Shhh, and No Porn Please
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Steve Jobs may say the iPhone gives users "freedom from porn" but Burbank library officials are cautious about making the same promise when it comes to local branches.
A recent complaint letter alleging a man was watching pornography while using a Burbank library computer has officials considering a plan to allow librarians to eject offending patrons.
According to the Burbank Leader:
The anonymous complaint letter, circulated around several city departments, alleged that a man was watching Internet pornography on a library computer, but after a complaint, the librarians on duty did nothing to stop it beyond informing the man that his behavior was offensive to other patrons.
You may think a policy to remove patrons who may be viewing racy material already exists but officials have taken a cautious approach.
"It's a difficult line for us," Library Services Director Sharon Cohen told the Burbank Leader. "For kids, there are precautions, but we need to maintain 1st Amendment freedoms in a public library."
The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) of 2000 requires that public libraries which receive federal funding employ filtering software to prevent children from viewing pornography. Adults though can view explicit material if it involves bona-fide research or is for other lawful purposes. And there's a fine line between what some think is "offensive" and others think is "art."
"Once we start infringing on someone's 1st Amendment rights, it's just downhill from there," Cohen said.
Burbank officials told the Leader that filtering software which blocks inappropriate material is currently used on some computers but only those near children's areas.
Under the new rules being considered, librarians could ask someone to leave who is viewing material deemed offensive. If the patron refuses, the police could be called to make an arrest, the Leader reported.
