There are no foolproof solutions to Internet access in libraries. This article lists selected library solutions, what not to do, and what to do: pick a common-sense approach, focus on customer service, keep an open mind, avoid accepting or repeating hearsay, and find common ground. Includes highlights of the Orange County (FL) Library System's…

Discusses problems facing federal depository libraries regarding patron behavior when using Web sites. Topics include acceptable use policies; existing laws and enforcement offices; protecting library property; pornography, including child pornography; sexual harassment; and other forms of staff harassment. (LRW)

Freedom from the necessity for technical understanding of online technology allows librarians to focus on the human factors in online interaction. This article discusses estimates of Web use, need for user assistance, alternative sources of information, information overload and relevance, Internet identities, pornography and library policy, and…

The public library has become the locus for public anxiety about children's access to objectionable material on the Internet. Discusses Judith Krug's (Director of the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom) defense of unrestricted access, acceptable use, and filtering software. Highlights six filtering programs (client and…

Suggests that a definitive court ruling is needed to better define rights and responsibilities related to the First Amendment and libraries' Internet use policies so that libraries can provide a comfortable environment for users while maintaining the law. Discusses filters; court cases; claims of the anti-porn cult; research studies on how much of…

Discusses the impact of Internet access on library reference services based on 1994 interviews with almost two dozen university librarians. Highlights include library policy, overcrowded workstations and methods of controlling use, recreational use of terminals that interferes with more formal library use, restriction as a form of censorship, and…

With the 1996 defeat of the Communications Decency Act, under which providing offensive material on computer systems accessible to children would have become a felony, no legal guidelines exist for library use of the Internet. Libraries can avoid becoming the center of an Internet controversy by encouraging parental involvement; by protecting…