Letter: A 'Filthy' Experience at the Library

The beginning of July 2012 I was at the using the computer for various reasons. After a while of sitting, it's human nature to look around the room and such. I happened to glance over at the gentleman sitting next to me who was a bit older and realized, much to my disgust, he was looking at pornography – in full view of anyone who happened to walk by, including any of the many children there that day.  

As soon as he realized I had caught him, he closed the browser, stood up and scurried out of the building like a common roach! I stood up, walked over to the man who happened to be working at the library that day and pointed out the man to him and what happened. All the man did was say "OK" and go about his day.  

I was flabbergasted. I went back to the terminal I was using, gathered up my things and went upstairs to the main desk and requested to speak with whomever was currently in charge.  The woman that came to speak to me explained to me that unless they themselves catch the person doing so, there wasn't anything she or anyone else could do and that such material isn't blocked by their terminals.

Seriously?  Also, there is no means to track their user name/number to determine the man's identity. My jaw dropped. Somehow, I find this hard to believe, when the police, etc. are able to do so all the time. So, as you can see, I think there is a gross mismanagement of taxpayer funds and a complete disregard for people who go there and what they may encounter! 

Who knew the library could be so filthy!

Jennifer Atack