Nampa, ID, Council Withholds Funds If Library Doesn't Filter

Staff -- Library Journal, 08/30/1999

In apparently the second effort by governmental bodies to use the budgetary process to force filtering, on August 16, the Nampa City Council, ID, voted 3-1 to withhold $50,000 in book procurement funds (of a total book budget of $120,000) from the Nampa Public Library unless the library installs filters on its Internet workstations. The vote, according to Library Director Karen Ganske, caps a lengthy round of protests started by citizens outraged that the library had the books Heather Has Two Mommies and Daddy's Roommate and refused to move them to the adult section. An echo of the protest in Wichita Falls, TX, the controversy was started by a former Nampa resident who now lives in the Texas city. Ganske said the council vote was seen as retaliation for the library's unwillingness to have another public meeting to hear protesters. The council also ordered the library board to be more receptive to community viewpoints. The local Idaho Press-Tribune called the council's vote "farce" and suggested that the library look elsewhere for donations. Ganske, who said the library had not had problems with Internet access but had been investigating offering filters as an option, said she hoped the council changed its mind before the fiscal year begins in October.