While the Cambridge Public Library has worked to ensure that patrons have unimpeded access to the Internet, other libraries across the nation have been experimenting with ways to prevent their users from abusing Web privileges.
Among the measures being employed, arguably the most popular is the "driver's license system," whereby parents must sign a consent form before their children can go online.
Axelrod, a mother herself, says she opposes any kind of censorship on the grounds that "children are people, and they have a right to information."
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"Parents, not the library, should monitor their kids," Axelrod says. "The in loco parentis function is beyond our reach."