The main Cambridge branch, located at 449 Broadway St., possesses five terminals available for general Internet functions, including e-mail, Web-surfing, and downloading of files.

With about 1,500 users taking advantage of its free Web access each month, the library has adopted a reservation system to manage use.

Four of the five computers designated for general Internet use may be reserved for up to an hour per day. Use of the fifth machine is limited to 20 minutes at a time.

In addition to the five Internet terminals in the reference section of the library, the downstairs children's area features three more networked machines. These may be reserved for 30 minutes per day and feature a menu of resources geared toward young people.

Dickinson says that while elementary school students tend to patronize the children's area terminals, many switch to the reference machines on the library's main floor once they've entered junior high.

On a recent visit to the library, a glance at the main-floor computers revealed one high school student and four adults. In the downstairs children's section, unaccompanied youths were using all three terminals.

Joan Eisenberg, head of the library's children's area, says that while some young people come with adults, others show up alone.

She says only those under the age of seven require the accompaniment of a guardian to use the computers.

"Kids come for school and for fun, with and without parents," Eisenberg says.

She says she is surprised that she has received little input from parents on the subject of Web access, especially considering that the children's area terminals "are in use constantly after school."

"I haven't had any problems or complaints," Eisenberg says.

Dickinson echoes this sentiment. "Truthfully, I don't think I've ever had a complaint related to children's use of the Internet come to me," she say.

In fact, while it may be possible to monitor which Web sites library patrons are accessing, Dickinson says she would not consider doing so.

"There's no reason to [engage in monitoring]," she explains. "We don't look over people's shoulders while they're reading books in the library, so we wouldn't do it when they’re using the Internet either."

She adds that the right to privacy is a "traditional value" of public libraries.

The five monitors in the reference area are furnished with privacy screens, and the terminals on the children's floor are positioned at an angle that prevents passersby from seeing.

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 on-line.

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."

"Parents, not the library, should monitor their kids," Axelrod says. "The in loco parentis function is beyond our reach."