If you walk into the library with an axe and start surfing Internet porn sites, you're bound to cause a stir.

After a similar incident at Lewis and Clark Library, one must now check weapons at the door. But Library Board members aren't sure what to do about online smut.

The weapons issue was easy enough, says interim library director Becky Foster. The library updated its rules to conform with city codes, which ban guns, slingshots and other weapons in public places. No Second Amendment issues there.

But the Web presents a First Amendment quandary. Although once-banned literary works such as the "Tropic of Cancer" and "Ulysses" rest on nearby shelves, high ideals and dirty deeds are faster and easier to find on public computers. The library doesn't subscribe to Penthouse, but it can't easily keep dirty pictures off its computer screens. The question is how to do so without muzzling intellectual freedom.

For starters, Internet filters don't work.

"We do not filter the Internet access here because the filters do not work," Foster says. "Adults have a right to look at anything not pornographic." Apparently, trying to Google the word "breast" — with the intention of looking for information on "breast cancer" — can run afoul of Internet filters.

Unlike at school, public librarians aren't babysitters. "We want to make it a great experience," Foster says. "But we can't tell kids what to do or not to do."

But not having a policy doesn't sit quite right with parent Joe Pennington. After his daughter became upset at others' porn use, Pennington and other parents asked for action.

"My thoughts are they have to do something," says Pennington, a two-time Democratic candidate for the Legislature from Elliston. "What happened happened, but we can stop it from happening again." He suggests computers for kids and computers for adults.

"One thing I'd like people to know is: Do you know that your child has access to pornography?" Pennington says. "I didn't know. Did I fail or is the system failing?"

The library board is concerned and working hard on a solution, says chairwoman Joan Bishop. Tech support is trying to find options. Other libraries' policies are being looked at, too. A public hearing on a new "Electronic Use Policy" could be held next month.

Already, the library offers Internet safety classes for parents. And kid-friendly links can be found on the library's home page, www.lewisandclarklibrary.org.

"While the library is not a day care center, the board readily accepts the responsibility to help parents teach children how to use the Internet," Bishop says via e-mail. "We want a safe environment, but also do not presume to decide adults' interest."

Meanwhile, a second round of applicants has yielded a dozen hopefuls for the head librarian's job at the Lewis and Clark Library.

Interim director Becky Foster says they've heard from candidates in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, New York and Utah.

The library has been searching for a year. One interviewee turned down the job before he was offered it, says Foster, who is not a candidate. She hopes to have a new boss by July.

Continuing the literary vein, anyone familiar with "el brazo de Onofre?" In John Nichols' raucous novel, "The Milagro Beanfield War," the arm of Onofre — formerly attached to Mr. Onofre — could be blamed for various capers about town.

Did el brazo take the lock off the Adams Street gate in Helena? The gate allows hikers up to Mount Helena, but no cars. It was a concession to the established neighborhood when Reeder's Village subdivision was approved years ago.

It actually turns out the word of City Manager Tim Burton ("la palabra de Burton") prompted removal of the lock. He ordered it off because someone (el brazo?) was locking it shut. The gate needs to be open to allow a second emergency vehicle access to Reeder's Village, says Fire Chief Steve Larson.

"On the Record" appears on Mondays, with additional columns online at http://www.helenair.com/blog/record/index.php. Lob comments, criticism or kudos to 447-4075 or jason.mohr@ helenair.com.