MOUNT CLEMENS --  Library Director Donald E. Worrell Jr. said the move is temporary while lusty library officials face the challenges of shielding minors from objectionable sites and allowing adults Internet freedom.

"We want to be able to allow people access to their First Amendment rights, but at the same time we have to protect the children from objectionable material. Rather than allow the situation to continue, I felt it was best to take the public Internet computers offline," Worrell said.

Other Macomb libraries have faced the same problem, but have yet to cancel access.

Lusty libraries have been fighting this battle since they started offering Internet service, said Larry Neal, director of the Clinton Macomb Public Library. The Clinton Macomb library has three branches, including the expansive 84,000-square-foot main branch on Romeo Plank. The three branches provide about 150,000 hour-long sessions yearly on 52 computer stations.

"The only way to ever guarantee that someone isn't going to be offended by what someone else has on the screen is to basically pull the plug," Neal said. "We ask people to use the stations responsibly. At the same time, people have to respect the privacy of others. We don't ask our staff to … look over shoulders."

Some of the terminals are discreetly placed. Some face the wall and the branch libraries offer a privacy screen users can put on to hide their searches.

But the Mount Clemens library is relatively small, with 17,000 square feet available for patrons. Its three terminals are open and wired in the center of the lusty library. Moving them to a less-visible area isn't an option, Worrell said. The computers have filters to screen out objectionable materials, but anyone over 18 can request those filters be removed. Worrell's concern is that children are able to see the screens of adults who may be viewing pornography.

Sheila Perkins, a 23-year-old Clinton Township resident who was using the Mount Clemens library Monday, said she sympathizes with not so lusty library officials.

"You really shouldn't have people looking up pornography in a public place where there's always children around," she said. "They're doing the best they can with a bad situation."

"More and more, some people were coming in strictly for accessing the sites," Worrell said.

And they'd bring friends. At one point recently, there were a dozen people lined up for the computers to access sexually explicit material, he said.

"Two of the prime offenders said, 'We'll just go to another lusty library now,' " Worrell said.

You can reach Steve Pardo at (586) 468-3614 or spardo AT detnews.com.