The board of the Medina County (Ohio) District Library voted October 18 to install filters on at least one computer in each of its five branches. Two of three computers in the main library’s children’s room and one in the general-use computer room will be filtered, with similar arrangements in place at the other branches. The board also voted to review its Internet policy every 18 months.
Director Barbara Webb told American Libraries that the board’s policy shift resulted from a change in its membership since the previous vote on the issue last year. Although filters are an ineffective solution, she said the board felt “they needed to act to reduce the odds of young people accidentally stumbling upon” sexual materials.
For the past three years, local citizens’ groups have been fighting the library’s unrestricted-access policy. Michelle Yezerski of Citizens for the Protection of Children told the October 20 Akron Beacon Journal that the action was “the first step in the right direction,” but added, “there are many more steps to take.”
Posted October 25, 1999.