Council Members Push for Filters
at Chicago Public Library
Chicago Public Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey warned the Chicago City Council that Internet filtering software is flawed and, at worst, could censor the wrong material. The June 2 hearing was called by members of the council’s Education Committee who want to prevent children under 18 from stumbling upon X-rated Web sites in the library, the Chicago Tribune reported June 3.
Dempsey said the library has already taken such preventative steps as moving computers to public areas where librarians can steer kids to appropriate sites. A policy requiring filters would be “overboard,” she stated.
Dempsey told American Libraries that CPL will look at a statistical sampling of sites accessed from children’s Internet computers and report back to the committee in six weeks, along with information on the capabilities and limitations of filtering software and alternative methods to discourage inappropriate use.
Posted June 7, 1999.
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