Anaka Hunter went to the Salem Public Library in July of 2010 to
research indigenous American tribes and their spirituality, only to
find many of the web sites blocked by the library's Internet
filtering system.
After requests to the library director and eventually the board
of directors to unblock the sites failed, Hunter filed a complaint
with the ACLU, and Jan. 3 the ACLU on behalf of Hunter filed suit
in U.S. District Court Eastern District for a permanent injunction
to unblock the sites.
Named in the suit are Salem Library Director Glenda Wofford, the
library's board of directors and the City of Salem. The library
receives funds from a tax levy collected by the city, and the mayor
appoints board members.
"Anaka Hunter filed a complaint with us (ACLU) after she spoke
to the library's board of directors," Anthony Rothert, legal
director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri, told The Salem News.
Hunter claims in the lawsuit that sites she tried to access were
blocked as "occult" or "criminal skills," and that overblocking of
the sites based on "minority viewpoint" is unconstitutional,
violating her First Amendment rights. She claims that they are
blocking sites based on religious viewpoint.
Among the sites were those on meditation, astrology, yoga and
the Wiccan Church, according to the lawsuit.
Hunter did not return a phone call request from The Salem News
made through the ACLU.
Wofford nor library board president Dr. Wayne Bertz would
comment on the suit. A closed session of the library board was held
Monday night.
Hunter went to the library in 2010 to use the public access
computers, but soon found the sites she wanted to access were
blocked by the library's Netsweeper software. She said she brought
the blocking to the attention of Wofford and asked that they be
unblocked. Hunter claims in the suit Wofford said there was nothing
she could do and that it was "up to the filtering system which
websites library patrons could view."
Hunter claims she again brought the subject of filtering of
Native American cultural and religious history and classifying it
as "occult" and "criminal skills" misleading and derogatory.
Hunter in the suit also claims Wofford told her she had an
"obligation to call the proper authorities" to report those
attempting to access blocked sites, causing Hunter concern that she
would be reported to the police.
On Nov. 8, 2010, Hunter says in the suit she attended a library
board meeting to voice her concerns. Hunter says she was asked if
she thought the library board was prejudiced. After answering that
she did not think the filtering was fair, the suit claims "a member
of the board responded that the library internet content filtering
system would not change, adding, ‘If that's all, we have business
to discuss.' "
The suit asks for a declaratory judgment that the library's
actions are unconstitutional, an injunction to prevent the library
from continuing to implement unconstitutional practices, nominal
damages to Hunter and costs, including attorney fees.
"Rather than dismissing the concerns of its patrons, the library
should make every effort to ensure that its filtering software
doesn't illegally deny access to educational resources on
discriminatory grounds," Rothert said in a press release last week.
"The library is the last place that should be censoring information
about different cultures."
Salem has one other Internet access site in a public facility,
with computers available at the Salem TCRC in the city's Freedom
Activity Center.
TCRC director Sherry Lea said computers there have no filtering
system. They do have a Deep Freeze program, which means when users
log off, the computers return to original settings.
"Our computers are in open areas, and they can be seen by anyone
walking by," Lea said.
