Children, Internet access and pornography are mixing to make some officials at the the Ottawa Public Library very uncomfortable.

"People want to know that we're doing what we can do to protect kids," says the chair of the Ottawa Public Library Board, councillor Rick Chiarelli.

He says the city's public libraries need to do more to protect children. So, Chiarelli proposes that Internet filters be placed on all library computers to protect children from accessing questionable sites.

Right now, a child can walk into any public library in Ottawa and gain access to a pornographic Web site.

There are computers designated for children, with software that stops access to Internet sites containing questionable material. But a child can also use any of the library's other, unfiltered computers.

Chiarelli wants to end that access.

"What I'm going to do is ask the board to put filters on the machines for six months," says Chiarelli. "We'll use that time to develop a card swiper system that protects kids from accessing mature subject matter and content on the Internet."

The proposed swiper system would still allow adults free access to the Internet.

But fellow board member Alayne McGregor says she's against changing the current board policy of free access.

"I think that that would have its own difficulties" she says, "just simply because it would require all library patrons to have their library card with them. Not everyone does.

"The other problem with doing that is that it could very easily lead to actual tracking of people's usage of the Internet and that has all sorts of problems."

Chiarelli will make his proposal to the library board at their next meeting on Feb. 10.