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Massachusetts Libraries Continue Bad Sex Advice
By Amy
Contrada
The Massachusetts Family
Institute recently received rave reviews for
telling parents how to protect children on the
Internet. But they didn’t
believe they had to advise parents about
protecting children from their own town libraries. However, they do. For
example, the Minuteman Library Network (MLN),
which serves 35 towns from Acton to Medfield to
Woburn, is still recommending a sex site which
originates in Chicago and is banned by the
schools in that city. The site was first
brought to the attention of MLN by Massachusetts
News in 1999. The librarians have steadfastly
refused to remove the site in question, the
Coalition for Positive Sexuality (CPS), although
they did finally remove another egregious site
after many complaints from residents in response
to the MassNews article. This doesn’t bother
Wanda Null, Director of the Acton Memorial
Library, for example, who opines that the site
could not be said to encourage teens to be
sexually active. She said this despite the
fact that the first thing you see on the site is
its motto, “Just Say Yes.” It is an
anonymous group, apparently “censored”
(to use their word) by the Chicago public
schools. It tells kids that “safe sex”
is an attainable goal and it sells offensive
posters. It has two sections where
teenagers can talk to unknown people which
exposes them to sexual predators. One of these is
a “Talk Back” section which requires a
space for your email address. It also has a
“Let’s Talk” section where you can
“have discussions with other teens.” An
email address is required and the user is
encouraged to include a picture. The talk back
and forth may not be an actual conversation, but
it has all the dangerous problems that occur in
these situations where teenagers are conversing
with strangers. Also, questions can be
made to CPS staff via voice mailbox which
requires leaving a return telephone number. Null also said that the
site came highly recommended by reviewers from
professional library associations. The CPS site is
recommended on MLN’s own website which can
be accessed either in the library or at home. How
to Get There In order to get to this
site, a child would first go to MLN’s
website and then to “Teen Links,” and
to the section on health. From there, he or she
would access “sexuality” and
“adolescent.” MLN claims it is not
recommending or endorsing anything on the Teen
Links page. But clearly, a rack of books that has
been singled out for special attention as
“Good Reads” in your library is a
recommendation. Granted,
any teen with an elementary knowledge of how to get around on the
Internet could find all these sites easily. But the problem here
is what the libraries are actively promoting. This implies legitimacy
and thus undermines parental authority. Just as a courthouse building
and a judge’s robe convey justice, those fine town library
buildings and orderly racks of books -- or library home pages —
convey legitimate learning. There are relatively
innocent teens even in these days who try to be
good, follow their parents’ guidelines
regarding the Internet and steer clear of bad
sites -- but they may discover such sites only
because of the recommendation on their
library’s computer. MLN has not been
responsive to recent critical feedback about this
site. Massachusetts News reported in March 2000
that while it is “apparently funded entirely
with tax money from federal, state and local
governments, it is operated as a private,
non-profit corporation. Therefore, it is not
required to hold public meetings or to report to
the public in any way.” MLN
is ‘Private’ Entity Carol Caro, MLN Executive
Director, now tells Massachusetts News that most
of MLN’s funds come from local member
libraries, with smaller portions from state and
federal monies. It is legally a private,
non-profit agency. The directors of each member
library make up the MLN board. She said the MLN is a
vendor to the member libraries in the same way
that the Encyclopedia Britannica sells
encyclopedias to the libraries. Therefore, she
said, MLN is no more accountable to the taxpayers
than the encyclopedia publisher would be. Caro
also pointed out that local libraries receive
monies from sources besides taxes, such as
private donations and grants. It is local library
boards of trustees who are accountable to the
taxpayers. According to the Massachusetts Board
of Library Commissioners, a 1997 study showed
that about 71% of public libraries in the state
have elected boards, and about 18% have some sort
of association or corporation in charge. It is
they who decide whether to join and fund MLN. While the MLN is not
legally subject to the open meeting law, Caro
said that the board recently decided to welcome
comments by the public at the beginning of their
monthly executive and membership committee
meetings. Visitors may listen to the rest of the
meeting as well, unless confidential issues are
under discussion. (The MLN now has a written
policy on public attendance.) Caro invites members of
the public to contact her office for board
meeting times, and if unable to attend, their
comments can be read for them at the meeting.
