Thanks for support...etc

[pohjolak at lcm.macomb.lib.mi.us]

Greetings web4libbers,

A few months ago, part of an e-mail message authored by
myself regarding the Internet filtering and censorship
issues happening in the Warren Public Library were posted to
this list.  First and foremost, I'd like to thank everyone
for their support!  I was amazed to see the numbers of
e-mails that were coming in with links to articles dealing
with the censorship/filtering issue.  Thank you thank you
thank you!

Second - thanks to the presenters of "Sex in the Stacks,
News at 11," a great session that I attended at ALA in
SanFrancisco.  I've gotten lots of ideas and hopefully we'll
be able to implement some of them (:

And third, here's an update on the situation:  (mostly
opinion based, and that opinion is all mine!)

-The Macomb County Board of Commissioners has decided to
install a filtering system at the county level.  I believe
this is still in the works, and no final decisions have been
made.

-City Councilwoman Gloria Sankuer, however, still wants to
either cut Internet access as a whole, or add filters to
remove pornography and other undesirable "stuff" from the
'net in order to protect children in the city.  I'm sure all
of you saw the mention of article in the Detroit Free Press
and/or the Detroit News regarding the situation involving a
library staff member and councilwoman Sankuer.  Although
this situation has yet to reach resolution, the atmosphere
here at the library seems to be a much more positive one.

On a humorous note, four Gloria Sankuer websites have
cropped up!  All are linked from this site:
http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/lobby/5490 .  We've
also had lots of public support from patrons - one even
stopped into a branch and made a cash donation!

Again, thanks so much for the kind words of support.  Maybe
I'm being an optimist, but hopefully everyone can find a
middle ground and we can get back to the work we really want
to be doing - creating useful Internet resources and working
with patrons (:

--
Kate A. Pohjola                          Warren Public
Library
Library Technician           Warren, Michigan
Walt Whitman Branch
http://www.macomb.lib.mi.us/warren