Nassau Library System Needs a Clear Cut Policy on Pornography

I'm torn on this. I am NO fan of pornography. Porn addictions
corrupt young kids and destroy marriages everyday. However, I get a
little nervous when the government starts deciding what is and isn't
objectionable. Again I hate porn, but like it or not it's out there
and people have the right to view it if they so choose. If I'm not
mistaken, there was a lawsuit about this issue somewhere. Somebody
made the point that if the guy wanted to view porn he should pay for
it with his own internet connection. Well, the guy could make the
opposite argument that if you want your kids to surf the web free of
objectionable material then do so on your computer at home. Having a
seperate room for people over 18 seems reasonable, but even then
people who don't want to see porn would probably still be forced to
see it. Bottom line: if you want to really control what internet
content you see, put down the money to pay for an internet connection
in your home.

I stopped by the Library tonight and once again got a show of
pornography. I don't know what brand of privacy screens they
purchased but they are useless. I bought this to the attention of the
librarian and she was very receptive. It seems the staff, including
two young people at the desk, have been trying to stop this. She
asked if she could use my name and I told her yes. I also told her I
was friends with the editor of the local paper and would bump this
issue up to him if necessary.

Thanks for giving us the update!
I think it's awesome that you took the effort to investigate the
policy. A lot of people would just complain without bothering to learn
more.

I thought the screens were installed in the meantime... (I'm an
idiot.)

I've never seen these screens so I wonder if they're good enough.
The computers in our library are off to the side, and I never really
notice what people are viewing, but the next I go in I'll pay more
attention.

Viewing porn is a choice and this should be done in the privacy of
one's home.
If Nassau Library System does not have a policy in place regarding
viewing porn on their computers they should.

And yes, the library should also monitor children's access. Children,
especially those in the 10-17yr old age group have been known to sign
on at the library computer and view porn...all they need do is put the
word nude in a search engine and a plethera of sites will pop up. They
do this at the library because some parents do monitor their childrens
computer usage.

My employer has a strict policy regarding viewing pornography and
there have been employees fired for doing so.

And FYI - I did report someone viewing porn when my son was younger
and we were at the library. I didn't care if he knew it was me or
not...no one should be viewing porn at a library. There are children
all around and this is not the place to be viewing it.

I am surfing at a public location so I won't look them up myself (just
in case i get a bad link) but...

I honestly don't remember if NY State has any laws preventing the
observation of adult material from a public library computer.

I would suggest... contacting the librarian with a complaint or just
calling the police and telling them what happened.


Additionally... if there are children around then yes call the police.
Regardless of library policy, it's illegal to expose minors to sexual
material of that nature. And the librarian can't stop the cop from
arresting the offender anyway.

aren't there several companies that make "Privacy Filters" that go
over monitor screens?

If my memory serves, the screens would allow the user sitting directly
in front of the monitor to clerarly view the screen, but the images
were obscured from other vantage points. The only way someone would
be able to see the screen would be if they were standing RIGHT behind
the user and by then, the person would probably be aware of it and "X
out" of the page.

But more to the point, that guy was pretty brazen to be looking at
that crap out in the middle of a library like that. Just goes to show
that one idiot with no common sense (porn guy) ruins a good thing
(free Internet) for everyone (likely enforced restrictions)

FWIW... one way in which censoring software filters work is they look
for X amount of "skin tone" on a page, another way is it will look for
certain words. These filters also will block works of art or, for
example, a web page that discusses breast cancer.

So filtering isn't the best way to go for a public library, but a
policy against pornography, and if you're caught, you're banned from
computer usage, is fine by me.

I can see it now, no pun intended.

I'm not much for censorship, and I am a viewer of adult material
myself. But I don't see any reason it should be available at the
public library.

The last thing I want to see while in the library is someone looking
at porn. However, if we start censoring that, what else would be
censored. There are many popular "car crash" sites with gruesome
photos that I kids shouldn't see either, should those be censored?
There are also many gruesome photos of the Holocaust that young
children should not see either, should those be censored?

My local library branch is very small and has 5 internet terminals
that are almost always in use. It wouldn't be practical to limit
access to a certain age or possible to move them without re-arranging
the whole library (not taking into account that most libraries are
losing their budgets by the truckload).

Also, I don't like the idea of "private" internet terminals, I
certainly don't want to be the next person who touches that keyboard
or mouse.

I'm not sure how sensoring works exactly, but I would be all for it if
it would work to block the porn and not valid research material. In
high school I did two separate reports on Megan's Law, the Law that
requires sex offender's to register their whereabouts. I would have
been completely lost if I hadn't had proper access to the internet and
to the research materials it provided.

I do not agree that everyone has the "right" to view porn in a public
place. Everyone has the right to view it in their own home. Everyone
has the right to purchase videos/DVDs and watch them at home. Our
constitutional rights would still be protected, just not while in the
library setting. If this were a private establishment like a cyber
cafe, would this even be an issue? Would people still say that the
owners don't have the right to sensor?

I'm with the OP on this one...I'm no stranger to porn but it does not
need to be viewed in a library, especially in full view of other
patrons walking by.

I'm against any form of censorship but watching porn in a room with
children is ridiculous. I can't really blame the library though.
People need to have better common sense.

I remember a few years back a library around here fought to keep their
Playboy subcsription after some parents complained. I can't remember
if they kept it or nt.

At my local library, they have one block of computers just for patrons
11-17 with automatic filtering, directly across from those are the
adult machines, they are fitted with privacy screen that cannot be
viewed unless the user sits right in front of the screen, these PCs
have filtering software, however it can be disabled by entering your
library card number, thus proving your age.

Personally, i think there is a time and a place for everything, a
public library is not the place to be getting you jollies!

I am sorry, but I would have said something to some one reguardless of
who over heard. Also, I have to disagree with other posters..I belive
that you should be able to access what ever you want in the privacy of
your own home - short of child porn - but when you are on a public
computer, that I am paying for in form of taxes, it should NOT be
allowed. There is a big difference between censorship of reading
materials that you would find in a public librariy versus to what you
find on the internet. I feel that only porn, hate mongering, ect.,
should be blocked in a public library supported by PUBLIC funds.

Since the computers are available to anyone with a library card, I
just assumed those sites were blocked. I have never actually used a
library computer myself, but my husband and son used them a lot when
we had dial-up at the house. Now I'm going to have to ask them
exactly what they were doing all those times!

I agree, computers with access should not be in a common area and
proof of age should be required in order to use them. Something else
for parents to worry about. I guess kids aren't even safe at the
library.

I agree. I am a huge fan of pornography. And there is no need for
public libraries to provide access to it on taxpayer-funded computers.
If an adult wants to view pornography that badly, he or she can buy
their own computer.

I dated a library director who had the same opinion I did:
Pornography is awesome, but NOT in a public library where there are
minor children around.

I am 100% against filtering internet content at public libraries. That
is just too much censorship.
At my library, there is a policy against the viewing of obscene
material, but no filtering and no electronic monitoring. Monitoring is
done by library staff and security guards on their regular
walkthroughs.

I look on this library's website and found the following statement;
"The Library is a forum for all points of view and adheres to and
endorses the principles of intellectual freedom. The Library will not
monitor or restrict the choice of sites visited by individual patrons
or the content of those sites."
I think that this presents their position. They want to provide access
for whatever you need it for, whether it be for research of for the
use of businessmen.

"This material can be viewed by children who are simply walking by the
computer area and are not actually using the computers."
I'm torn on this issue. We should of course "protect" the children,
while at the same time should we infringe upon someone else's right?
I think they should amend their policy to prohibit the viewing of
graphically explicit material.