The Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Public Library voted this March on an official Internet policy that does not limit access to pornographic Web sites from library computers.

Library staff say they have not received many objections from parents, citing freedom of speech and the traditional right to privacy at public libraries as possible reasons.

"The main issue is always censorship and parental control [of children's Internet use]," says Janet S. Axelrod, a member of the library's board who agrees with the decision not to impose restrictions.

The decision comes as many libraries nationwide are struggling with the issue of unrestricted Internet access. Some libraries are experimenting with methods of preventing patrons from accessing inappropriate sites, while others maintain that these restrictions go against constitutional rights.

The policy adopted by the Cambridge Public Library board begins with an endorsement of the right to unrestricted Internet use.

"The Library does not...attempt to protect users from materials that some individuals may find controversial or offensive," the policy states.

The board decided against equipping any of the library's computers with filters--software that blocks access to material containing certain keywords.

In November, a U.S. district judge ruled that a filter system employee by libraries in Loudoun County, Va., violated the Constitution.

Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Library Association oppose the use of filters or any other state-sponsored limitation of Web access.

"The [Cambridge Public] Library has decided that filters aren't the way we want to go," says Elizabeth Dickinson, head of the reference department at the main branch in Cambridge.

She adds that patrons tend not to abuse their Internet privileges. "Most people are pretty responsible about using the Internet in this kind of setting," Dickinson says.

The Cambridge Public Library is part of the Massachusetts Minuteman Library Network (MLN), a federally funded consortium that lets local residents access libraries' collections across the state via on-line databases.

The MLN's official Internet policy states that while "there may be material that is offensive or disturbing...the Minuteman Library Network does not control or monitor access to material which may be accessible from other Internet sites."

But the MLN has also published a list of prohibited uses of on-line library terminals, among them the "transmission of threatening, obscene or harassing materials."

In addition to furnishing such general specifications, the MLN allows leeway for member libraries to develop their own guidelines for providing Web access to patrons.