During the debate over filtering in libraries, the American
Library Association (ALA) has often exhibited what could only be
called an extreme stand on the free speech rights of children.
ALA President-elect Ann Symons, in a 1997 interview with Wired,
was asked if a 13-year-old wanted to obtain pornography, would
she in any way stand in the child’s way? Symons’ response was “I
would say from my point of view there shouldn’t be, and if the
library didn’t own this material and you as a 13- year-old asked
for an interlibrary loan, that should be granted to you just as
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