By Amanda Durry  July 27 2009

The Ashburton Public Library internet policy may be quite open but has never been abused, says technical service librarian Nicky Farrell.

A Rangiora mother recently expressed concerns over the internet policy at her local library, after her 11-year-old daughter was able to create a profile on social networking site Bebo.

 Ms Farrell said while they couldn’t guarantee a similar thing wouldn’t happen at the Ashburton library, it was unlikely.

 “We do have a programme that blocks things sites with pornography, explicit words and that sort of thing. We don’t really get a lot of young children using the internet and it’s more the 20-year-olds upwards that use it.

 “We’ve had it up and running for a few years and it’s been extremely well used. We haven’t had any issues though and we do have a statement on the machines which gives us good reason to shut them down if they’re misusing it.

 “Most of the younger children using the internet would usually have parents with them to keep an eye on them. All libraries have different policies though,” she said.

 The library has three internet stations all with broadband internet, which makes them quite popular, Ms Farrell said.

 “There are still a few locals who don’t have connections but still need to use it so the library is a good place. They’re also well used in the weekends because a lot of places around town are closed.

 “It costs $2 for every 15minutes of use so a lot of younger children wouldn’t spend heaps of time on there because of the cost.

 “We can’t block everything and if people are clever enough they will get to want they want anyway so it’s hard. All libraries have different policies and we haven’t had any problems with ours,” she said.