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South Dakota Says No to State FiltersInternet filters on 14 public terminals in the South Dakota State Library were removed June 8 after two weeks during which the state experimented with filtering all of its computers. State Librarian Suzanne Miller told American Libraries that the computers used by library employees were still blocked, but she hoped that this was a temporary measure as it made it difficult for staff to help patrons with reference questions. The South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunications set up the filtering program May 29 after some 20 state employees were fired or disciplined for improper Web usage, the June 7 Mitchell Daily Republic reported. None of them were employed at the state library, Miller said. Miller told AL that the message appearing when a patron tried to access a blocked site was “very stern, threatening, even chilling.” She did not know what filtering software had been used on the state’s network servers. “We’ve really never had a problem with inappropriate Internet use,” Miller said. “We have an Internet policy posted at each terminal and the public computers are in a highly visible area.” Wired News reported June 7 that Governor Bill Janklow had decided not to use filters because he feared they would hinder access to legitimate information. “People are adults, and if they can’t be adults they have to pay the consequences,” the governor’s spokesperson Bob Mercer said. Posted June 11, 2001. |
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