(MLN is in Natick at 508-655-8008.) MLN has also placed a
form in all member libraries for patrons wishing
to request that MLN consider inclusion or
deletion of a particular Internet link on its
home page. Feedback can also be given online via
the link at “Home Page Collection
Development Policy” (www.mln.lib.ma.us/cdpol.htm). Caro said, “We are
not a brick wall here” and that MLN will
listen to feedback. She said that despite recent
critical articles in Massachusetts News, no
formal complaints concerning Teen Link websites
have reached MLN. Caro said that the
ultimate decision to retain or remove a link is
made by the MLN Executive Committee. At the same
time, she refused to state her opinion on the CPS
site, saying it was irrelevant, though she is on
that committee. When asked why MLN has a
Teen Links page, Caro said there was a need for
it. When asked if MLN could show that community
standards support a particularly controversial
site such as CPS, she said she did not know. Recent news stories in
Massachusetts (this February and March) tend to
support the idea that the public may want to
reassert traditional standards of decency.
Examples include the uproar over the new state
police policy on homosexual liaisons at rest
areas; the MBTA’s rejection of a sexually
suggestive movie advertisement; the controversy
over risque parties at the Newton Holiday Inn;
the minority community’s hopes for
“Stemming a tide of early sex” (Boston
Globe, 2/25/01); and the numerous Massachusetts
organizations opposing Governor Cellucci’s
diplomatic appointment because of his role in
Fistgate. Recommended
Site Is Especially Harmful The site in question is
the first one listed under sexuality on the
“Teen Links” page. Visitors to the website
are encouraged to submit questions for responses
by “resident sexperts.” It says,
“We chose words for this guide that we use
when we talk about sex with our friends.
We’re not doctors and we don’t pretend
to be, so pardon our French!” The French
gets pretty raw. The librarians at MLN
claim that they “strive to include sites
that contain accurate information and have a
reputable provider.” Obviously, there is no
reputable authority behind the CPS site. Nowhere
are any names given for those responsible for the
CPS site. It only states, “CPS is a
grassroots direct-action volunteer group formed
in the spring of 1992 by high school students and
members of the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power
(ACT UP), Queer Nation, Emergency Clinic Defense
Coalition, and No More Nice Girls. CPS does
not have a governing board; we operate
collectively with a non-hierarchical structure.
We are about half women and men; 25% people of color and 80% lesbian, gay, and bisexual. Our
ages range from 19 to 48. We are high school and
college teachers, artists, college and graduate
students, blue and white and pink collar workers,
disability recipients, PWA’s, and
activists.” The information on the
CPS site is inaccurate and leads teens to believe
that “safe sex” is attainable outside
heterosexual monogamy. CPS
states: “Just Say Yes is about having a positive attitude towards
sexuality — gay, straight, bisexual or whatever. It’s
about saying ‘yes’ to sex you do want, and ‘no’
to sex you don’t. It says there’s nothing wrong with you
if you decide to have sex, and nothing wrong with you if you decide
not to. You have the right to make your own choices, and to have
people respect them. Sex is enjoyable when everyone involved is
into it, and when everyone has the information they need to take
care of themselves and each other. “Just Say Yes is
predicated on respect: self-respect and respect
for others. It is pro-safe sex, pro-teen,
pro-choice, pro-queer, and pro-woman. Just Say
Yes covers everything from resources for victims
of violence to information on HIV testing to
suggestions of hot, safe, sexy things to do with
a partner or alone. Every Thursday morning, CPS
visits a different Chicago public high school;
arriving about 30 minutes before school starts,
we give condoms and copies of Just Say Yes to
students as they head into class.” Here is its discussion of
AIDS prevention: “Only safe sex can prevent
AIDS. Monogamy, marriage, being on the pill, or
‘family values’ won’t protect you.
A teenager can read [Just Say Yes], learn how to
play safe, and teach her/his friends how to play
safe.” One must wonder whether
the justification for the CPS graphics (some with
motion) is that they are “educational”
or “artistic?” CPS sells “Girl
Germs Posters.” One poster featured in the
“birth control” section tells girls to
“Cum Prepared [with a condom]: You never
know when you’ll get lucky.” The Massachusetts
Attorney General has issued a pamphlet entitled,
“The Internet, Your Child, and You: What
Every Parent Should Know.” It states: “Warn your child
never to reveal any identifying information such
as: last name, ethnicity, age, address, phone
number, school name, parents’ names,
parents’ employers or work addresses.
Caution your child that predators and con-artists
are experts at accumulating incremental amounts
of personal data until they eventually obtain
enough information to locate a user.”
