April 20--A website about pedophilia is recommended to teenagers by the libraries of 33 towns in Norfolk and Middlesex Counties. 

 The recommendation is on the website of the Minuteman Library Network that includes most town libraries in the metrowest area of Massachusetts, ranging from Cambridge to Holliston. 

 Although the primary objective of the libraries is to provide a database of books that are available through the members of their Network, it includes many links to other sites. 

 The first site that is recommended to teenagers under "Sexuality" is "AllAboutSex." a site which is the product of one person in Texas named Randal Blackburn, who declares, "What the Sexual Revolution of the 1960's did for women, the 2000's will do for adolescents, LIBERATION! ... At Last!" 

 This is exactly what the pedophiles at the North American Man/Boy Love Association say and it is why they formed their group in 1978 (according to them). They wish to repeal any state laws which mandate an age of consent for sexual relations by children.  If they are successful, the parents of a twelve-year-old (or younger) will not be able to stop them from having sex with their child.                                   . 

 Librarians Are Not Startled 

 The librarians at the Newton and Wellesley libraries tell Massachusetts News they are not startled to be told about "AllAboutSex."  They were first told about it on Wednesday, April 14, and it is still on their site. 

 "We haven't received any comments or complaints," said Janice Bures, the Director of the Wellesley Free Library. 

 The head of the Newton public libraries, Cathy Glick, said she has also not heard any complaints and she appeared surprised that there would be any question about the content of the sites.   She defended the materials, explaining, "Our philosophy is to include a wide cross section of materials.   This site addresses issues related to sexuality." 

 The person who is directly in charge of the site, Susan Saul, Head of User Services at Minuteman, agreed with the local librarians that none of them have looked at this particular website which they recommend to children. 

 "I can't say that we look at every site," said Saul.   Furthermore she explained, "We don't have any control over what changes on the sites over time.  When asked whether they occasionally check on a particular site, she acknowledged, "We just check to see if sites are still there — we don't dig beyond the first page of a site."  For example, she explained, "We make sure that these sites don't have chat rooms."   Yet, out of the seven sites listed under the heading of "sexuality," at least three have forums for communicating with other users. 

 When picking the sites, the Network gets many of its site ideas from other webpages like Yahoo! which has a special page of links for teens.   "We use other popular sites for our ideas in order to ensure that teens will actually go to the trouble of reading some of these links." 

 When asked whether she would consider linking more sites that advocate abstinence, for example, Ms. Saul replied, "We recognize that teenagers won't look at sermonizing sites." 

 Typical of Librarians? 

 This reaction from the librarians is not surprising because this is the position of the American Library Association, said Evelyn Reilly, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Christian Coalition, who stated:. 

 "Given the American Library Association's usual position, I'm not shocked that this network is not being responsible for protecting children from harmful materials. 

 "When they say they want to encourage diversity, they mean presenting every conceivable approach except for the sensible one and the moral one." 

 Working for the Pedophile 

 Although "AllAboutSex"claims that it attempts to distance itself from pedophilia, this is obviously not true.  It includes a special section for pedophiles in which it asks them to stay away from the website and to stay quiet.  It says, "If you truly want children and teens to be free of sexual repression and to have the right to explore their sexuality, you will not make an issue of this site or cause unwanted attention." 
 
 But it then goes on to reveal that it is working for the pedophile when it says that the pedophiles should let the site do its work in quiet because they should "realize that a more sexually open society serves everyone, yourself included." [emphasis added] 

 There are other sites listed under the libraries' TeenLinks, such as the "Coalition for Positive Sexuality," whose motto is "Just Say Yes," because they are "tired of people telling us what we can and can't do."  It says it was started in Chicago by the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), Queer Nation (QN), Emergency Clinic Defense Coalition (ECDC), and No More Nice Girls. 

Read Our Story:  "Will Pedophilia Be Next in Massachusetts Schools?" 

 

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