FW: Staten Island Porn on the Internet, Part III

[Burt, David]

 ----------
From: Burt, David
To: 'publib-net at nysernet.org'
Subject: Staten Island Porn on the Internet, Part III
Date: Monday, March 03, 1997 8:53AM

Here is the third article:

LIBRARY TO REEXAMINE INTERNET LINK"
Staten Island Advance, 2/11/97

The New York Public Library will reevaluate it 's Internet policy in the
wake of protest generated by a Sunday Advance article about children's
easy access to pornography, said Norman Holman, senior vice president
and director of the New York library branches.

"We have tried to act responsibly on this matter and what we have done
is not unlike what other libraries have done across the country," said
Holman.  "But clearly, in  light of the strong response generated by the
Advance article, we have to take a careful look at the Internet policy
we have in place."

A story in the Sunday Advance detailed how kids are using library
Internet terminals to log on to explicit pornographic we sites -- with
little interference from librarians.

In the article, Holman had siad that to make rich resources available to
users and adhere to the libraries' long tradition of avoiding
censorship, the library had chosen to make all information on the
Internet available and rely on responsible use.

Since the story appeared, Staten Islanders and a number of elected
officials have voiced strong opposition to the library's position.

Of 654 Islanders who responded to an Advance call-in survey over the
past two days, 67 percent said library computers should have limited
access to the Internet in order to shield children from possible contact
with pornography, while 33 percent said children's access should be
unlimited.

Meanwhile, Borough President Guy V. Molinari yesterday threatened to cut
funding to Staten Island libraries if the library system didn't take
measures to stop kids from accessing pornographic material on its
Internet stations.

"I am totally outraged by this," Molinari said.  "I am appalled by the
attitude of some library people who suggest that pornography be
continued because they don't want to resort to censorship," he said.

"We give quite a bit of funding to the libraries, and if this is their
attitude, I will cut it off."

According to Molinari's office, the Borough President contributed $9
million in capital expense funds to Island libraries between fiscal
years 1991 and 1997.

On Sunday, Councilman Jerome X. O'Donovan (D-North Shore) said that he,
too, would be willing to restrict city funding to the library if the
institution did not exert controls over its Internet system.

The city donated more than $73 million to the library branches' $104
million budget last year, according to Caroline Oyama, spokeswoman for
the New York Public Library.

Assemblywoman Elizabeth Connelly (D-North Shore) also vowed to begin
examining how youngsters can be prevented from accessing pornography at
the public libraries.

In addition, Mrs. Connelly said she would re-introduce a bill into the
Assembly that would require parental consent for underage children to
rent or borrow R-rated films from the public libraries.

The bill would create a civil penalty of $100 for violators.

The measure was advanced last year by former Sen. Robert DiCarlo and
approved with unanimous bi-partisan support in the state Senate but was
defeated by the Assembly Higher Education Committee.

"We encountered so much opposition from libraries on this bill," said
Mrs. Connelly.  "And this Internet problem is so much more insidious."

At the very least, she said, libraries should require parental consent
for children to use Internet stations.