at it head-on.  Although the Multnomah and Fort Vancouver Libraries submitted records showing that they have received few complaints regarding patrons’ unwilling exposure to materials on the Internet, privacy screens do not always prevent library patrons or employees from inadvertently seeing the materials that another patron is viewing when passing directly behind a terminal.  They also have the drawback of making it difficult for patrons to work together at a single terminal, or for librarians to assist patrons at terminals, because it is difficult for two people to stand side by side and view a screen at the same time.  Some library patrons also find privacy screens to be a hindrance and have attempted to remove them in order to improve the brightness of the screen or to make the view better.

Another method that libraries use to prevent patrons from seeing what other patrons are viewing on their terminals is the installation of “recessed monitors.”  Recessed monitors are computer screens that sit below the level of a desk top and are viewed from above.  Although recessed monitors, especially when combined with privacy screens, eliminate almost all of the possibility of a patron accidentally viewing the contents on another patron’s screen, they suffer from the same drawbacks as privacy screens, that is, they make it difficult for patrons to work together or with a librarian at a single terminal.  Some librarians also testified that recessed monitors are costly, but did not indicate how expensive they are compared to privacy screens or filtering software.  A related technique that some public libraries use is to create a separate children’s Internet viewing area, where no adults except those accompanying children in their care may use the Internet terminals.  This serves the objective of keeping children from inadvertently viewing materials appropriate only for adults that adults may be viewing on nearby terminals.  A third set of techniques that public libraries have used to enforce their Internet use policies takes the opposite tack from the privacy screens/recessed monitors approach by placing all of the library’s public Internet terminals in prominent and visible locations, such as near the library’s reference desk.  This approach allows librarians to enforce their library’s Internet use policy by observing what patrons are viewing and employing the tap-on-the-shoulder policy.  Under this approach, when patrons are viewing materials that are inconsistent with the library’s policies, a library staff member approaches them and asks them to view something else, or may ask them to end their Internet session.  A patron who does not comply with these requests, or who repeatedly views materials not permitted under the library’s Internet use policy, may have his or her Internet or library privileges suspended or revoked.  But many librarians are uncomfortable with approaching patrons who are viewing sexually explicit images, finding confrontation unpleasant.  Hence some libraries are reluctant to apply the tap-on-the-shoulder policy.