Porn in Public?

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4 Responses

  1. BK says:

    Does the SF Library system stock porn for its patrons? Is there a policy that would de facto limit the ability of somebody to walk into the kiddie reading room and start flipping through their own porn magazines? To say the librarians are not making curation decisions all the time, or enforcing normative behavior in the facility, would be completely disingenuous. This is neither a “censorship” question nor a feminism question.

    What it is, is a consequence of the library’s attempt to be relevant to parts of its community by providing internet access to low income patrons, including entertainment use as well as reference use. But open internet access creates a space for uncurated content and spottily supervised behavior. It’s not surprising that it doesn’t really fit into the library content model or into anybody’s normative expectations of what the library experience should be (including those of the librarians, who really don’t want to have to be the porn patrol).

    If the city wants to provide open access to the internet, fine. But open access to the internet is often not for “family” purposes (or “NSFW” if your prefer) and such access ought to be in a separate facility without expectations of “family” behavior (and supervised by somebody other than librarians).

  2. jeffdowd says:

    I haven’t seen the news article, but is this really a problem? My local library has somewhere around 2 dozen computers – they are almost all in use. I cannot imagine that anyone has ever tried to view pornography with two strangers on either side of them. Or is this some kind of moral panic stemming from the increasing mix of private and public space – such as private phone conversations in public places? This is not a rhetorical question – has anyone done a study on this particular problem?

  3. Madison says:

    I believe that the privacy shields are good way to find a middle ground between maintaining a sense of privacy, yet allowing the freedom for those who desire it. In my opinion though, the viewing of pornography should be done in private do to sexual stimulus one might experience while viewing it. That itself is a private matter and for an individual to be getting off in public is invading the space of the other public users. Libraries are also places where families can go to be together for educational and entertaining purposes. The desire to view pornography by others should not impose on those who go to the library with young children.

    • Rachael says:

      i see what your saying, however there are more ressons to view pornograthy then for sexual pleasure (study for one) also not everyone gets aroused by pornography. talking as an a-sexual, i just think it hillarous. (apoligies for spelling mistakes)

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