Yakima libraries to block 'adult' websites after community pressure
YAKIMA, Wash. -- KIMA learned Yakima libraries will block all websites with adult material following pressure from the community.
It comes after a story we first brought you last month; a man touching himself while watching porn at the downtown branch.
The library said his behavior was unacceptable, but not the pornography.
That changed when parents and other groups brought their complaints to the library board Monday night. They worried about the protection of children who use the library.
Yakima's library system has traditionally steered clear of any kind of censorship.
"I want people to have access to information, I don't know how they will use it. I mean, that's not up to me to judge, just to provide it," said Yakima Library Director Kim Hixson. "However, I also want people to be safe in the library as much as they can be and I realize people have concerns about their children."
This is the Yakima library's first internet policy change ever and will take effect Wednesday.
More changes could be made while the library decides what to filter.
It comes after a story we first brought you last month; a man touching himself while watching porn at the downtown branch.
The library said his behavior was unacceptable, but not the pornography.
That changed when parents and other groups brought their complaints to the library board Monday night. They worried about the protection of children who use the library.
Yakima's library system has traditionally steered clear of any kind of censorship.
"I want people to have access to information, I don't know how they will use it. I mean, that's not up to me to judge, just to provide it," said Yakima Library Director Kim Hixson. "However, I also want people to be safe in the library as much as they can be and I realize people have concerns about their children."
This is the Yakima library's first internet policy change ever and will take effect Wednesday.
More changes could be made while the library decides what to filter.
Thank you so much Yakima Libraries ! Â It's really uncomfortable and icky to be in the same room as those perverts. Â It's too often easy to tell who is looking at porn. Â And I don't want my tax dollars suypporting that kind of activity.