Monroe County Library and their opposition towards internet filters

recently, across the United States public libraries have been rapidly installing internet filters so that internet users who use the public library computers can not view things that are thought to be inappropriate. but some public libraries are opposed to these internet filters, one library that is opposed to this is the Monroe County Library which is located on Kirkwood avenenue. I decided to give this library a call and see what they had to say about internet filters.

when calling the library i decided that i would ask to speak to the shift manager so that i would be sure to recieve accurate information directly from the source. The manager on duty at the time (Christine) was more than happy to answer my questions.

when asking Christine why the Monroe County Library opposes internet filters she said that the Monroe County Library has looked at internet filters in the past, but believes that these filters are to broad; yes, they would prevent the computer users from looking at things that are considered inapropriate, but at the same time they would also block users from looking at an innumerable amount of websites that have absolutely no inappropriate material in them. she also said that these types of filters are not a hundred percent accurate; they block sites that are not appropriate for viewing in a public place, but not nearly all of them.

the Monroe County Library does however provide links for children to search engine that have internet filters installed. this can prvent children from looking at pornography and other things of that nature.

I believe that the Monroe County Library computer network should remain without internet filters for many reason. first and foremost, internet filter are not as nearly perfected as they should be; they block out an immense amount of sites that do not have any inappropriate material what so ever, and at the same time they are not sucessful at blocking out all sites that are considered innapropriate. Second, when installing internet filters you must install the software in each computer individually; this process is not only very time consuming but at the same time can be quite expensive.

In conclusion, i hope that the Monroe County Library will continue to oppose internet filters, it would not be fair to the adults (who are usually considered to be the majority in a library) that require access to particular sites to complete their work/research.