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Internet Use Is Restricted In Loudoun

The Loudoun County Library Board adopted one of the most restrictive Internet-use policies in the nation early today when it agreed to install screening software on library computers to block access to sexually explicit materials.

The policy, adopted shortly after midnight on a 6 to 2 vote following a contentious four-hour public hearing, specifies that children under 17 who want full access to the Internet must have a parent or guardian sitting with them when they use the computer. Adults who want the screening filter to be turned off and have access to all sites on the Internet must request such access from a library employee.

Some speakers at the hearing derided the move as censorship while others praised what they called a "common sense" restriction that protects children.

More than 80 people crowded into a meeting room in the Rust Library in Leesburg for the hearing; about half spoke.

"We're talking about whether pornography will or will not come into the library," said Richard H. Black, a Library Board member from Sugarland Run. "Parental rights are about nurturing children, not about damaging them."

The vote came despite opposition from Library Director Douglas Henderson, who said that parents "should have the right to decide what is appropriate for their children."

The decision was made less than a month after the Supreme Court struck down the Communications Decency Act, a federal law that made it a crime to make "indecent" or "patently offensive" material available to minors over the Internet or other computer networks. The court ruled that the law infringed on the free speech rights of adults in the name of protecting children.

Judith F. Krug, director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, said most libraries have been moving away from filtering and other restrictive policies since the June 26 Supreme Court decision.

"Loudoun is unusual in that the majority of libraries are backing off" from installing filters, said Krug, whose association is opposed to screening software on the grounds that restricting use should be left to parents and not to libraries. "You can't limit adults to information that is only suitable for children, and it sounds like that's exactly what they are doing."

The issue of Internet use in public libraries has created intense debate throughout the Washington region.

Fairfax County library officials plan to reexamine their Internet policy in September and decide whether to take steps to block access to pornographic material, said spokeswoman Lois Kirkpatrick. The county currently has computers hooked up to the Internet in 18 of its branches; most don't have filtering software.

Alan Bobowski, who heads library information systems for the D.C. Public Library, said the city's library system does not want "to engage in censorship. We expect parents to supervise children's Internet use so that they would not be inadvertently exposed."

Only two District libraries, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G St. NW and Southwest Library at 900 Wesley Pl. SW, have computers that allow access to the Internet. King has 16 such terminals, four of which are reserved for adult use. The remainder are in the children's section. None of the machines has filtering software.

Bobowski said a systemwide committee is reviewing Internet policies in light of the Supreme Court's ruling. Officials plan to establish separate Internet networks for adults and children, he said, and will test the use of computer screens that are embedded in table tops for additional privacy.

In Maryland, Montgomery and Prince George's counties soon will begin drafting Internet policies.

Until now, Internet issues have been moot in most of Maryland, since many libraries do not offer access to graphics. But this fall, the Internet connection in the state's libraries will be expanded beyond catalogue searches and reference information.

In Anne Arundel County, where full Internet access is in place, the court decision has derailed a task force from considering filtering software on computers. Complaints about library users downloading offensive pictures of nude women led the county to appoint the task force, but now the advisory panel will be investigating other options, such as moving computers with Internet access to a separate area.

"The task force had been waiting for the other legal shoe to drop -- and it did, indeed -- so now they can't really do much," said John Newell, president of the Library Board of Trustees. "It's a difficult problem, and I can understand people's opinions, but you have to err on the side of freedom."

Montgomery County has 215 text-based Internet terminals, many of which will be upgraded in the next few months to give users access to all Internet options. The county, like Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Howard, does not restrict Internet use.

Staff writers Amy Klein and Jacqueline L. Salmon contributed to this report.