CDA

[andrew mutch]

Ronnie,

Not to beat this dead horse but don't miss this important distinction.

This is the difference between a library and a private business owner.

A public library, university, etc. is a government institution that has
to abide by the First Amendment. A private business can choose to carry
porn or not carry porn.  They can keep kids out or let them in.  They
can reject material for all kinds of reasons and they don't have to
explain themselves to anybody(except their customers and investors).  

A library on the other hand doesn't have such independence.  A library
can't willy-nilly censor material just because it offends someone.  Yes,
that means taking criticism and maybe even putting jobs on the line.  I
hope that the people of the library profession, over all others, would
understand the importance of guarding the free flow of information. 
Without it, librarians are overpaid security guards for books.

Now, let's be honest.  Why do we endorse filters for the Internet? 
Because we object to the content of the material.  Why, we argue, should
children be exposed to that?  They need to be protected, right?  

If you agree with that, why stop at pornography?  Why not hate speech,
why not scenes of violence and mayhem?  We all know that it is
impossible to draw a line and when you start drawing them, you are no
different than the private store owner, substituting your values for
mine, and deciding what is appropriate for your patrons to view with
this important distinction: the private businessperson violates no ones
rights...the library that filters violates everyones.

Andrew Mutch