Burbank Community Library

From the Tri-City Herald / June 23, 2009

WASH. SUPREME COURT HEARS CASE ON INTERNET FILTERS
By Rachel La Corte

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The state Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether public libraries can refuse to disable their Internet filters for adults who want access to content that has been blocked.

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The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the five-county North Central Regional Library District in Eastern Washington in 2006, seeking to have the district ordered to provide unblocked access to the Internet when adults request it. The ACLU is representing three library users and the pro-gun Second Amendment Foundation in the case that the U.S. District Court in Spokane has asked the state Supreme Court to review.

Chief Justice Gerry Alexander asked if a library’s decision to restrict access to a Web site is any different than its ability to decide what to put on its shelves. “What we’re restricting are not individual sites,” library district attorney Thomas Adams said. “We’re making content-based decisions about categories of sites.”

Libraries that receive money for Internet access under two specific federal programs are required to have the ability to block minors from seeing pornography and other sites deemed harmful. Adams said that the North Central Regional Library District does receive federal money, and that its filters also block content about computer hacking, gambling and personal ads on Craigslist, among others.

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The lawsuit contends the library’s policy of refusing to disable its Internet filters when requested for lawful purposes is unconstitutional and goes beyond what federal law requires.

See the full article here.

The Walla Walla County Rural Library District also filters Internet access as required by the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Our policy is described here.