Many schools and public libraries across NY State and nationwide have either no or inadequate filtering software in place on their computers, allowing children and adults access to hardcore pornography and leading to many other dangers at these supposedly safe places. This project equips concerned citizens with knowledge and assistance to get filters in their local libraries and schools.

A lack of filters results in our children being exposed to pornography, creates a hostile and unsafe environment for patrons and workers and makes these public places a breeding ground for predators.

Now, 20+ years into the Internet age there is no doubt that pornography has devastating affects on individuals, families and society. These increased societal ills include: addiction, exploitation, family disintegration, violence against women and children, sex trafficking, increased crime, and the list goes on. Due to unrestrained access to pornography at our schools and public libraries, often at the expense of American-tax dollars, we are allowing this pandemic of harm to begin in what should be among our nation’s safest places – libraries and schools.

All public, taxpayer-funded libraries should refuse to allow pornography on public computers – that is common sense.

This is not a fight with your local public librarians. They are good public servants. Rather the issue is with those, like the American Library Association (ALA), the ACLU and others, who have advocated access to porn in public libraries. The ALA has been the driving force behind pornography on library computers. ALA and the ACLU fought a losing battle all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court against the Children’s Internet Protection Act, a federal act that requires public libraries that take certain federal funds to block pictures that are (a) obscene; (b) child pornography; or (c) harmful to minors (for computers that are accessed by minors) . Imagine! Shouldn’t the American Library Association be on the side of protecting children from pornography?

Since loosing the battle against that law, ALA continues to disseminate misinformation about pornography to library systems. Here is an example from ALA’s own website:

“In the millions of Web sites available on the Internet, there are some—often loosely called “pornography”—that parents, or adults generally, do not want children to see. A very small fraction of those sexually explicit materials is actual obscenity or child pornography, which are not constitutionally protected. The rest, like the overwhelming majority of materials on the Internet , is protected by the First Amendment.”

This quote is FALSE. Suggesting that only a “very small fraction,” of porn available on the Internet is obscene is very deceptive. Most all pornography commercial websites is hardcore and therefore can be charged by prosecutors as “obscene.” The seemingly endless number of free porn sites depicting actual or simulated sex and other lascivious depictions are also hardcore and can be charged as obscene. Does ALA really think the American public is so uninformed and that it believes the overwhelming amount of internet porn is be soft-core, depicting just topless women?

The ALA site also strongly suggests that internet filters are inadequate, implying that use of them by libraries may violate constitutional rights of patrons. This in not accurate on two grounds. Filtering software has come a long way in the last twenty years and is very effective in blocking pornography without interfering with more legitimate sites. Also, use of filters does not violate rights, as the Supreme court has ruled in upholding the Children’s Internet Protection Act.

Some argue that allowing porn on computers is a must, otherwise the library is guilty of unconstitutional censorship. Nonsense! Just check out your local library. Does it carry every book in the world? Of course not! The library board must necessarily make decisions about which material to include and in doing so it keeps in mind various factors, including the appropriateness of the material, the library budget, and other concerns. Pornography magazines and books have always been prohibited in most libraries out of concern for public morality. Most librarians would be embarrassed to carry pornography. It is not only unsavory, but may even be unsanitary to handle such material. What do the proponents of porn in public libraries plan next, once porn on computers is established. Wouldn’t the logical next step be to advocate for the stocking porn magazines and videos?

As a matter of public safety and good stewardship, libraries should keep pornography off computers and off the shelves.

Many people around the country have reported that the following has happened at their local libraries where pornography is allowed:

men spend hours at the library trolling pornographic Web sites
masturbating
stalking patrons and library employees
making catcalls
physical threats
luring children into viewing images of bestiality and child rape and other disgusting depictions
a decrease in the number of children using facilities

You can be the one in your community who ensures porn-free computers. It often just takes one or two concerned citizens to get filters installed on library computers.

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