The CPL is XXX?!

The Chicago Public Library protects the open and rampant use of Internet pornography by library patrons. This blog is an attempt to bring awareness to this issue and enact change.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

A Response from the Library Commissioner

The images below are jpgs of the letter I received from the Library Commissioner, Mary A. Dempsey, in response to my concerns regarding open and rampant pornography use in the public library.

Please note: personal information has been blacked out for posting purposes.





(note the date, Saturday, November 15th)


(Note the postmark, Wednesday, November 19th)
Posted by Amanda at 7:35 AM

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 25, 2008 at 8:22 AM

    so, do you now understand that the library is not the police and is not the courts? does that make sense to you? doesn't it relieve you in some way to know that they are not censoring constitutionally protect speech? i'm guessing not, but, eh. it's a fine line to go down, but the fact of the matter is, just b/c you find it objectionable doesn't give anyone else the right to take it away from me if the law of the land says it's legal to view/read (and last i checked, we lived in a democracy of sorts).

    suppose you were offended that i was reading the Bible. do you understand what is going on here? under the eyes of the law, ALL of this material is constitutionally protected, and it's not the library's job to act as the thought policemen, UNLESS their elected/appointed local board decides that being the thought policeman is what their community wants.

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  2. AmandaNovember 25, 2008 at 9:14 AM

    Dear anonymous -
    The issue here is not censorship. There are many things perfectly legal outside of the library that are not allowed inside of the library. For instance, eating, sleeping, drinking, talking or making noise that others can hear (http://www.chipublib.org/aboutcpl/cplpolicies/policies/lib_use_guidelines.php).
    Pornography is easily accessible outside of the library. If the library were to cease providing free and unfettered access to pornography within the library walls, it would still be available to anyone who wanted it outside of library walls.

    And even if the library chooses to keep pornography easily and freely available inside of the library, I'm working toward finding a way to protect children and those adults that don't want to see these images. (i.e. a separate computer room for porn use.)

    (ps - please check back soon for my response letter to the Commissioner. I want to give her a chance to read it in person before posting it on my blog.)

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