Jean McNamera was helping her son get a drink of water in Elgin’s Gail Borden Library when she suddenly spotted her next full-fledged crusade:
Seated near the water fountain, a boy about 10 years old was looking at what McNamera considered pornographic material on the Internet.
When the librarian refused to intervene, McNamera complained. Two weeks later, two computers in the youth section were equipped with filters to block sexually explicit material.
But McNamera, who successfully lobbied to ban the Judy Blume book “Forever” from Elgin District 46 middle schools in February, wasn’t thoroughly satisfied.
So for two months, she has been urging the library to put filters on computers in the adult-services section as well, an area that high school students can use.
Restricting the Internet is a sticky issue for public institutions, but it’s one libraries nationwide are grappling with as the Internet changes what collections can hold and how they are built.
While perpetual battles rage over what is considered appropriate material for a library, the limitless Internet flings the door wide open. “To me, passing by that boy on the computer and not saying something is like seeing a pedophile showing material (to a child) to lower inhibitions,” McNamera said. “Not doing something about it is wrong.”
Supporters of filters say libraries no longer can control the type of information coming in and should protect children from harmful material.
But McNamera has been called a censor and accused of imposing her morals on everyone else. Her critics say a library is an institution that stands for freedom of expression. Ultimately, they argue, parents must be the ones to take responsibility for what their children see and read.
“What is a library’s role with respect to children?” asked library board President Rick McCarthy. “We are not there to take the parents’ place. On the other hand, we don’t want to be a conduit for information that could conceivably hurt children. But whose definition do we use about what hurts children?”
So far, only a handful of libraries in the northwest suburbs are filtering. A survey taken by the Gail Borden staff showed that 23 of 29 library districts in the area do not have filter software restricting the Internet.
“You can get into a debate over whether it is censorship, but a library decides what to put on the shelves,” said Larry Kleckner, an official at the Park Ridge Library, which has Internet filters on its youth and adult computers. “It’s the same thing.”
Libraries in Barrington, Mt. Prospect, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg and Wauconda also have some type of Internet filter.
At the Gail Borden Library, administrators have recommended adopting a policy that blocks objectionable material on computers used by children. But the recommendation, which will be voted on in January, stops short of restricting adults.
“We try to leave choice up to the individual or parent,” said Dan Zack, director of the library. “We feel it is proper for the library to intervene where we have very young people. But . . . if we have the opportunity to retain open access for adults, we will.”
Although the library serves more than 100,000 people, few have complained about pornographic sites, Zack said. At one library board meeting, six people showed up to request filters, and a few letters have trickled in, he said.
Zack said staffers will intervene if something offensive on the screen can be seen by others.
But McNamera, the most vocal voice in the debate, doesn’t think that filtering only some computers is an acceptable compromise. She says the library is bowing to pressure from the American Library Association, which supports the Electronic Bill of Rights. The bill opposes all access barriers, regardless of the content or the age of the user.
“Our culture is divided now,” McNamera said. “People look at me and see a horrible censor. I look at them and think, `Oh, my gosh, I’ve got to keep my kids away from them.’ People are going to have to choose sides about what they believe.”
Others press for better adult supervision. “Censorship begins and ends at home,” said Sue Bernardi, the assistant superintendent for educational services and accountability for District 46. She notes that filtering may cheat children out of important information.
“There are dangerous sites, but one of the most dangerous things is keeping knowledge away from children,” she said.