[emphasis in original] One must seriously
question the judgment of the librarians in
promoting CPS. Other
Recommended Websites There are two abstinence
sites (out of six under “sexuality”)
which seem fine, though not especially appealing
to a teen audience. These were added fairly
recently in response to feedback from concerned
patrons after Massachusetts News alerted the
public to the issue. They also removed a website
called “All About Sex” which was very
open to lurking pedophiles. The Network, however,
made no public statement about the changes they
made on their Teen Links page in response to
publicity from Massachusetts News. The Network claims that
its web links reflect “diversity,” and
that “sites will be selected in a broad
range of areas, representing a variety of
viewpoints and reflecting the diversity of MLN
communities and the interests of their members. MLN recognizes that links that are acceptable
to one person or group may not be acceptable to
another, but no group has the right to impose its
standards on others.” Surely, there are many
pro-abstinence, pro-life, pro-traditional-values
parents whose views deserve greater
representation on this Teen Links page. It is
their viewpoint that has been silenced. MLN welcomes online
comments or suggestions at the bottom of its
Collection Development Policy page at www.mln.lib.ma.us/cdpol.htm.
May 2001 The Massachusetts Family
Institute recommends that parents in
Massachusetts become very involved in their
children's Internet use, whether at home or at
the library. They have published the
Massachusetts Family Guide to Internet Safety
which states that "while many libraries
apply filters to computers in the 'children's
room,' which typically serves children through
grade five, children as young as age 10 may
access adult computers that do not filter
dangerous content." Lisa Barstow, Director of
External Affairs at MFI, tells Massachusetts
News: "Sexuality
information presented to children and teens today
in Massachusetts libraries via the Web and the
education establishment is often in stark
contrast to traditional family values and fails
to recognize the emotional, physical and
spiritual value of abstinence. While children
have a natural curiosity about sex and sexuality,
MFI believes that parents should be the primary
disseminators of sexuality information to their
children. "Many 'teen-health'
Websites contain graphic and objectionable
sexuality content. Some sites irresponsibly
promote various types of sexual expression
without presenting the risks inherent in that
behavior. Parents should take time to visit
websites oriented to teens to understand what is
being presented in their own town library and
then use that information to form their own
strategies on how to dialogue with their children
about sex." And parents must be wary. Many
filters don't catch all that much
"offensive" material. The accessibility of
pornography "via the Internet is turning
America's public libraries into virtual 'peep
shows' open to children and funded by taxpayers.
This is primarily due to the failure of the
Department of Justice to enforce federal
obscenity laws," according to Janet LaRue,
Senior Director of Legal Studies at the Family
Research Council. Unfortunately, although the new
U.S. Attorney General may be more willing to
enforce the law, many radical judges still
dominate the courts. Some limited relief may
be on the way in Massachusetts. There is
legislation pending which would attempt to
control, to some extent, Internet obscenity on
public library computers. State Rep. Marini and
Senator Magnani have both filed bills. Details
are still up in the air, but exact provisions
would probably be set by individual library
boards. As with the recent
federal legislation which took effect in April,
Massachusetts libraries would lose funding if not
in compliance with the new legislation, if
passed. Estimated losses to MLN member-libraries
would be in the range of $130,000 from
non-compliance with federal legislation, but much
more money would be at stake if the state
legislation passes, according to Acton library
director Wanda Null. Most professional
librarians agree with the American Library
Association (ALA) that any such filtering
requirements on library computers are
"censorship." Challenges to the federal
act are already in the works. This is clearly an issue
to watch, as it will bring into focus this
intersection of public funding, the Internet,
obscenity laws, and free speech. The brewing
controversy may at least increase public
awareness of various Internet problems in our
libraries. The website for the
Massachusetts Family Institute is at www.mafamily.org
May 2001 The Swampscott Public
Library has gone into the counseling business. It
has posted the following:
Despite the lack of any
professional training - or any permission from
parents - Swampscott librarians will apparently
now play a role somewhere between parent and
pastor. Or at least a role that used to belong to
parents and pastors. This has caused some
observers to quip, "Hey Mom and Dad. It's
1:00 in the afternoon. Do you know where your
kids are?"
May 2001 Not too long ago, we
could be sure our public libraries would protect
our children from harmful materials, at least in
the Children’s and Young Adult (YA) section.
