MOUNT VERNON — There seems to be a fine line between providing public information services such as the Internet and protecting the safety of young people wanting access to that information.

John Chidester, director of the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County, said the main library and all community branches use a filtering program on all public access terminals, which, at minimum, is supposed to filter out pornography. He said adult users wishing to access certain other sites have to let the library’s technology personnel know when they want to enter an unfiltered site. Chidester wasn’t sure if sites such as MySpace.com are included in the library’s filtration system, but supports efforts to keep young people safe. The tricky part, he said, is that Internet sites in themselves are not bad — they are just used by bad people.

Mount Vernon High School librarian Mark Tuel does not teach an Internet safety course per se, but does regularly discuss the limitations and dangers posed by the Internet as well as its benefits. He and library assistants regulate and monitor student use of the Internet by requiring parents to sign a permission form before students use the Internet, and by requiring students to sign a network user agreement. (These are district-wide policies for all Mount Vernon City school students, not just high schoolers.) Students must also obtain teacher permission to use the Internet before doing so. The library staff can monitor Internet use by direct observation and software, Tuel said, and the district uses the Internet filtering system provided by the district’s Internet provider, Licking Area Computer Association.

Tuel believes protecting students from potential Internet predators is important, but said that while a filter can be helpful, it is also very frustrating at times. Juniors and seniors, especially, Tuel said, find themselves filtered out of sites they need for legitimate research purposes, especially when researching topics such as drug laws.

“On the plus side,” Tuel added, “the filter blocks access to sites like MySpace.”

Joanna Bryant, technology coordinator for Centerburg Local Schools, said Centerburg, like all other schools in the area, also has an Internet filter which does not allow students to view Web sites such as MySpace and Xanga. She said students are constantly reminded of the dangers on the Internet. “Starting in first grade, computer science teacher Timmie Holly sits all kids down and goes over the information you should never give out to anyone on the Internet, including name, location, phone number. She also instructs the kids on what to do if they go to a site which might display graphic images or languages.” Bryant said all teachers watch and monitor what the students do while surfing the Internet and remind them of the safeguards everyone should use when on the Internet.