Batavia library to keep sex ed link

A link to Planned Parenthood's Teenwire sex education site will remain on the Batavia Public Library's Web site, despite a resident's request that it be removed.

However, it will be moved from the "Young Adult" page to the general "Web Reference" page, at the direction of the library board in a 4-2 vote Tuesday night.

The two trustees who voted against the measure did so because they felt the site should stay on the "Young Adult" portion.

Kerry Knott, the woman who had protested the link, said she was disappointed by the board's decision, but pleased with the process. The request was first considered by a staff committee, which recommended keeping the link. Knott then filed an appeal with the board.

At a hearing continued from the board's June meeting, attended by more than 120 people, more than 30 spoke to the board about the link. More of the speakers favored removing it than keeping it.

Batavia library board President Randall Gibson opened the hearing by trying to steer speakers clear of debating the merits of the site or its sponsor, even as people were outside the building carrying anti-Planned Parenthood signs.

"What it is not is the library's support or position of any particular organization's point of view," he said of the decision the board had to make.

But speakers immediately began criticizing the site and it's owner, Planned Parenthood, calling the information presented inaccurate and pornographic. They said it was a way for Planned Parenthood to make money, as the site offers information on the group's clinics, many of which provide abortions for a fee. By providing the link, the library is endorsing the site, some said.

"This isn't about censoring books," said Geri Fuehring. "There is so much on the Internet that is just not good. It doesn't reflect what Batavia is about or what the Batavia library is about." She also called the Web site "tasteless and crass." It features an animation section, including a video that features a cartoon penis and vagina discussing how a woman becomes pregnant.

Jennifer Russell pointed out that the "keep the link" side ran out of speakers long before the "lose the link" side did.

"I need to implore board to listen to your constituents... if you are elected to represent the citizens of the library district of Batavia, you need to listen to your constituents," she said.

Other people said that removing the Web link would be censorship.

"I am constitutionally frightened and offended that political agendas are trying to dictate what this library offers," said Susan Tatnall of Batavia. "Your job is to provide information and avenues of learning and education for this community. It is a slippery slope when you start to limit that information because of the political views of some members of the community."

Opponents said it was not censorship because users could find Teenwire on library computers, or their own, simply by using a search engine. Youths at the library must have parental permission to use the library's Internet computers, but there are no restrictions on what they can access through the library's Web site.

Stacey Cisneros, the library's head of adult services, said a staff review committee looked into allegations that information on the site was not accurate and that no medical references were cited, and that Teenwire's editor provided proof that the cite relies on standard medical textbooks.

And people disagree on what positions the facts support, she said. 'If we looked at the question of accuracy, we could be hear our whole lives, debating sentence by sentence, source by source."

The library's materials selection policy is that of the American Library Association: that materials should not be excluded because of the origins or views of those who created them, and that librarians do not need to endorse every position they make available.

"In the library's collection we have books and other materials that the library would not want to endorse, but we are charged with providing information from a variety of viewpoints," Cisneros said. She said the staff will improve a disclaimer on the Web site that notes the library doesn't necessarily endorse things to which it links.

As for not linking to Web sites of organizations that have revenue, she said the library would then have to remove its link to the Mayo Clinic health information site as well.

Trustee Douglas Sullivan questioned why the library's Web site had to provide Web links in the first place, saying that because it had so few listed, an endorsement is implied. "In the age of Google, I'm not sure of the necessity of laying out for our residents some legitimate sites that we believe are useful for information," especially as Web pages can change, unlike books. But he voted against moving the site to the "Web reference" area, saying if it is meant for teens, it should be where teens would be most likely to see it.