Journal Reporter

When a Des Plaines mother of three reserved a computer at the Des Plaines library on July 1 she received a shock that sparked her into action.

After a 20-minute wait, she sat down and quickly realized the man at the computer next to her was watching graphic pornography and fondling himself while listening to a headset.

Kimberley, who asked that her last name not be used for the sake of her children, publicly told her story to the Library Board of Trustees at its board meeting Tuesday night in the downtown library building. She asked trustees to install filtering technology on the fourth floor computers. Filters are designed to block web sites that contain obscene material.

In 2000 and again in early May, library trustees voted unanimously to install filters only on the lower-level computers designated for children. Fourth floor computers are unfiltered.

Kimberley said she noticed a second user watching pornography on July 1 and immediately consulted a librarian.

"She flatly responded, 'I can assign you to another computer,'" Kimberley said, adding that the new reservation would bring her wait time up to 40 minutes.

Kimberley next contacted Martha Sloan, the library's director of Circulation.

According to Sloan, Kimberley did not tell the librarian at that time on July 1 that the patron was performing a lewd act, saying only that he was watching pornography.

The Des Plaines Public Library has no policy against a user watching obscene material. When library employees are informed of such an incident, they simply reserve a different computer for patrons who are disturbed. Sloan said library policy requires librarians to contact the police in the event of indecent exposure or other lewd acts.

By the time Sloan learned of the incident, the man had left the downtown facility, she said.

Library trustees voted in 2000 against installing filters on fourth floor computers because they did not want to inhibit patrons' freedom of information, Sloan said. The board did not want to condone censorship of any kind and agreed that filters could not block all obscene material.

Children's computers are located on lower levels of the library and contain filters. Children, however, are not restricted from the fourth floor computers.

At the board's May 18 meeting, Library Administrator Sandra Norlin reported it would cost $12,825 annually to install new filters on the fourth floor computers.

The Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) designates federal funding for libraries that install filters on all of its computers. Sloan said the CIPA would cover less than half of the local library's filtering cost.

"The cost of filtering far outweighs that tiny benefit," Sloan said. She said the library would save less than $7,000 if they filtered the computers.

"It was not a cost issue, but a philosophical issue," Sloan said. "It is not against the law to watch anything."

Kimberley said she walked through the library on Tuesday and found four of 16 computers displaying hard-core pornography. She said a group of boys approximately 14-years-old had gathered around one monitor displaying pornography, and they quickly switched the screen to a game when Kimberley passed by.

"In summary of the Board position, 'we don't censor,' you have turned this important value into an absolute without exception," Kimberley said in her statement to the board.

Trustees decided to postpone discussion of the matter to a special meeting at the library on Tuesday, July 27, at 7 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.

Kimberley's announcement is the second reported incident of lewd acts at the Des Plaines Library in recent weeks.

On June 9, police responded to a library security guard's call and charged an 18-year-old Skokie man with public indecency. The man allegedly watched pornography at a computer and fondled himself. The library has barred the man from the library.

According to a police report, the man told police he was a repeat offender of the act at the Des Plaines Library and had been previously removed. Trustees at Tuesday's meeting, however, reported that the man did not have a prior offense in the Des Plaines Library.

The suspect faces a $1,000 fine and up to one year in jail.

"If there are lewd acts, we call the police," Sloan said. "We are very aware of what we do."

The Des Plaines Library has a security guard on duty at all times, and the guard would handle any disturbances that do not warrant a police visit, Sloan said.

Des Plaines Deputy Police Chief Bill Schneider said the police cannot act unless the library contacts them for help. He said police could arrest citizens for indecent exposure or disorderly conduct, an offensive disturbance defined as "a breach of the peace."

Police officials said computer users watching pornography in public would cross the line into illegal grounds if they were acting unreasonably to alarm or disturb others. A fully-clothed computer user watching pornography would not likely meet criteria for an arrest, said police.

Kimberley suggested that the library filter all computers, with the exception of a few stationed facing a librarian for legitimate research purposes. Park Ridge Library has such a system in place. Kimberley also suggested the Rolling Meadows Library tactic, which filters out pornographic images but not text. She condoned the Niles Library, which does not filter but posts warning signs barring inappropriate web sites. She also mentioned the Mount Prospect Library, which filters all of its computers.

Several local residents attended the meeting. Three spoke in support of Kimberley. One resident spoke in opposition.

"Filters don't work effectively," said a woman in opposition to installing filters. She warned parents against illusions of safety at the public library. "There are going to be all sorts of people here; this is a public place," she said.

In response, Kimberley said there is no constitutional basis for people to watch pornography in public places. She said she is glad the trustees are taking her complaint seriously, but she would not rush to judgment about their reaction.

"I'll feel better when they change the policy," she said.