Hudsonville restores library Internet access with restrictions

HUDSONVILLE, Mich. (AP) - Patrons at the library here can once again cruise the information superhighway, although parents will have the ability to limit their children's Internet access.

A day after Holland voters rejected an ordinance that would have mandated Internet filters at their library, Hudsonville city commissioners voted 6-1 Wednesday to repeal a similar ordinance they reluctantly adopted in December, The Holland Sentinel reported.

The commission had adopted the ordinance after local residents, with the help of the Mississippi-based American Family Association, submitted a petition requiring commissioners to approve the ordinance or put it to a public vote.

Commissioners then shut down Internet access at the library, saying the potential for costly legal battles over the filters was too great.

On Wednesday, they restored Internet access at the Gary Byker Memorial Library, but, unlike Holland, there will be some restrictions.

Hudsonville will install a software system that allows children different levels of Internet access according to their parents' wishes.

The AFA and petition backers had argued that the Smart Guardian software the library purchased was inadequate.

''It is our intent to return Internet service to our citizens, utilizing superior filtering procedures which will protect the entire community from the concerns it has about our youth and the problems of pornography,'' Councilman Arlen Dykema said in reading a prepared statement.

Hudsonville resident Maureen Van Hoven said she was pleased with the council's decision and said parents again have control over what their children see on the Internet.

''I think that it's a great filtering system,'' Van Hoven said of Smart Guardian. ''It allows us to protect our First Amendment rights, and as parents allows us to protect our children.''