[WEB4LIB] Re: Report Uncovers Epidemic of Children Viewing P

[Nick Arnett]

Perhaps someone would be kind enough to research whether or not libraries
are actually contributing to childrens' access to pornography.  When I was
a child, and there was no Internet, it was readily available, thanks to the
collections belonging to friends' fathers, older kids and so forth. I
suspect that it has only become more available since then, the Internet
notwithstanding.  I have a hard time imagining that access at the library
makes any real difference, especially if it is discouraged.  Certainly
there is nothing new about the fact that some children have access to
pornography.  I would imagine that the percentage is far, far higher than
those that view it in libraries. In short, what is the point?  No one
needed to prove that pornography is accessible via library Web browsers.
No one needed to prove that some children have access to pornography.  This
study doesn't suggest any cause and effect relationship between the two.
One could even argue that one way to keep so many kids from having access
to pornography would to lock them in libraries, since the percentage who
access it there is so low.  But that makes about as much sense as filters.

I would still like to see librarians unplug their Internet connections to
dramatize the need for investment in information organization on the
Internet.  It is somewhat sad that the most comprehensive indexes are being
created by for-profit companies than by libraries.

Nick