Voices: They Once Burned Books ...

Libraries were created to provide to ensure one of our most basic, yet tragically unappreciated rights -- equal access to knowledge. In these days of thousand dollar pre-requisites to access information, the public institutions are the only thing connecting thousands of Americans to the Internet.

National Library Week will again be observed the second week April - this year's theme is "@ the library." Coinciding neatly is a trial on the constitutionality of The Children's Internet Protection Act, a federal law adopted in 2000 that requires libraries receiving certain types of federal technology funding to use Internet filtering technology. If the act is not overturned, libraries that do not comply by July 2002 will lose desperately need funds.

The American Library Association and the Multnomah County, Oregon, Public Library contend that the law puts unconstitutional restraints on free speech. The American Civil Liberties Union agrees and is arguing the case on behalf of the plaintiffs who feel that parents and children, rather than the federal government, should determine what content they find unacceptable.

Malachy McCourt, a great champion of libraries and free speech therein, reminded me recently, "the constitution was not written to support the majority, but rather the minority who might disagree with what's going on." I don't know the parent who wants to explain pornographic imagery to his or her children, but according to the ALA, there are actually more conducive ways to protect our children than an age-insensitive, generic censorship blanket that will block god-doesn't-even-know what.

Let's face it, librarians are smarter than most of us. They have degrees in library science - earning this degree in the 21st Century, as I understand it, means learning way more about accessing technological sources of information than library patrons are, unfortunately, ever likely to ask about. If knowledge is power, we should be lined up around the block waiting for tidbits on how to better use the Internet from these should-be gurus.

If the librarians think that filtering software provides a false sense of security, I'll take their word for it.

The government claims that web filtering technology has vastly improved, but far too often the programs not only prevents users from accessing perfectly valid and harmless websites, but also lets "inappropriate" material enter under the radar. One system I've been subjected to prevented me from visiting a silly cartoonist's website on the grounds that it was "tasteless," but had no problem inadvertently downloading a copy of a December 1966 Playboy centerfold.

The ALA's suggested alternative is simple. Parents are recommended "to teach children how to make good decisions about what they read and view, no matter where they are." It might require a more of a time commitment, but doing something the right way almost always does. In the end, we've usually saved ourselves countless hours and headaches for every corner not cut. How many technological innovations will it take before parents become obsolete in the rearing of their children?

What kind of porn freak is going to hang out at the library anyway? Libraries aren't a conducive atmosphere for the enjoyment of porn. I'm afraid to breathe in the library, forget about breathing heavily. Not surprisingly, very few libraries have reported problems with people looking at pornography.

During National Library Week 2002 the American Library Association will sponsor a program called "Rediscover America @ your library" will showcase the essential role of libraries and librarians to our democracy. It will attempt to convince policy makers as well as the public that libraries and librarians are needed now, more than ever. Librarians have become the guardians of our rights not only to speak freely, but to freely access what is written by others - on the page or on the screen. Grateful or not, your rights have been protected by the untiring advocacy of America's libraries and the angels that operate them.

--alicia grega-pikul, 28 March 2002