Some libraries have been more cooperative than others. Almost all have policies about Internet use, whether requiring a parental signature for children's use or limiting on-line time. But until we find the guts and sense to define obscenity, none are sufficient protection absent a parent or adult to monitor children on the Internet. The common sense answer, meantime, is to restrict children under 18 to certain, filtered computers in a protected area of the library. If the kid is researching breast cancer for a school project and can't find the link, well, guess what.
Librarians are there to help.
JWR contributor Kathleen Parker can be reached by clicking here.