Our policy is to not filter adult public computer access, with the
exception of malware sites, the idea being that one person's pornography is
another person's art, and we don't want to get into the business of
determining where that line is drawn.  However... if a patron notices and
objects to another patron viewing pornography (I'm sure that many notice
and don't say anything), we will take action by having staff and/or
security advise to cease and desist.  It then basically violates our code
of conduct policy which states, "The above Code of Conduct is not intended
to be a complete list of expected behavior. The Library Board, the Library
Director and Library staff reserve the right to take appropriate action
against any other behavior which can reasonably be deemed to be offensive
or disturbing to Library patrons or staff."

As for a specific type of web filter, Untangle (untangle.com) is the
firewall/filter solution I find that works well for public access,
especially for the children's area.  There's a free 'lite' version
available for download in addition to their server appliances, and their
premium software version (~$1,000/yr) is affordably priced for K-12 schools
and libraries.  The web management interface is so easy to use that I'm
almost ashamed to admit I use it.

We've also toyed with the idea of installing screen privacy filters as a
solution to the problem, but to install them on about 50 public access
computers would have been cost-prohibitive.  It was suggested to install
them on only some computers, but I pointed out that it would have been an
invitation to a sordid "back room" type of access for a specific area.  As
it is, some patrons always opt to use computers that are located by a
corner where they can turn the display slightly to prevent others from
viewing their "sensitive information."  So we continue to deal with the
situation as needed, which is all you can really do unless you're really
draconian in your policy.



John Lolis
Coordinator of Computer Systems
White Plains Public Library
100 Martine Avenue
White Plains, NY  10601

tel: 1.914.422.1497
fax: 1.914.422.1452

http://whiteplainslibrary.org/

On Fri, Feb 6, 2015 at 5:11 PM, John Klima <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Apologies that I've cross-posted this to LITA-L so some of you will have
> seen this there.
>
> We had a recent incident with one patron seeing another patron viewing
> pornography on one of our internet computers. This patron decided to write
> a letter to our local paper talking about how we permitted unfiltered
> access to the internet and everything that lives there (I'm paraphrasing,
> probably poorly). Now our board wants to talk about this at the next board
> meeting.
>
> We do have filters on our public internet access. We use a PaloAlto
> firewall for internet filtering. We do a semi-regular review of what's
> being blocked and make adjustments as needed.
>
> Our filter blocks a lot of things, but if someone gets elicit material
> sent via email that will get through and Tumblr has a lot of explicit
> content for two examples. So, my question is, have any of you had a patron
> upset with the content another patron was viewing on the internet (I'll
> assume that's yes for most of us) and what do you do in that situation? Do
> any of you have suggestions for filtering that you're particularly happy
> with?
>
> Getting rid of filtering is not an option. Neither is getting rid of
> computers in the library. :)
>
> I'm not terribly concerned about the upcoming board meeting but I know
> there's a lot of smart people on this list and I thought it would be
> beneficial to hear what you had to say.
>
> John Klima
> Assistant Director
> Waukesha Public Library
> 262-524-3688
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> [LOGO_signature]
> "What libraries need to be are engines of innovation that help develop
> tomorrow" - David Lankes
>
> The opinions expressed are mine and do not necessarily represent those of
> the Waukesha Public Library or the City of Waukesha.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  This email has been scanned for email related threats and delivered
> safely by Mimecast.
>  For more information please visit http://www.mimecast.com
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
>