Sonoma County's public libraries have an average of five complaints in three years about easy access to adult Internet content - but that isn't stopping a small group of people from pressuring the library to install blocking software on the library's computers.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat says a leader in this campaign jumped on a recent pro-filtering advocate's declaration that the Sonoma County library's Net policy makes it one of the most unsafe for children - even though the advocate lives in Oregon.
Debra Martin tells the paper she wants filters installed because of "at least a few" instances of children being able to see Web porn brought up by adult computer users in the library.
"She said the link between pornography and sexual abuse of children is clear to her," the Press Democrat says, "and her greatest fear is that men will view porn at the library and then assault children."
The Internet porn issue has peaked and subsided in many cities and towns across the country, the paper continues, noting that in a relatively few communities -- about 15 percent -- public libraries have installed porn filters on at least some of their public Internet computers.
The Sonoma County Library has chosen to install no filters and to stress to parents that they must be responsible for their children's Internet use, says the Press Democrat, which leads Martin to call the library "a purveyor of pornography.'' But others involved in the filtering debate say that, often as not, filtering software ends up blocking non-adult sites like those of newspapers as well as adult sites.
Martin and her supporters are circulating petitions asking the library commission to consider placing filters on the Internet computers. Pearson said he will recommend to the commission at next month's meeting that it ask the county library system's advisory board to review the issue and make a recommendation, the Press Democrat says.
