BOWDEN – The Bowden Public Library and its board say they are being left in the dark on discussions by town council about restricting internet use due to concerns that some citizens are downloading pornographic images and videos.
“I’ve never heard of this. It’s never been mentioned, it’s not even rumoured that somebody might be accessing inappropriate sites," said Linda Toews, library board chair. “This information has not been forwarded to us. We’re not going to take action on anything that we don’t know anything about."
Bowden town council passed a motion at its May 13 council meeting requesting that council’s library representative, Coun. Sandy Gamble, bring the issue of internet use to the Parkland Library Board and obtain more information in regards to internet usage and restrictions.
There have been concerns over inappropriate use, said Bowden mayor Robb Stuart.
Some Bowden residents are concerned that the inquiries could mean censorship but Stuart says they are simply wanting clarification.
“We are not trying to censor anything. We are just trying to make sure that people do not have access to undesirable websites through the town,” said Stuart. “Right now there’s no screen on it so people are downloading pornographic (images and videos) and we don’t think that the library should be used for that purpose.
“We want to make sure that young kids don’t have access to those websites,” he added, noting the issue was discussed with council in May.
“We directed our Parkland regional representative to go to the Parkland meeting (May 24) and forward our concerns.”
The motion was passed after council received the Bowden Library Internet Use Report, dated May 1 and written by Arno Glover, assistant to the CAO.
The report addressed a number of areas including content filtering controls, out of hours restrictions and acceptable use policies (AUP). It also noted questions the mayor (Stuart) asked of town administration, following the library’s annual general meeting two months ago.
The mayor inquired about internet controls on computers at the library, who pays for data and bandwidth provided by the library internet service provider, and what out of hours restrictions apply on the library guests' internet network.
The report also made several recommendations pertaining to internet use.
Ron Sheppard, director with Parkland Regional Library, said changes to internet use at the library is not a decision for council.
“Council does not have any authority over the library board,” said Sheppard. “The board is responsible for the service. It is a municipal service and it’s true that the town appoints the board, they fund the board, they do approve bylaws but not policies.
“If you want filtering on computers, that would have to be a decision made by the local library board.”
He said Parkland Regional Library has the capability of looking into which sites are being accessed at local libraries but it requires "extraordinary effort," and it’s almost impossible when using wireless devices like smartphones.
“It’s one thing if it’s done on the computers in the library, but we don’t really have any way of tracking who’s doing what if they’re using wireless devices.
“Porn might be unpleasant but it’s not illegal,” said Sheppard.
Toews said she's aware of the report from the town but not of any recommendations for internet usage.
“The library is not in the business of censoring things,” said Toews. “If somebody is downloading movies after dark, I’m not sure if that’s really a problem.”
Toews said she is not aware of any issues surrounding wireless internet use outside of the library.
“At this point in time, the library is not looking at making any changes. The library board will certainly be addressing this issue at our next meeting (July 24), now that it’s been brought up to us,” said Toews.
Julie Hamblin, manager of the library, said the town is not being forthcoming with changes they want to see.
“They’re doing it in a sneaky manner. Nobody has come to me to talk about it,” said Hamblin. “(The report) said that they wanted to put filters on for stuff like social media and Ebay, which seemed a bit extreme.
“The problem with filters is that it cuts out a lot of stuff that you’re not expecting it to cut out. If somebody’s going to look at something terrible, they’re going to find a way to look at it,” said Hamblin. “The filters aren’t going to be able to stop it.”
