County councillors have heard from their Chief Librarian that a private member’s bill in Toronto could force local libraries to add filters to their computers.
Janice Hindley told the library board the bill received first reading. If approved, it means libraries must have an electronic means of blocking all “sexually explicit materials or material that is designed to appeal to erotic or sexual appetites or inclinations.”
Those filters would include written material, pictures and recordings that are obscene within the meaning of the Criminal Code or sexually explicit or constitutes child pornography.
Hindley said the issue came about because of complaints in Cambridge.
“The bill is the result of an individual that observed an image that he found offensive on a public computer at the Cambridge public library,” Hindley said in her report. “This individual is employed in the internet filtering software industry.”
Hindley said county council has endorsed the Canadian Library Association’s Statement on Internet Access and adopted procedures to educate and inform the public about the internet access available at the county library branches.
The association has stated that while filters “can have a place in a broader program to protect children from inappropriate materials, they do not guarantee that all inappropriate materials will be blocked.”
So, the association believes, filters are only one element of protection for children.
The association also noted that most libraries have adopted their own policies and procedures for internet access.
In Wellington County branches:
– users must read and agree to sign the rules of use;
– children under the age of 13 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian while using the computer;
– computers are set in high traffic areas that are easily visible to staff and other members of the public. Staff are vigilant about acting on suspicions or complaints.
Consequently, the county policy states “The Wellington County Library adopts and upholds the principles outlined in the Canadian Library Associations’ Statement on intellectual Freedom and the CLA Statement on internet access … Unfiltered access to the internet will be available at all branches of the Wellington County Library.”
The Canadian Association noted “that with features available today on wireless devices such as cell phones and with the variety of other public places without filters, controlling a child’s access to the internet has become a complex societal issue. We believe the best and most reliable filter is a child’s parent or guardian.”
