Filtering at Ada Community Library, Boise Idaho

[Dan Lester]

This is being forwarded from a report to the LIBIDAHO list that
I own.  I gave a partial report on this library's situation to the
list a month or two ago.  The author, Dian Hofpauir, is the
director of Ada Community Library, in Boise.  The library
(ACL) serves the unincorporated areas of the county, outside
of Boise and a couple of smaller towns.  It is tax supported. 
By agreements that have been made that will be implemented
soon, it will be serving over 300,000 people in the greater
Boise area (and their patrons will be able to use Boise Public,
etc, etc.)  The library district, and thus the entire library, are
less than ten years old and have been automated since
opening day.  The collection is excellent.

A few brief insertions in brackets in the following text are my
own to help clarify a few local things for those not in Idaho.

dan
=========

The ACL Board adopted a revised Access to Electronic
Information, Services, and Networks Policy at our
Wednesday, August 20 Board meeting. The events leading
up to this decision may be of interest to some of you.

We have had public Internet access since fall of 1994.  Had a
policy in place since August, '95 that essentially says that
"parents must be responsible for providing guidance to their
own children.  It is not the role of the Library staff to do so." 
Our 3 public Internet computers are in the center of the main
floor, across from the OPAC computers.  You had to walk
past them to get to adult fiction or to the patio.  Those
librarians who feel no one would dare out in public are kidding
themselves.[to some immature persons of all ages displaying
to the public is an extra thrill]  I thought that way until it
started happening.  Last year we turned our computers 180
degrees and installed privacy screens.  Rather than being the
end of it, it was just the beginning.

In April of this year, a father requested we not permit his son
to use the Internet computers unless his parents were
present.  I told him I would not do that without discussing it
with our Library Board.  He then sent a letter in which he said
he was outraged that children could access pornography at
the library and parents had no way to stop it, etc, etc.
We mailed copies of his letter to the Board, put it on the
agenda, and invited him to speak at the next Board meeting.

Rather than waiting for the Board meeting  (we meet
monthly), he asked the Idaho Family Forum for help.  They in
turn contacted the Idaho Citizens Coalition and called a press
conference.  The father spoke, as did Kelly Walton [Director
of both of the above at various times, and author of an
anti-porn constitutional amendment that failed last election],
Dennis Mansfield, and a local minister.  I heard about it 20
minutes before it happened only because a TV reporter called
me and asked if I would be there and could she interview me.

The publicity was considerable.  17 people spoke at our next
Board meeting, including Dr. [Charles} Bolles, [Director of
Idaho State Library] ISL and Jack Van Valkenburg, ACLU. 
We even had TV coverage of our Board meeting.  Comments
were 3-1 against filtering.  However, at the next meeting, over
45 people came that were in favor of filtering.  We received a
phone call earlier in the day asking if this was where the
"pornography meeting was, and where were we located."  My
Board did not make a decision at that meeting because the
U.S. Supreme Court ruling was expected shortly and they
wanted to wait for it.

The above scenario is probably not much different from
stories at many other libraries. The following items
complicated things a wee bit here:

1. We do have a Trustee who is a member of the Idaho
Family Forum and very much wanted to see filters on all of
our computers.  He views privacy screens as enabling.  

2. The father was in almost weekly contact with
KarenJo Gounand (sp?) of Family Friendly Libraries in
Fairfax, VA.  

3. Family Friendly Libraries was debating whether to sue us if
we did not filter, and ACLU would not be very happy with us if
we did filter. 

4. One of my staff wrote a memo to her supervisor about her
concern about sexual harassment at the workplace when she
had to clear objectionable screens left by previous users. 
Interesting problem of hostile work environment/sexual
harassment  vs.  first amendment rights.

The outcome?  Our revised policy still says "parents must be
responsible for providing guidance to their own children.  It is
not the role of the Library staff to do so; however, the Library
will assist parents by making available filtered Internet access
to children whose parents have requested it."  One of our 3
Internet computers has X-Stop Library version on it.  This is
suppossed to block only beastiality, child pornography,
and obscenity.  It is fairly easy for staff to unblock a site for a
patron.  Parents who want to restrict their under 18yrs minor
must fill out a form at circ desk, and we punch a hole in their
child's card.  From my perspective, the worst aspect is that
patrons now must have a library card to use the Internet
stations.  With open access for Ada County,(except Kuna),
and including Nampa and Caldwell, starting very soon, this
should not be a issue.  Both our revised policy and the form
the parent signs says that "not all objectionable material will
be blocked."

Karen Schneider said Houston Public Library thought
Websense and Smart Filter did well as filters.  We may try
them if we have more problems with X-Stop.  I was not happy
that Dr. Ruth's safe sex site was blocked.  We have
unblocked it, but it should not have been blocked in the first
place.

Be prepared.  Please have a copy of Idaho Code Title 18,
Chapter 15 regarding disseminating material harmful to
minors.  Make sure all your board members have a copy. 
Same goes for Title 18, Chapter 41, Indecency
and obscenity.  Make sure you and your board also have
copies of the Syllabus of the Supreme Court Decision re the
Communications Decency Act of 1996.  Also remember, no
phone numbers or home addresses of elected officials should
be made public without their consent.  I did not know this,
and when asked, I gave the phone numbers of my trustees. 
Their names and phone numbers ended up in big print on the
wall during the televised press conference!

Best wishes, keep in touch.  Call if I can help.  Thank you to
Mr. Poole, Lynn Melton and all of you that sent me advice
and best wishes.

Dian Hoffpauir
dianh at ada.lib.id.us
Ada Community Library
10664 West Victory Road
Boise, ID  83709
PHONE:  (208) 362-0181 ext. 23
FAX:    (208) 362-0303