State Librarian not happy with Supreme Court ruling on porn filters

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the libraries can be forced to install filters to block porn from the internet or lose federal money. State Librarian Mary Wegner. says 80 of Iowa’s 543 libraries got the federal money last year to help pay for internet access. she says many turned down the money already as they saw it as a First Amendment issue. Wegner says with or without the filters, librarians aren’t allowing a porn view free-for-all anyway. She says the have already taken steps to monitor the internet usage so children aren’t surfing for porn at the library, and says librarians have always cared about children and want to provide a positive experience for them. Wegner says Iowa libraries got about 111-thousand dollars last year in federal money. She says they now have a decision to make. She says the issue comes at a time when libraries are already facing a cut in state money. She says the decision will cost cash-strapped libraries one way or another.She says even if they decide to get filters, they cost money too. Wegner says filters aren’t the ultimate answer anyway. She says the existing filtering technology doesn’t work that well, sometimes letting in the wrong stuff, and sometimes blocking stuff it should let in. Wegner says the ruling also has ramifications for her office. She says her office has to provide leadership to the state’s libraries and she says they’ll have to check to be sure that state libraries comply with the ruling.