Internet and Pornography
Sponsored by Intellectual Freedom Committee
Michigan Library Association
October 11, 2006
Rachel Bishop, Larry Neal, Cliff Haka, Anne Seurynck
PornPreventR®
Prevents porn from entering your library
24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365-6
days per year
Filters all objectionable text and images
regardless of source – web page, chat or
e-mail
Free of charge, no licenses or annual
maintenance fees required
PornPreventR®
Internet Access is a Core Service
100% of Michigan public libraries provide
access
43% offer wireless; 25% more plan to
within a year
Average public library has 15 stations
Public Libraries and the Internet 2006: Study Results and Findings
Bertot, McClure, Jeager and Ryan, September 2006
The Challenges
Serving prudes and perverts
Serving people of all ages
Pornographic protected speech in a safe
and welcoming environment
Fuzzy legal definitions
Local, state and national politics
Confrontation
5 Ps of Dealing with Porn
1. Philosophy and Law 2. Policies
5. Performance 3. Place
4. Procedures
and Practice
1. Philosophy and Law
Do you care about people viewing porn?
Zero tolerance
Be polite
Avert your eyes
Do you rely on federal funding?
CIPA requirements
DOPA requirements (if becomes law)
Are you concerned about legal action?
ACLU
Sexual harassment
2. Policies
Code of conduct
Unattended children
Internet access
Customer-provided equipment
Appeals process
Media relations
CMPL’s Policy
11. While respecting intellectual freedom and customers’
First Amendment rights, the library is committed to
providing an environment free from sexual and other
forms of harassment and hate. As defined by federal and
state law, users shall not access, send, receive or print
materials that can be classified as child pornography.
Minors may not access, send, receive, print, or be
exposed to materials than can be classified as obscene
or harmful to minors. Since staff cannot consistently and
effectively monitor the public’s use of the Internet,
customers are asked to be sensitive of others’ values
and beliefs. Users have a right to privacy without the
close scrutiny of library staff or other customers, but
should use machines in less visible areas or request a
privacy screen when accessing potentially controversial
information and images.
3. Place
Separate stations by age
Station filters by location regardless of age
Login filters by age regardless of location
Provide stations with some privacy
CMPL’s Policy
12.Recognizing that graphic images on computer screens
may be seen easily by passersby of all ages, the library
has designated that all computers in open areas shall be
minimally filtered for sexual content. The Internet lab at
the Main Library and a designated station at each branch
library shall provide unfiltered access and shall only be
used by customers age 18 and above.
13.Workstations in the Children’s Services area of the Main
Library are reserved for minors and their parents or legal
guardians. Parents and guardians must be accompanied
by a minor in the Children’s Services area.
4. Procedures and Practice
General guidelines to empower staff
Can’t anticipate every situation
Solicit staff input (policies and guidelines)
Discuss and role play before a situation
Feel comfortable in calling police
Apply policy fairly to all users
5. Performance
Be prepared
Respond promptly
Two staff members should be involved
Review incidents with staff regarding what
did or did not go well
Lessons Learned
Should have responded immediately
Be prepared to ban on spot
Written procedures can help under
stressful circumstances
Police reports can become newspaper
articles or even…
… TV news exposés!
WKYC (Cleveland, Ohio) May 22, 2006 also played on MSNBC.
Resources
Creating Policies for Results by
Sandra Nelson and June Garcia
Black Belt Librarians by Warren
Graham
ALA’s “Libraries and the Internet
Toolkit”
CMPL’s new policies and guidelines