Discusses Internet access in public libraries, filters, censorship issues, First Amendment rights, and intellectual freedom. Suggests that the Internet is a resource, and that the level of library service is dependent on what it can afford to provide, consistent with its mandate to serve the community's information needs. (Author/LRW)

The role of the library as an information agency is to buy and publicize the materials that will allow young people to make informed decisions about their own lives. (Author)

Considers the role of public library trustees in censorship challenges. Topics addressed include the need for clear library policies concerning censorship; informing trustees about First Amendment rights, challenges regarding problem patrons and age restrictions, the trustee as citizen as well as board member, and the board's need for appropriate…

Discusses library policy and Internet access, highlighting (1) legal distinctions between books and the Internet; (2) ways to restrict access without violating First Amendment rights; (3) the library as a limited public forum rather than a traditional public forum; and (4) the library's governmental interest in protecting children. (PEN)

Often overlooked in discussions about free speech and the Internet is the fact that children have First Amendment rights. Discusses First Amendment basics, existing state laws covering obscenity, First Amendment limits, free speech and public schools, student rights to challenge school board filtering, Internet filters in public library children's…