Librarians want local control of content

A state law that would require Web filtering in libraries was on the minds of many trustees and legislators at the annual North Suburban Library System Legislative breakfast this morning.

The state House passed the bill last year that would require each library to have "a technology protection measure to prevent the display on a public computer of any visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography or harmful to minors."

While library members who attended the breakfast said filtering is a necessary tool, many agreed that they didn't want that decision to be made on a state level.

"It should be a local decision," said Kip Kolkmeier, a lobbyist for the Illinois Library Association who spoke at the breakfast. "There are good, smart people that can make those determinations (on the local level)."

The bill will now go to the Senate and Kolkmeier urged legislators to talk to their colleagues about the issue.

Many of the Senate and House representatives at the breakfast agreed with the librarians, saying they trust their local politicians to make those kinds of decisions.

"I'm always for local control," said State Rep. Sid Mathias, a Republican from Buffalo Grove. "We shouldn't be out there second-guessing you."