Many public libraries are now installing Internet blocking software, which scans the contents of Internet sites which a user seeks to view and blocks access based on the occurrence of certain words or phrases on those sites (Wallace). The problem with this method is that many sites with legitimate, decent, and relevant information are blocked by these programs. For example, the National Organization for Women website is blocked by Cybersitter, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation archive is blocked by CyberPatrol (Wallace). CyberPatrol and Cybersitter are examples of Internet blocking software. Additionally, only a very small portion of the Internet contains offensive material; most people do not use the Internet for pornography. Although the pornography web sites will never go away, the Internet is mostly being used for communication and information exchange, and only a tiny section of the Net contains pornography and other material considered by many to be “obscene.” No Internet blocking software is perfect; there will always be pornographic sites that get through the filter and legitimate sites that are blocked from access. Public libraries are a branch of our government and, therefore, the installation of blocking software violates the blocked sites’ freedom of speech, especially those sites which clearly have no offensive material.

Many people argue that censoring the Internet would be in the best interest of the children, however, “there are relatively few parents, regardles

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