by those with lower incomes than those with higher incomes.
About 20.3% of Internet users with household family income of
less than $15,000 per year use public libraries for Internet
access. Approximately 70% of libraries serving communities with
poverty levels in excess of 40% receive E-rate discounts.
1. Internet Use Policies in Public Libraries


Approximately 95% of libraries with public Internet access
have some form of "acceptable use" policy or "Internet use"
policy governing patrons' use of the Internet. These policies
set forth the conditions under which patrons are permitted to
access and use the library's Internet resources. These policies
vary widely. Some of the less restrictive policies, like those
held by Multnomah County Library and Fort Vancouver Regional
Library, do not prohibit adult patrons from viewing sexually
explicit materials on the Web, as long as they do so at terminals
with privacy screens or recessed monitors, which are designed to
prevent other patrons from seeing the material that they are
viewing, and as long as it does not violate state or federal law
to do so. Other libraries prohibit their patrons from viewing
all "sexually explicit" or "sexually graphic" materials.
Some libraries prohibit the viewing of materials that are
not necessarily sexual, such as Web pages that are "harmful to
minors," "offensive to the public," "objectionable," "racially
offensive," or simply "inappropriate." Other libraries restrict
access to Web sites that the library just does not want to
provide, even though the sites are not necessarily offensive.
For example, the Fulton County Public Library restricts access to
the Web sites of dating services. Similarly, the Tacoma Public