Beeson also urged the libraries to clearly mark filtered and non-filtered terminals so that patrons can make informed decisions about which terminal to use, and to place terminals for maximum privacy. The filtering issue has drawn many cities across the country into a national debate about whether library systems should limit what people can see on the Internet. A library in Loudon County, Virginia is currently facing a legal challenge from local library patrons after adopting a similar Internet blocking policy. The ACLU is considering an intervention in that lawsuit on behalf of online speakers who are blocked from reaching library patrons. Their mission is to make that knowledge available to young and old alike.
Filters are fundamentally antithetical to that mission.
We are happy that this issue could be resolved without the need for expensive litigation, and we thank you for your cooperation in reaching this resolution. I met with the Board of Supervisors in executive session today. The Board determined that, effective immediately, Internet access at the branches of the Kern County Library System shall be patron driven. Under the policy, adult and minor patrons may elect to use either a filtered or an unfiltered computer subject to management by Library staff for disruptive behavior. In branches with only one computer, the computer shall remain unfiltered unless the patron requests filtering.