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Manatee County Pulls the Plug on MySpacePatrons of the Manatee County (Fla.) Library System no longer have access to the social networking website MySpace.com, effective December 11. Manager of Library Services John Van Berkel told American Libraries that the decision was made by county administrators rather than the library. “But it’s not a new policy,” he added. “It’s an enforcement of our current policy,” which prohibits chat-room access, e-mail, and recreational uses.The news was not welcome to at least one library user, who utilizes the computers at the Island branch to keep in touch with friends and family. John Cole III of Holmes Beach said in the December 14 Bradenton Herald that “MySpace had become the main access for e-mail for many people. I use MySpace to communicate with my relatives in Texas.” Van Berkel told AL that the county also blocks access to YouTube videos, and that all public and staff computers in the county system use filtering software, although the library staff “can ask the computer department to unblock specific sites.” He said in the Herald that county administrators considered that MySpace.com did not serve educational purposes. But Cole also wrote a letter to the Herald disputing that view. “As this is written, I am at the public library,” he wrote. “Is the woman checking her boarding pass with Delta doing educational work? Is the man on the other side who is checking the latest NFL stats for his fantasy football team having an educational experience?” Cole said that like other young adults he did not own a computer and had to use the library’s. Van Berkel said he did not expect the county to reverse its decision, as Cole was the only patron he was aware of who had complained. Posted December 15, 2006. |
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