Public Computers and Porn - It's gonna happen, so let's discuss...

Sad but true fact of having any computer in a public space is that someone, sooner or later (usually a guy) will decide that pornography should be viewed on the public computer.  This post is about how we handle these occurrences, it is not a judgement about the morality of pornography, nor is it a condemnation of people's preferences, this is all about what is allowed in the Library, under what circumstances and by whom.

First off, the Library's policy regarding pornography is pretty hands off, the Library has to accept and accommodate the possibility that those who may be viewing pornography, could possibly be doing academic research on the subject.  As such, in most cases, unless the content is actually illegal (e.g. children, bestiality, etc.) we can not explicitly ask those with access to the materials (more on this later) to stop viewing content which may not seem appropriate, but certainly is not illegal.  We can and do as a Library request that people move locations to a more private and less easily viewed by others location, in the event that the view-able content has drawn complaint from other users, or created an uncomfortable work/study environment.

Thankfully, the only way a person is able to access any sort of .com website, is to login with a CalNet login, this mitigates the great numbers of users that would otherwise attempt to come to our library to get their kicks; they are relegated to the Berkeley Public Library for open non-academic access.  However, people have been and likely will continue to login with their CalNet passphrases and view porn on the computers; here is what I need you all to do:

If you are advised by a patron that someone is looking at porn.

- Please ask them where exactly the porn-watcher is, what they are wearing or look like, so you may convey this to security.

- Contact Security via 2-way radio, advise your location and who you are trying to reach (e.g. "Doe-rover" or "Moffitt-Rover") let them know there is someone viewing porn in xyz location.

- Do an incident report

If you are advised by a patron someone is in anyway disrobed or manipulating themselves AND looking at porn (or really just anyone disrobing in the Library)

- Same as above, but be explicit on the radio that the person is committing a crime in xyz location; ask that they expedite their arrival and proceed with caution.

Hopefully 2014, will not be a weird kinky year, we'll hope for the best and prepare for the worst...