Restricting the Internet in Libraries - the US model?

Efforts are under way in the United States to restrict Internet access in libraries, for numerous reasons. Americans see the problem as one pitting issues like «child safety» against others like «freedom of information». The issues are not in fact so clear, however, and the procedure used in the United States for resolving the problem is uniquely American. US libraries, in addition, are in a weak condition now - the digital information juggernaut may be passing them by. Internet restriction could damage libraries and have other worse effects, in the US, and even elsewhere if the American approach is adopted blindly.
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