Library Access to Smut Criticized

Parental nightmare No. 237:

Children start spending all their free time at the public library. But instead of reading, they’re surfing the Net. And the waves are mostly of the curvaceous, pornographic variety.

Responding to about a dozen complaints from parents, Los Angeles City Councilman Rudy Svorinich on Tuesday asked city librarians and attorneys to research whether there is a way to restrict access to adult material for minors using the library system’s Internet terminals.

But several lawmakers worried that any restrictions would stomp on the 1st Amendment and lead to litigation.

“Of all places, the library is supposed to be the repository of human thought that we hand down through generations,” said Councilwoman Rita Walters. “This is a place where ideas and thoughts cannot be censored.”

Although the U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned a law outlawing the display of indecent material at Internet sites accessible by children, Svorinich said he sees a “narrow window of opportunity” for the libraries to provide filters or other devices to prevent under-age porn-hunters from finding their bounty at public expense.

“Is the court mandating that we provide access to pornography on taxpayer-funded equipment?” he asked. “That’s very different from, ‘Should a person be allowed to access the material on their own volition?’ ”

So far, the city has placed no restrictions beyond a 30-minute time limit on the use of its more than 1,000 terminals at 68 branches. Internet use costs about $3,200 a month per computer.

Elsewhere in the country, libraries have blocked access to porn sites, among other controversial items. A survey by the state library recently found that 22% of the locations with Internet access use filters, as do libraries in Boston and Orlando. The city of Anaheim has a simpler solution: No Internet access for patrons.