LifePac of SW Washington

At the Camas Library Board meeting of October 4, 2007, citizens urged the library board to clearly prohibit and filter out pornography viewing on all library Internet computers. (Filters to block pornography are mandatory in the Gates lab (4), children's area (4), young adult area (6). Unfiltered access is allowed for those with a library card for users 17 and up on the 8 computers in the reference area which is adjacent to the children’s area. Some reference area computers are visible from the children’s area.)

Some complaints made by library visitors since 2003 were summarized for the board.

adult library cards had been used by minors to gain unfiltered Internet access.
often the screen was changed by the time staff arrived.
The question was asked whether a complaint was always made re. porno images and printouts.
Perhaps visitors, especially younger visitors, might not report situations to staff.
library staff walking through the wouldn't necessarily uncover abuse since users could switch screens easily when staff walked by and staff were not always present.
Filters to prevent pornography access would help in addition to regular monitoring.

Citizens asked when child pornography began to be blocked on library computers under the "unfiltered" option.

Citizens made a number of points about why they thought pornography should be filtered out on library computers.

blocking out child pornography was necessary and appreciated
some pornography may be legal, yet is not suitable for a library for all ages.
pornography accessible wasn’t necessary at the library. It was available elsewhere.
Majority of Camas residents would not support pornography availability @ library.
Pornography often serves as a sexual stimulant, which is not appropriate in a public setting.

City Councilor Liz Pike stated that as a private citizen, she felt pornography should not be available in the library, and that a majority of Camas residents would likely agree. She expressed support for filtering out pornography on all library computers.

Internet filtering policies from Tacoma and Ft. Vancouver Libraries of Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties were provided to the board. These libraries allow for exceptions for adult users to access information that may be wrongly blocked by filtering software.

Other libraries that filter our porn in WA state include Renton, North Central based in Wenatchee, and Puyallup.