The ACLU with civil rights allies threatened to sue Kern County's decision to filter. Kern is a large agricultural community with a network of 50 computers. In January, the ACLU gave the County a 10-day ultimatum. We would not have backed down if the minors' rights issue had not been resolved. Libraries offer choice to people through the variety of viewpoints and information they have in their collections.
Libraries empower people by equalizing access to information.
In many communities, large numbers of people still do not have access to computers at home, work or school. Those who cannot afford the new technology, the homeless, the poor, the person who is afraid of the new technology, can have access through the public library to information and to the Internet. As new formats are introduced, people need to learn how to use them. Not too long ago, people had great concerns about those new formats called audiocassettes and videocassettes. The Internet is no different, but it changes how we access information, how we play and how we communicate.