I grew up during a time when kids had to be a certain age to get a library card, and we had to have a signed form from our guardian/parent. This card allowed us access to the children's part of the library. At some age (I don't remember... 16?), we applied for an adult library card and we could take books out of the adult section too! What a rite of passage.
The one thing that so many people seem to miss with the Supreme Court decision allowing filtering software on public library computers to protect children, is the way librarians' roles are being transformed. They are basically becoming arms of the state.
If, as one justice suggested, a person can ask the librarian to "turn off" the filter, what is the librarian's responsibility? I mean, if most people opt not to have the filter disabled, this makes the individual who requests it be turned off,... an aberration. Should the librarian "monitor" what the person is looking for? Is this something a government agency should be informed about? What if the person doesn't look/act/seem like everyone else?
There was a time when people could go to the public library for quiet, reflection, enlighenment. Now somewhere in the back of people's heads will be the thought, "I hope this doesn't attract attention."
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