Now, our libraries are veritable distributors of
soft-core pornography (and sometimes worse). The
American Library Association has done a
disservice to the American public, indoctrinating
many professional librarians into believing that
“anything goes” in the libraries. They
say that anything and everything must be made
available to all users, even children, all in the
name of the First Amendment. Today, it may be that the
best a parent can hope for is
“balance.” That is, if there are 10
books on the shelf (or ten websites recommended)
promoting homosexuality, there should be an equal
number of books (or sites) promoting traditional
moral values. But in the Acton Memorial
Library on two random days this winter, the count
was 14 to 1 and 13 to 1 in favor of books
promoting homosexuality vs. books promoting
traditional values. A typical book on the shelf,
“And Then I Became Gay,” is full of
explicit descriptions of sex acts, all in the
name of combating “homophobia.” Because
this book is “educational” according to
some definition (and who’s to say whose
definition is legitimate), it is on the shelf.
Just a few years ago, such a book would surely be
labeled soft-core porn and never appear in the
room. With no one enforcing the
obscenity laws, all a parent can hope for now is
a counterweight to such materials. Lack of
balance violates the principles laid out in the
American Library Association’s own
“Library Bill of Rights” which says: “Books and other
library resources should be provided for the
interest, information, and enlightenment of all
people of the community the library serves.
Materials should not be excluded because of the
origin, background, or views of those
contributing to their creation.” Labeling a book or author
“homophobic” or
“heterosexist” is not an adequate
reason to keep it off the shelf. Further, if you have
asked your library to include Massachusetts News
or some other publication in your periodical room
and they have refused, remind them that their own
Library Bill of Rights states: “Libraries should
provide materials and information presenting all
points of view on current and historical issues.
Materials should not be proscribed or removed
because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Libraries should cooperate with all persons and
groups concerned with resisting abridgement of
free expression and free access to ideas.” Sadly, it is now
traditional viewpoints that are truly being
censored in the public libraries. If your librarian uses
the excuse that he doesn’t think
Massachusetts News is “objective” (the
reason given by the director of the Acton
library), suggest that it is fine to classify it
as an “opinion journal,” and put it
alongside the many left-wing journals already on
the shelves. Remind the librarian that the
library is funded with your tax dollars and all
views should be represented. You can find the Library
Bill of Rights on the web at www.ala.org.
May 2001 There do not appear to be
legal grounds to challenge the recommendations on
MLN’s Teen Links page. While common sense
would tell us some of the websites described
above are clearly “material harmful to
minors,” the courts would be unlikely to
agree, according to Attorney Dwight Duncan of the
Southern New England School of Law. Duncan points out that
the obscenity laws include three criteria that
must be met in order to bring a legal challenge.
In order for any written, visual, or audio matter
of any kind to be “Harmful to minors,”
it must be matter of any kind that: - The average person,
applying contemporary community standards, would
find, taken as a whole and with respect to
minors, appeals to prurient interest in nudity,
sex, or excretion, and - The average person,
applying contemporary community standards, would
find depicts, describes, or represents, in a
patently offensive way with respect to what is
suitable for minors, ultimate sexual acts, normal
or perverted, actual or simulated,
sado-masochistic sexual acts or abuse, or lewd
exhibitions of the genitals, pubic area,
buttocks, or post-pubertal female breast, and - A reasonable man would
find, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary,
artistic, political, or scientific value for
minors. (Family Research Council,
“Pornography Definitions,” referring to
Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629 (1968);
available online at www.frc.org/papers). Attorney
Duncan said that while some of the Teen Links
websites (and some surprising books in the Young
Adult room) may fit the first two criteria,
libraries can always use the third for wiggle
room, claiming that there is literary, artistic,
or educational (“scientific”) value in
the material. While libraries feel
immune to legal challenges, they may respond to
pressure from the community. Besides contacting
MLN’s Webmaster, library patrons can contact
their town library’s board of trustees
(elected in many towns) and library directors.
Local boards may be more responsive than the
seemingly unaccountable MLN central board.
May 2001 For Teen Link
websites: More and better
pro-traditional-value websites are needed. A
search turned up several sites that would surely
appeal to teens. Pro-basketball player A.
C. Green has a good site www.acgreen.org, with
links to others called “Just Friends” www.justfriends.org
and “Heart Choices”
www.heartchoices.net. The Family Research Council
has a teen site and monthly print newsletter
called “i.e.” (for “Ideas &
Energy”) at www.frc.org/i.e.
There are also pro-life
websites with a teen angle, such as www.ALL.org/activism
(Why Life? for teens), and www.prolife.com.
There is even a teen “zine” on an
anti-pornography site: www.cyberangels.org/teens. For the Young
Adult bookshelf: How
to Stay Christian in College by J. Budziszewski. |
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