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Published on 10/27/1997 All articles from this issue

Library board affirms free access to the Internet

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue

Town Crier Staff Writer

After consulting with an ethics center and hearing testimony from 24 people speaking pro and con, the county library board affirmed its policy of freedom of access to library resources - including the Internet.

The issue centered around whether or not the county libraries, of which Los Altos is a part, should install filtering software on computer terminals in children's rooms that could eliminate access to pornography.

"This was a good decision," said Los Altos resident Patti Williams, city council member and chairwoman of the Santa Clara County Library District Joint Powers Authority that met last Thursday.

"We honored both sides of the issue," she said. "We maintained current policy, while current software filter solutions are inadequate. And we've asked for clarification from the courts regarding the use of filters and censorship issues."

The joint powers board represents the libraries in Alum Rock, Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga and unincorporated areas of the county.

For librarians, filtering Internet material is a first amendment issue of censorship.

"It is up to the library to provide information," said Susan Fuller, head librarian for Santa Clara County. "It's up to the patrons or parents and guardians to set the standards."

In Los Altos, "We don't want filters," said Larry Condit, young adult services librarian. "It filters out not only what people object to but other things, too."

Filtering software that searches by key word may keep out articles with the word "breast" and prevent someone doing research on breast cancer from accessing resources available on the Internet, librarians say.

"The Internet expands our library so much," said Kathy Templeman, children's librarian in Los Altos. "The Internet gives your collection so much more breadth than you'd normally have."

Pam Eastmond, a Los Altos mother of 8-year-old Bekka, would like to see filters.

"I personally think it's a good idea if it's (the material) R-rated or illegal," Eastmond said. Children "don't need to be learning that here (in the children's room of the Los Altos Library)."

In Marjolaine's, a popular downtown bakery and coffee shop, "I've overheard kids bragging about what's on the Internet," Eastmond said.

At the Los Altos Library, "We are not monitoring what children access," Templeman said. "I understand parents have concerns, but values should come from the parents."

In Los Altos, there are no restrictions on adults being in the children's room, Condit said. "There is free access to all terminals."

In the children's room, six terminals are connected to the Internet, three with text only, three with graphics capabilities.

After school Oct. 22, the three terminals with graphics were in constant use.

At one point, three teen boys were huddled around one terminal giggling.

At another, a 12-year-old said he was "just playing around and doing homework for a science project."

At the third, Bekka Eastmond typed in "Christopher Columbus."

"People want filters in the hopes it will make things safe," Templeman said. "But it gives a false sense of security."