Holland, MI, Votes Not to Filter
Staff -- School Library Journal, 4/1/2000
By a vote of 55 to 45 percent, voters in Holland, MI, rejected a referendum that would have cut off the local public library's municipal funding unless it installed filtering software on its public Internet terminals. The February 22 vote, the first of its kind in the nation, drew national attention, with the conservative Christian American Family Association (AFA) contributing $35,000 to the "yes" committee, according to news reports. Opponents, organized as Families for Internet Access, had a budget of only $2,000 and relied on door-to-door campaigning. The Herrick District Library (HDL) serves residents of Holland and three neighboring townships, in an area sometimes called "Michigan's Bible Belt." Relations between pro-filtering and anti-filtering forces grew tense as the day of the vote approached, according to HDL spokesperson Gary Pullano. "There's a feeling of relief that we can now discuss the issue," Pullano says. "We had to get past the vote." HDL staff and board members believe that filtering technology is flawed, and they are looking at other possible solutions, such as privacy screens and a smart-card system enabling parents to set a Net access level for their own children. City commissioners in nearby Hudsonville, MI, where AFA had threatened a similar referendum, shut off Net access to avoid a lawsuit if it passed (SLJ, February 2000, News, p. 22). Hudsonville commissioners announced the day after the Holland vote that access to the Internet would be restored--and a smartcard system would be installed.--Walter Minkel
