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Oklahoma Library Bans E-Mail, Gaming, and ChatWarned by local law enforcement that registered sex offenders are using library computers to contact minors, the board of the Public Library of Enid and Garfield County, Oklahoma, has voted to prohibit e-mail and noneducational online gaming, effective July 1. Approved in April, the policy change came two months after trustees implemented an immediate ban on access to all chat rooms as well as the retention of records of patrons’ internet use for a year.The actions were taken at the behest of the Enid Police Department. Library Director Wilita Larrison told American Libraries that several officers who visited last November were “appalled” to discover that the library shredded its internet sign-up sheets. As a result, staffers have discontinued the practice and the library has ordered log-in software that will deny internet access to anyone who fails to enter a valid library card number. Larrison also said that the Oklahoma Department of Libraries has requested an opinion from the state attorney general as to whether the logs are library records and thus accessible only by court order. The guidance is being sought because the Enid city attorney has declared the logs to be municipal records and therefore open to the public. The impending e-mail ban also has staff asking, “How are we going to enforce this without invading people’s privacy?” Larrison said, since library filters can’t be set to block free services such as Hotmail and Yahoo. Noting the popularity of e-mail use on library computers, she also characterized the impending ban as exacerbating the gap between “the haves and the have-nots.” Patron Tammy Nolan, who is a frequent e-mailer, agreed, saying in the May 5 Enid News and Eagle that the prohibition won’t necessarily protect minors from sexual predators, since there are many other public locations where youngsters congregate. Posted May 6, 2005. |
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