Woman says child saw porn at Lake City library

Seattle public libraries allow users to access pornography, and do not censor content in order to protect “constitutional rights.” (AP Photo/File)

A Seattle mother whose young daughter saw a man watching pornography at a public library, said she soon learned there was little she could do about it.

“You could see it in the public area of the library all the way out to the information desk,” said Julie Howe, in an appearance on 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ross and Burbank Show. “I went to the librarian and I told her, and she said, ‘Yes, he can do that. It happens sometimes.'”

Spokesperson Andra Addison said the Seattle Public Library has had a policy of unfiltered Internet access since 2001 to protect a visitor’s constitutional rights.

“We don’t censor. We’re not in the business of being censors,” Addison said. “We’re really in the business of facilitating access to information. People have a right to access information in a confidential way without scrutiny. So, we don’t look at what people are viewing on their computers.”

Addison said they make every effort to avoid inadvertent viewing of such material by filtering content on computers in children’s sections of the library and installing privacy screens.

But Howe said that the privacy screens did not hide the material from public spaces in this case, and she tells the Lake City Live blog that when she asked the man to move he declined.

“I think he should be able to access it,” said Howe. “But I think in particular, children have to be protected against it.”

By BRANDI KRUSE, 97.3 KIRO FM Reporter