You should probably change your title, and edit the blog. Porn is not illegal and the Librarian would be wrong for what she did.

Child porn is another issue, and she is right in what she did. And I suspect when the dust settles, her supervisor is going to be without a job as well. Librarians are very protective of what a patron accesses (I know, I worked with them for 10 years). BUT, while they are fighting it, the simple fact of the matter is that she did observe a crime, and as such it was good for her to report it. Anonymity is no justification for abetting crime.

Is it legal to use a library computer to view it, though?

The librarian would have been in a better position if she had done just what the supervisor asked. She was asked to issue a warning and that's exactly what she should have done.

I work in IT. I catch my users doing things they shouldn't all the time. (I have only caught porn a couple of times and those folks were immediately fired) It is my responsibility to report and then take the action my director tells me to do.

An example would be: We have a strict policy against checking personal email (i.e. AOL, Gmail or any of the other email hosters out there) while using the private network. I have one user who continues to abuse this policy but for whatever reason he is allowed to continue his employment. I am instructed to block the site he is accessing on his PC and that is that. Since checking personal email circumvents all of the other protections we put in place on our network, I have a real problem with his actions. It is my responsibility to protect our network from threats.

I document when a voilation occurs. I collect a little evidence and then I do exactly what my director tells me to do even if he tells me to do nothing.

It would have been a totally different story if this guy was looking up child porn at the library. I think immediate contact with the supervisor would have produced different results. I have no doubt the supervisor would have taken the appropriate action. I don't know if this was a just situation for termination but many states (like the one I live in) do not require specific grounds for termination. The only time a reason is requested is in situations of unemployment claims.

My biggest problem with this situation is that the library has an obligation to protect it's child patrons from offensive images. I would like to know why the library wasn't using some sort of filter. This would have been a non-issue.

Wow, from the title I thought this was about a new superhero or something.   

So little information to really assess what really happened.

I suspect though that the supervisor is going to get a bad rap on this. But with the given information,...All three could be wrong.

that's what it was...I had written it down only once out of three times in my blog and have since corrected it.  But it was child porn which is illegal.  So now the question is who should the librarian listen to?   Is she supposed to listen to her Supervisor and NOT report him to authorities or report him as a responsible citizen should when they see the law broken like this? 

Thanks Doc.  I did put in "child" porn which is what it was instead of just "porn."  Downloading child porn is illegal and that's what the guy's in for. 

This has been an ongoing issue with the libraries.  Many parents have lost when they tried to bring this to court.  Seems as tho we are infringing on the rights of those who wish to view porn in their neigborhood libraries so filters were nixed in favor of patron's rights. 

well in a way it is.....I think the Librarian is the hero in this case.  She could have said nothing and went about her day, not wanting to get involved like most people.  But instead she spoke out and lost her job.  Kudos to her for doing the right thing.

Another sicko off the street.  She, is definitely a superhero in my book. 

 

 

The company I work for has very strict policies on Internet use, they block just about anything. I do have a few sites here and there I am able to access but not much. I can't check any personal email but I just wait till I get home anyways. No porn for me though, that would be too embarrassing.

Notes changes: Well, that changes my perspective.

I think the Librarian responded appropriately. The Library should be a 'safe' public place. If this happened in my neighborhood I would be greatly concerned about having my children go to the library.

If I work on a computer, I will overlook illegal downloads or pirated software (although I will not service issue resulting from use of same). Torrent sites, etc., while illegal, are not something I feel like reporting.

But child pornography is another matter. I WILL report it, and immediately. While I have thus far been fortunate in not having to encounter that on any computers I service, I know others who haven't been so lucky, and my recommendation to them is to call immediately. This librarian did the right thing, in my opinion.

Think about it: if it were pictures of one of your family members being downloaded, wouldn't you want this sick reported?

I think that it is illegal to access any adult content on a library network, is it not? I haven't been keeping in touch with laws recently.

Either way, one should be able to Tase and citizen's arrest anyone viewing something like that *PUBLICLY* on a library computer.

The Librarian totally rocked. She should be the supervisor.

Child porn is a felony.

So according to her supervisor, you should be able to hire someone to murder your spouse on the net at the library, sell drugs, whatever...because the library internet is free of the law?

Come on.

no it's not illegal from what I understand but not sure if it varies from state to state. Only child porn is illegal from what I understands.



ya she does! She should have a library named after her. She took one more child porner off the street. That's a hero in my book. I'm sure the neighborhood moms are totally indebted to her.