Niles Public Library Votes 5-2 In Favor of Internet Filters; Kudos to Megan Fox and Kevin DuJan

Niles Public Library's KidSpace

Niles Public Library, Niles, IL, has voted 5-2 in favor of library filters according to reporter Megan Fox:

BREAKING! Reporting live from the Niles library board, despite having Dennis Walsh as an attorney, the Niles library board behaves themselves like professionals and also just VOTED YES TO FILTERS! 5-2 Only two dissenters, Karen Dimond and Linda (don't have her last name yet...but we will) congratulations Niles!

Turns out Megan Fox's own experience with the Orland Park Public Library refusing filters and allowing and covering up child pornography for over a year and still ongoing was directly responsible for the move to filter:

• "Niles Library Considers Installing Internet Filters on Adult Computers," by Igor Studenkov, Niles Herald-Spectator, 23 October 2014:

The library currently has filters on computers in the KidSpace area, but computers in teen and adult areas aren't filtered.  However, a recent controversy over Orland Park Public Library patrons using computers to view pornography caused the Niles library to reconsider their policy.

Kudos to Megan Fox and Kevin DuJan for showing how and why libraries can be unsafe and what can be done to reverse that.  Congratulations to the people of Niles and the librarians who work there who will all now enjoy vastly reduced criminal activity and sexual harassment.

Here's another recent story:

• "Niles Library Mulls Porn Block," by Tom Robb, Journal & Topics, 22 October 2014.

Remember, librarians:

1. filtering out porn is perfectly legal per US v. ALA despite what lawyers like Dennis Walsh say, 
2. no library has ever been sued for blocking porn, 
3. refusing to unblock porn is perfectly legal per Bradburn v. NCRL, and 
4. Illinois state law makes it illegal to view any Internet porn in any Illinois public library.  
5. Besides, the FCC recently announced library filters are so good that any library that in the past decided against filters should now reconsider.  

Niles Library, consider applying for CIPA funding for Internet access now that you are filtering all computers.

Again, congratulations.

URL of this page: safelibraries.blogspot.com/2014/11/niles4filters.html

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