Library board OKs change to internet access policy

COEUR d’ALENE — Visitors to the Coeur d’Alene Public Library will continue to have internet access following changes to library policy approved by the board on Wednesday.

Obscenity, pornography and other materials “harmful to minors” will continue to be off limits.

“We’ve now been filtering both our wired and wireless connections for many years now and the software has proved to be effective in achieving the desired result,” wrote Michel Priest, library director, in an email to The Press.

The city’s legal department reviewed the policy and suggested the final two sentences under the “Legal Requirements” section be removed since they are in conflict with the state requirement.

The deleted sentences read: “The library cannot and does not guarantee that the filtering software will block all obscenity, child pornography, or materials that are harmful to minors. Nor can the library guarantee that the filtering software will not restrict access to sites that may have legitimate research or other value.”

Priest said those sentences were added in 2012 when the policy was first drafted and there was possibly some uncertainty about the effectiveness of the software.

In his report, Priest wrote that city attorney Randy Adams offered that the statute does not require a guarantee, but it also does not seem to allow for ineffective software.”

Priest said he has not received any complaints about internet filtering since he came on board a little over five years ago.

Internet stations located in the children’s section are available to children ages 12 and younger. Adults must supervise children younger than 7 or children who need assistance. Training is not provided. 

According to the library’s policy, parents are responsible for monitoring their children’s access to print, media, and electronic formats, “including the internet.”