SINSULL, most public libraries do not filter the Internet, or filter children's access only. The recent Supreme Court ruling on the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) makes it mandatory only for those libraries which receive money from the Universal Service Fund ("E-rate") or from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), and then only if the funds are used for direct access to the Internet (like a computer for the public to use to access the Internet).

My library (I'm the Director, having started on May 5 of this year) doesn't receive any E-rate money and what little LSTA we receive is not Internet access related. Ergo, we are not *legally* bound to filter the Internet. And we don't -- but historically Internet access has been limited here to those 18 and over, or to younger people when someone over 18 is with them.

Of course, this all may very well change very soon, what with the CIPA decision. Problem is, a decent filter suitable for library use costs about $6,000, and the money isn't there in many cases. I, like many others, am waiting to see what guidelines and regulations come down "from on high" in the wake of the CIPA decision -- there are supposed to be some out before August 1.