To comply with federal guidelines such as the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), the library filters Internet content by default on all library computers.  If a patron is 18 years of age or older, and receives a message stating that the web site he or she wishes to view has been blocked, the patron may request that library staff un-block the web site. 

Computers cannot be un-filtered, nor individual web sites un-blocked, for minors under 18 years of age.  Further, users under 12 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian when using library public access computers.

At this time, library staff cannot disable filtering on laptop computers.  This is due to the set-up of the library wireless network.  If a patron wishes to visit web sites which have been blocked by the filter, he or she may request that library staff place the patron at a public-access computer and disable the filtering.

Disabling filtering does not exempt library patrons from complying with the Computer & Internet Access Policy.  This policy prohibits any patron from displaying content on public access computers that could generally be considered obscene.  Library staff will be happy to provide patrons with a copy of this policy upon request.

Parents and guardians should note that the Internet, while a valuable research and entertainment tool, is essentially unregulated.  Internet content filtering is automatic; it may block some sites that are not objectionable and “miss” (allow) other sites to be shown which are objectionable.  It is ultimately the parent’s responsibility to monitor his or her child’s use of the Internet on library computers.