Librarians Caught in a Tangled Web

Ninth-grader Stafford Hilton visits Ventura County’s E. P. Foster Library almost every day after school. For an hour, or “until I get kicked off,” Stafford plays online computer games and browses Web sites at one of the 10 computers linked to the Internet.

But Stafford’s access is limited to “appropriate” sites not blocked by an Internet content filter. In other words, no violence, profanity, nudity, sexual acts, alcohol or drugs or sites that promote intolerance and hate.

Since Internet-accessible computers began popping up in public libraries, librarians have praised the World Wide Web as an invaluable research tool. But many librarians--and some politicians--are concerned that too many patrons are spending hours viewing inappropriate material on the taxpayers’ tab, and that children can also stumble onto those same Web sites.

So local library officials, along with city and county leaders, are struggling to develop policies that protect children from pornography without violating free speech rights.

Some libraries, including branches in the Ventura County system, offer filters that block access to certain key words or known inappropriate sites. Others require parents to supervise their children while they use the computer terminals. Still others remind patrons not to view inappropriate Web sites.

Whatever the policy, librarians have become cops on the information superhighway. Some librarians groan that they are spending as much time filtering information as selecting books.

And they don’t like it.

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“We’re not in the business of policing,” said Steve Brogden, deputy director of the Thousand Oaks library system. “Ultimately we think it’s the responsibility of the parent.”

Last year, members of the Libertarian Party in Ventura County sued the county library system for violating adult patrons’ 1st Amendment rights. They opposed a policy that required Internet users to sign a form promising they wouldn’t view sexually explicit material.

“The question is ‘How far do you go to protect kids?’ ” said lawyer Bill Weilbacher, who represented the Libertarian Party in the lawsuit. “And I think you don’t violate 1st Amendment law. That’s too high of a price to pay.”

Now, as a result of the settlement the county reached with the Libertarians, adult cardholders at county libraries no longer have to sign a consent form. Anyone under 18 who wants to use the Internet must sign a permission slip from a parent or guardian, designating whether they will be allowed filtered or unfiltered access.

The library also posts guidelines that say “displaying obscene sites is prohibited” and “e-mail, chat groups and games are not encouraged activities.”

On a recent afternoon at the county’s Wright Library, Annie Escobedo browsed through the Nickelodeon and Rugrats Web sites with her 4-year-old son, Joseph. She said she is thankful for the policy.

“When he grows up, I’m not going to want him looking up sex things,” Escobedo said. “I’ll want him to come to me and talk to me.”

But Internet user Sarah Wingren criticized the county library policy as a form of censorship.

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“I don’t think there is anything on the Web that doesn’t exist in the real world,” said Wingren, a technical illustrator from Ventura. “And I don’t think hiding things from kids is good.”

John Whysong, 17, who plays online games at the Foster Library, said he supports parental permission slips.

“I’m not the type of person to look at porn, so all the sites I need to see, I can get there [with] no problem,” he said. “But if you’re underage, your parents should still decide for you, because a lot of kids look at stuff they shouldn’t.”

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The debate over Internet use in libraries isn’t limited to Ventura County. Parents and free-speech advocates are criticizing libraries throughout California and across the nation--for having too much Internet access or not enough. And a number of those criticisms end up in the courtroom.

A coalition of civil liberty groups is challenging the Online Protection Act, Congress’ most recent attempt to limit access to the Internet, as violating the 1st Amendment. The law requires commercial Web sites to verify ages of users and only allow those over 18 to access adult material.

Opponents say the law could limit online discussions on women’s sexual freedom, the arts, AIDS and breast cancer.

Last week, the Alameda County Superior Court dismissed the lawsuit of a woman who sued the Livermore Public Library for allowing her 12-year-old son to view and download dozens of sexually explicit pictures from the Internet. The woman’s attorney wanted the city to restrict Internet access for children without their parents’ permission.

That’s exactly what Orange County libraries did last summer after a county supervisor learned that the libraries had a policy of unrestricted Internet access. Now, parents must sign a form to allow their children to get online.

In Kern County, American Civil Liberties Union attorneys recently challenged library officials for installing filtering software on the Internet. After a review by county attorneys, the library set up one unfiltered terminal at each branch, available to all patrons.

Filters are designed to shield children from viewing pornographic images and other inappropriate sites, or to prevent adults from spending hours at Internet computers conducting pornographic searches.

Some filters block sites with words such as sex or nude. The Ventura County library system uses software that blocks Web sites that screeners have identified as indecent.

But critics say filters inevitably block out harmless sites, and may not block all obscene sites. And they may also prevent teenagers from viewing sites on “safe sex” or from doing research projects on subjects such as the rise of neo-Nazis in America.

“We know it’s not a perfect filter,” said Ventura County Librarian Martha Gifford. “We tell parents that the Internet changes minute by minute. But it’s the best we could do with the current technology.”

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Neither the Thousand Oaks nor the Oxnard libraries, unaffiliated with the county library system, use content filters. Brenda Crispin, a librarian at the Oxnard Public Library, said filters aren’t very effective, and give the parents of underage users a false sense of security.

Rather, she hands patrons an “acceptable use” policy to read before they log on to an Internet computer. The policy reminds them to use their discretion when surfing the Web. But Crispin said she often catches people viewing indecent sites, and has to tell them to find a less offensive site.

“It’s the part of my job I like the least,” Crispin said. “I want to give people the freedom to do whatever they came to the library to do, but on the other hand, we don’t want children to walk by and see something they shouldn’t see.”

Crispin also gives minors a “young person’s Internet guide,” which advises them to talk to their parents about online rules, and discourages them from giving out any personal information while online. She encourages them to come in with their parents as frequently as possible.

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At the Thousand Oaks libraries, children in preschool through fifth grade cannot use the Internet without a parent present. And students in grades six through 12 must have a signed parental consent form. Anyone 18 or over simply has to check in at the information desk.

Once parents sign permission slips, children at Thousand Oaks’ two branches have unrestricted online access. Librarian Brogden said this puts the burden of setting rules and guidelines on the parents’ shoulders.

In an ideal world, county librarian Gifford said, parents would be the ultimate filters of Internet content. But for now, she and her colleagues say they are doing their best to find a middle ground--a way to protect children and respect adults.