The Sacramento Public Library Authority Board (SPLA) voted 5-4 recently to continue allowing customers to access online pornography, the Eagle World News reports.
In response to community concerns, the SPLA Board has decided to offer greater privacy, such as recessed screens, rather than completely blocking access to adult content on library computers. The board consists of five members of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and four members of the Sacramento City Council.
Sacramento County libraries also currently employ filters to block adult content, disabling the software for adult patrons upon request. The library system's internet policy says that it "upholds and affirms the right of each individual to have access to constitutionally protected materials" and leaves it to "parents and legal guardians" to monitor their children's use of library computers.
The issue provoked a battle between lawyers from the ACLU and conservative legal watchdogs at the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI).
The PJI has hinged much of its case on the fact that libraries are funded by taxpayers, an argument the ACLU has successfully countered on First Amendment grounds.
