Around The Region

INDIANAPOLIS -- Few of Indiana's 242 public libraries comply with a federal law enacted last year to keep Internet pornography off library computer screens and away from children who might view them.\nLibrary administrators say they have found the will of Congress is easier said than done.\n"There is actually nothing that does what the Children's Internet Protection Act requires us to do," Laurel Setser, director of the Avon-Washington Public Library in Hendricks County, told The Indianapolis Star for a story published Sunday.\nAfter months of experimenting, librarians have found that one filtering program targeting flesh colors ignores black, allowing sexual scenes involving black people. Some filter words, others pictures, and all are subject to slipups.\n"No filter has ever been found to be totally foolproof to somebody who wants to get around it," said Martha Roblee, associate director of the Indiana State Library.\nHoosier libraries could lose $1.5 million in federal grants if they do not comply with the law by July 1, 2002.\nIn their efforts to meet the legal requirements, library boards and administrators are struggling to balance their commitment to a free flow of information and expression with their obligation to protect those who could be harmed.\n"Adults are not happy when they're told they cannot be looking at whatever they want to look at," said Nancy Norris, director of the Alexandria Monroe Public Library in Madison County.\nIn a January poll of Indiana's public libraries, just 64 reported using porn-filtering software. The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, the state's largest, was nearly alone in its decision to filter all public Internet use.