Library considers ‘filtering’ federal funds

In wake of U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding Child Internet Protection Act, a possible decision to opt out.

By: Jennifer Potash
   The costs of installing Internet filters in order to qualify for federal funds may outweigh the benefits of the grants, the director of the Princeton Public Library said Thursday.
   In a 6-3 decision Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal Child Internet Protection Act requiring public libraries accepting federal funds to install blocking software on computers with Internet access.
   Libraries that seek Universal Service discounts (E-Rate) for Internet access, Internet service or connections, or that seek federal funds to purchase computers for Internet access or to pay for Internet access, must now comply with the act.
   The Princeton Public Library receives about $1,500 a year from the federal E-Rate program, said Leslie Burger, library director.
   Ms. Burger will present the question of whether to accept or reject federal funds to the library’s board of trustees at a July 22 meeting.
   "It’s up to the board to make a decision to use filters or affirm their previous decision" not to use the filters, she said.
   The potential costs in filtering the computers not only include purchasing the software but also hardware costs such as additional server space, staff training and the day-to-day costs, Ms. Burger said.
   And conceivably, those costs could outweigh the $1,500 federal grant, she said.
   Currently, the temporary library location at the Princeton Shopping Center has only 30 computers connected to the Internet, Ms. Burger said.
   That number will jump to at least 80 computers once the new three-story facility at Witherspoon and Wiggins streets is completed in 2004, she said.
   Also, the new library contains technology for patrons to bring a laptop and connect to the Internet, she said. That access would also be filtered if the library accepts the federal funds, she said.
   The American Library Association will soon hold a meeting with companies making the blocking software to address librarians’ concerns and help improve those programs, Ms. Burger said.
   One problem, voiced by several librarians, is current filtering software on the market blocks topics such as heath resource pages on breast cancer or sexually transmitted diseases.
   Some key concerns include easy access to turn off the filter when requested by an adult patron, Ms. Burger said.
   "If the libraries are getting 500 requests a day to unblock the software, then we don’t want them to go down to the basement, unplug a plug and plug something else in to do it," she said.
   The law would be much easier to accept if it provided some flexibility for librarians such as filtering only the computers accessible to children or allowing for parental permission slips for children under 18 to use an unfiltered computer, Ms. Burger said.
   "That says to me this law is not just about protecting children," Ms. Burger said.
   The Supreme Court did leave the door open for future challenges to the federal law.
   "If a library finds compliance with the law unduly burdensome, then it could be challenged again," Ms. Burger said.