Saratoga News

Council divided over Internet access issue

By Sarah Lombardo

Despite the Saratoga Library Commission's unanimous vote to support the county's policy on open access to the Internet, members of the Saratoga City Council offered their differing opinions on the matter at an Oct. 21 meeting.

The informal poll of the councilmembers--no official vote was taken, nor was a stance on the issue recommended--showed that three of the council's five members supported filter systems for the Internet to screen which sites children can access. Councilmembers Paul Jacobs, Don Wolfe and Stan Bogosian all said they would like the county to look into some sort of filter to keep children from accessing pornographic sites while online at county libraries' computers; councilmember Jim Shaw and Mayor Gillian Moran supported the county's open-access policy.

"I think that there is no such thing anywhere else as open access to all sorts of literature to children, and we shouldn't have it on our Internet," Wolfe said.

In a phone interview with the Saratoga News before the meeting, Bogosian echoed that sentiment, pointing out that librarians already filter which information patrons can see by choosing what to carry in the library.

Bogosian, the council's representative on the Santa Clara County Library's Joint Powers Agency, asked for the council's opinion in preparation for the JPA's meeting later in the week, at which the JPA members would also be considering the issue.

Bogosian originally brought the issue to the council for input weeks ago, but the council decided to put off discussion until the release of a report by Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, commissioned by the JPA's Citizen's Advisory Committee for the purpose of having an outside source look at all sides of the issue. The report lists many options for the county to consider--from filters on all computers to filters on a few computers to no filters at all--but does not recommend any option over the others. The report also points out that technology may not have the capacity to offer "the perfect" solution, a filter that would truly only filter out pornographic sites to children while still letting adults have complete open access.

A demonstration in the report, for example, points out that some filters do restrict access to pornographic sites, but would also deny access to a certain gay and lesbian Web site designed for teens who may be questioning their sexuality. Other filters also would restrict access to breast cancer sites.

The CAC voted Oct. 15 to support the open-access policy, but met again last week to discuss the option of looking into technology that may be able to offer each individual the choice to filter or not filter. Currently, however, such technology does not exist.

Saratoga Library Commission Chairwoman Marcia Manzo, who made the motion to support open access at the CAC's meeting two weeks ago, declined to comment on the council's opinions on the matter. She said she wanted to wait until after the JPA discussed the issue.

But Manzo did point out that the Saratoga Community Library does offer classes on how to use the Internet and encourages parents to attend classes so that they may learn how to direct their children.

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