At its June 23 meeting the Hennepin County Board passed a resolution urging the Hennepin County (Minn.) Library to reconsider its unlimited access Internet policy and suggesting it review the St. Paul Public Library's policy which prohibits using the library's computers to display graphics considered harmful to minors or obscene.
County board member Mike Opat said St. Paul's policy limits access to sexually explicit Web sites but does not impose blocking devices that might restrict legitimate searches. Originally, the board considered board member Penny Steele's resolution to investigate the use of filtering software, so children doing legitimate research would not inadvertently encounter "splashing," Web sites with pornographic images that have URLs similar to legitimate sites.
Library Board President Patti Baskin told American Libraries that HCL trustees will hold a special meeting July 8 and will look at St. Paul's and other libraries' policies around the country.
Posted June 29, 1998.