Do Internet Filters Infringe upon Access to Material in Libraries?

The article debates on the impact of Internet filters on the accessibility of library materials. In September 2004, the Ohio Library Council staged a debate at its annual conference between University Librarian Jim Neal and author Hampton Auld about Internet filters. That decision, to provide Internet access for the community, brought untold information riches into the library. It also brought inappropriate, unwanted and pornographic materials into the public library that had never been selected and of course, would never have been selected. Filtering materials on the Internet does not go against intellectual freedom principles. It is obvious that Internet filters are designed specifically to block access to materials on the Internet. Filtering, as demanded by the public through their local elected and appointed officials and state legislatures and Congress, is meant to apply common sense.