By LJ Staff

While legislators in some states have targeted access by children to social networking sites like MySpace, and some libraries have prohibited access in the children's room, the Wake County Public Library System, NC, is taking the issue even farther, banning access by all library patrons to MySpace. "Although MySpace has many legitimate uses," the county said in a statement, "it also serves as an attractive nuisance for those who gather in the libraries for purposes other than using the resources and collections for recreation, lifelong learning or cultural purposes."

In legal terms, "attractive nuisance" means a "piece of property that attracts children but also endangers their safety," according to NoLo.com, which cites as examples unfenced swimming pools and open pits. (This ban, however, would apply to all.) The county said MySpace had been used "to recruit gang members, to sell or purchase drugs, or to view or post pornography." A local TV station reported that MySpace had been used to circumvent the library's Internet filters and that two teens arrested for murder had used library computers to access their MySpace.com accounts, where they were shown flashing gang symbols. The blocking of MySpace will be reviewed after three to six months.