The library trustees expect to reexamine their Internet policy in September, Kirkpatrick said. The board likely will be influenced by the Supreme Court's decision on the Communications Decency Act, she said. If the Supreme Court upholds the law, Kirkpatrick said, then filters may not be necessary because sexual material on the Internet would be restricted. But if the high court strikes down the law, then the board may look at installing filters on some or all computers, she said. The 14 remaining branches received Internet access in April, and those computers are not equipped with filtering software, Kirkpatrick said.
People know how to use it.
They know that if you don't want to see questionable material on the Internet, you don't have to. In Loudoun, the library board began grappling with the issue in preparation for the arrival of Internet access to the county's six library branches in August. Officials expect the board to vote on a recommendation to install filtering software and deny access to children unless their parents approve at its July 21 meeting. In contrast to the debate in Loudoun and Fairfax, which are home to a number of politically active religious conservatives, the issue of open Internet access hasn't raised much dissension in Alexandria or Arlington. In Alexandria, which has Internet access on six computers in two libraries, no filtering software has been installed.