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Forgoing E-rate Funds,
Berkeley PL Rejects Filters

The board of trustees of the Berkeley (Calif.) Public Library said October 30 that it would “do the right thing” and forgo federal e-rate funds rather than install Internet filters as mandated by the Children’s Internet Protection Act. 

“It’s not a painful decision,” board Chair Kevin James told the University of California/Berkeley’s Daily Californian newspaper. “We get very little federal funding, so it’s easier to take a principled decision.” He said the lost funds would amount to between $10,000 and $20,000, whereas the library’s overall budget is over $10 million.

“A lot of valid information is blocked, and to top it off, not all pornographic sites are,” noted Linda Perkins, manager of children’s services at Berkeley’s central children’s room. “There’s a false sense of security that filters protect children, but they don’t.”

Berkeley’s larger neighbor across the bay, the San Francisco Public Library, made a similar decision to ban filters October 1.

Posted November 5, 2001.

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