regarding patrons' unwilling exposure to materials on the Internet, privacy screens do not

always prevent library patrons or employees from inadvertently seeing the materials that

another patron is viewing when passing directly behind a terminal.  They also have the

drawback of making it difficult for patrons to work together at a single terminal, or for

librarians to assist patrons at terminals, because it is difficult for two people to stand side

by side and view a screen at the same time.  Some library patrons also find privacy

screens to be a hindrance and have attempted to remove them in order to improve the

brightness of the screen or to make the view better.  

Another method that libraries use to prevent patrons from seeing what other

patrons are viewing on their terminals is the installation of  recessed monitors.  

Recessed monitors are computer screens that sit below the level of a desk top and are

viewed from above.  Although recessed monitors, especially when combined with privacy

screens, eliminate almost all of the possibility of a patron accidentally viewing the

contents on another patron's screen, they suffer from the same drawbacks as privacy

screens, that is, they make it difficult for patrons to work together or with a librarian at a

single terminal.  Some librarians also testified that recessed monitors are costly, but did

not indicate how expensive they are compared to privacy screens or filtering software.  A

related technique that some public libraries use is to create a separate children's Internet

viewing area, where no adults except those accompanying children in their care may use

the Internet terminals.  This serves the objective of keeping children from inadvertently

viewing materials appropriate only for adults that adults may be viewing on nearby

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