Like most other librarians in the state of Illinois these days, my hair has been put on end by the proposed "Social Networking Website Prohibition Act" wending it's way through the Illinois General Assembly. If enacted, the law will do exactly what the title suggests. The Illinois Library Association has released an excellent set of talking points. However, I think they have left out one that would be particularly appealing to conservatives. Conservatives assert that the people are best represented by the elected officials closest to their communities. City government is more representative than state government, which is more representative than the federal government. Every public library in this state is governed by a board of trustees, either elected by the people of a public library district or appointed by the mayor of a city served by a municipal library. In every case, these boards have decided what internet policies best represent the communities that their libraries serve. What I ask the promoters of the "Social Networking Website Prohibition Act" is this: what is your evidence that these citizen overseers are making such wrong decisions that they must be overruled by a higher authority?

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director