Austin Public Library Volunteer
Resigns to Protest Cyber Patrol

Brenda Branch
Director, Austin Public Library

Ann Moore Stafford
Elissa Ballesteros
the Riverside Internet trainers
the Austin.internet newsgroup
the AFN-Talk mailing list
The Austin American Statesman
The Austin Chronicle

I hereby resign as a volunteer with the Austin Public Library. Please consider the confidentiality agreement executed between me and the city to be terminated effective immediately.

When the City installed the Cyber Patrol product on the Austin Free-Net stations, I was left with no choice but to resign. I cannot, in good faith, maintain my status with the city while at the same time work to rescind this action.

This action is so reprehensible that the City may have exposed itself to legal consequences. This action has resulted in an unfair and arbitrary denial of speech. It also fails to meet the "least restrictive means" test often used by the courts in these matters. I would, if requested, provide expert testimony to these points. I fear that position creates a conflict of interest with my role as an APL volunteer. If I wish to pursue this matter, I feel I must resign to ease the conflict.

Here are some questions that I feel the City should consider:

• Why is access denied to the marijuana information page published by the Partnership for a Drug Free America?
  http://www.drugfreeamerica.org/marijuana.html

• Why does the City deny access to the San Jose Mercury News investigative series on Contra money and the LA crack epidemic?
  http://www.sjmercury.com/drugs/

• Why is access denied to the HIV Information Center published by the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)?
  http://www.ama-assn.org/special/

• Why do some branches of the APL carry the print version of Mother Jones magazine, while the computer stations in the same branches deny access to the MoJo web site?
  http://www.mojones.com/

• Why does the City deny access to the entire on-line version of the Austin Chronicle classified listings? Does the City feel comfortable "blacking out" portions of a local newspaper? Why is the City blocking portions of the Chronicle when the complete print copy is available in the same library branches?
  http://www.auschron.com/class.index.html

• Why does the City deny complete access to the web site operated by the Austin-based Internet provider Eden Matrix? How does the City decide which Internet service providers will be allowed and which will be blocked? Should Austin residents conduct business only with the Internet service providers approved by the city?
  http://www.eden.com/

• What are the guidelines with which I must comply to ensure that the web site I operate may be accessed by all patrons of the library? Will I be notified if the City decides to deny access to my web site? If the decision is made to block my site, what is the appeals process to obtain a review of that decision?
  http://www.unicom.com/

• Does the City believe it can remedy defects in the filter list, when such action would require maintenance on dozens of computer systems scattered throughout the city? Why did the City fail to use a single, maintainable "web proxy" rather than individual content filters? Why did the City fail to obtain competent technical guidance that would have advised the superior "web proxy" solution?

Regards,
Chip Rosenthal
Unicom Systems Development
http://www.unicom.com/