, the county operates libraries in Lancaster, Quartz Hill, Lake Los Angeles and Littlerock.
Palmdale runs two libraries; one is geared toward children 14 and under and the other is for adults.
The Palmdale children's library computers provide Internet access to selected sites that are appropriate for children, said Sheila Dumas, the support services librarian.
The main Palmdale library offers unfiltered Internet access, but users must check a box stating that they have read and understood the library policy prohibiting the viewing of "obscene, sexually explicit material."
A person found to be viewing such material would lose his or her Internet privileges for one week after a first offense, Dumas said, according to a library policy revised in May. If the Internet user is a minor, his or her parent or guardian would be notified and given details of the offense, according to the policy.
A person found violating the library policy a second time would have his or her Internet privileges revoked permanently, she said. Dumas said the policy has been effective, with offenses rarely reported.
But how will street people get their porn?
Or they could just realize that libraries are a big waste of taxpayer money and shut them down.
Somebody call the ACLU!
What "right" do people in a public library have to view porn? I'm sure the ACLU will explain it to me.
I'm reminded of the lady who couldn't find info on breast cancer on the library computer. Seems the filtering software blocked the word "breast" as a no-no.
"n.229. Courts, however, cannot expect libraries to act with the independence that other autonomous agencies display, even though the American Library Association urges libraries to resist such pressures. Am. Library Ass'n Policy Manual, supra note 70, P 53.1.1; see also id. PP 53.1, 53.1.15. Libraries, as service agencies, depend to a greater extent on the citizenry than other institutions that exercise some autonomy. For example, police departments have available to them coercive powers and are thus less dependent upon pleasing the citizenry. Moreover, citizens are hardly likely to abolish a police department even if they are dissatisfied with its policies. Similarly, the courts and the Federal Reserve have either coercive powers or regulatory powers that make them much less vulnerable to the displeasure of a substantial portion of the populace."Filth, Filtering, and the First Amendment: Ruminations on Public Libraries' Use of Internet Filtering Software, 53 Fed. Comm. L.J. 191, Mar 2001.
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