Filtering update--Idaho

[Dan Lester]

All of this is a brief and unofficial summary of recent actions
near Boise, Idaho.  I have no affiliation with any of the parties
involved.  I'm an unofficial messenger, except for the last
paragraph.

Background:  Ada Community Library is in the Suburban
Boise, Idaho area.  The city is in Ada County.  The ACL was
formed to serve the areas outside of the city of Boise, but in
the county, though excluding several other small towns that
already had their own library services.  It serves a third to half
of the folks in the greater Boise area.  

A few months ago a concerned citizen complained to the
Board that his son, age 12, had looked at dirty pictures in the
library.  I don't know WHAT sites he saw them on or HOW
dirty they were.  (All such words used nonjudgmentally, since
we each have our own standards)   

The library director supported the open nature of the three
public webstations.  She covered freedom to read, all the
relevant ALA policies, etc.  She covered the weaknesses of
filter software.  She supported parental responsibility for their
own children.  The complaining parents (by now he'd recruited
a bunch of them) said it was the library's responsibility.  The
board was divided, and decided to discuss it further in the
future.  

The outcome was as follows, as decided at a Board meeting
on 18 July 97.   ONE of the three workstations will have some
filtering software on it (don't know which brand or why
chosen).  If parents wish to restrict their children to the
filtered workstation, they will notify the library and the library
will punch some sort of hole in the child's card to indicate the
restriction.  I'm not sure of details as to how it will be
policed/supervised.

If anyone cares to know more, let me know and I'll try to get
those individuals more info on contacts, etc.  

Personally, I see it as a reasonable compromise, even though
I don't support ANY filtering ANY where.  But, this is a real
world, and library directors have to deal with boards, politics,
citizens, letter writing campaigns to the newspapers, etc, etc.
 I'm happier than ever I'm no longer on the administrative side
of things.  o-)

dan