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should libraries filter access to some information on all computers?
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Mom warns patrons about porn Toni Manning says the naked images harmed her daughter; library officials say filtered Web access is in the children's section
Toni Manning says the images harmed her child; library says filtered Web access in children's section
ERIC MORTENSON
GRESHAM -- In late October, Toni Manning took her three daughters to the library in search of information on hemophilia. Manning's been seeing red ever since.
On the way home, Manning overheard her 10-year-old daughter, Heidi, whispering to 8-year-old Hannah about what she'd seen at the library. While her mother was helping 13-year-old Holly with her hemophilia homework on the computer, a teenager sitting near them was looking at naked women on his computer.
Heidi was red-faced, embarrassed and confused. Her mom was just plain mad.
"Are you sure you saw this?" Manning asked.
"I wanted to let it go at first, I thought it was just a bad incident," Manning said. "Then I thought, 'No, I can't let this go.' "
Manning went back to the branch library in downtown Gresham the next day. The librarians were sympathetic and acknowledged that sometimes patrons use the free Internet access to look at sexually explicit material. But the staff said there was nothing they could do about it. First Amendment, the librarians said.
"I understand people have a right to view it," Manning said, "but in a public place, I don't think it should be displayed."
All of which has been argued before as the Multnomah County library system continues to struggle with cases where one person's free speech is considered foul spew by another.
County allows access to adults
Internet access may be the greatest knowledge gateway since Gutenberg, but some people seem to be more interested in stimulation than information.
And at Multnomah County's central library and its 16 branches, that's allowed. Protecting a person's right to view sexually explicit material is a point the library system carried all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003.
The county challenged the federal Children's Internet Protection Act, which requires libraries to filter pornography from Internet access or lose federal funding. The county argued that the law violated patrons' First Amendment rights and overstepped local authority. The Supreme Court ruled that Internet filters did not violate the First Amendment, noting that libraries exclude pornography from their print collections.
The county continues to disagree, hasn't changed its policy and gave up about $100,000 in federal funding.
"In general, adults have a right to access material that is constitutionally protected," said Cindy Gibbon, senior library manager. "It's a fine line we walk to make sure children are not exposed."
The library has taken steps to minimize problems. "Privacy screens" on the computers block the screen from view unless someone is standing behind users and looking over their shoulders, Gibbon said. She acknowledged they don't always work, however, and Manning's 10-year-old daughter probably was at eye-level with what was visible on the computer.
The library also can exclude people for bad behavior. If a person prints out offensive material and displays it, for example, he or she could be warned or barred from using the library. Computers in the children's area of the libraries have filters that screen out sexually explicit material.
The library is proposing policy revisions that will go to the Board of County Commissioners in early December. Under the policy, patrons 17 and older could continue to choose filtered or unfiltered software each time they use a library computer.
Children ages 13 to 16 could choose either, unless a parent or guardian said otherwise. Children 12 and younger would have filtered access unless a parent or guardian approved unfiltered access.
Mother passes out fliers
In a case such as Manning's, when a child sees something unintentionally, patrons should tell library staff about the problem, Gibbon said.
More information and a message on the subject from library Director Molly Raphael are available at www.multcolib.org/filter.html. The site includes a list of frequently asked questions.
For her part, Manning is making sure people know such material is available. She printed 500 fliers with her daughter's photograph and a message that such "innocent eyes" were exposed to pornography. She's distributed them outside the Gresham library, and most people she talked to were outraged. About one in eight argued that it was a free speech issue, she said.
Manning, a registered nurse, favors moving the computers out of public view and would welcome a filtering system at all the stations.
"I don't see why they need to have that in the library," she said. "It's a form of entertainment, and I don't know if libraries are necessarily there to provide entertainment.
"It's offensive to a lot of people," she said. "A lot of people think it's dangerous and degrading to women, but that's an ACLU and court fight for the future that's beyond me."
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Originally Posted by BrightStar
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