

What we are supposed to do in libraries: read, be quiet.

What we're not supposed to do: watch pornographic videos, stab people.

The Brookyn Public Library this week found some of its patrons have extremely poor library etiquette. At the Brooklyn Heights branch, one patron accused another of watching porn on the library's computer -- and then, according to allegations, attacked, stabbing him.

An inital account of the incident was reported by the New York Daily News:

"He was with his wife and he accused the other guy of looking at porn," one police source said. "The guy looking at porn picked up a chair and hits him. The guy who was offended said, 'I have a knife,' and stabs him in the chest," the source continued.

The man who was stabbed, Ransom Alton, contradicted that story when he was reached after being treated and released from Bellvue Hospital. "He stabbed me in the chest," Alton, 52, told the Daily News. "I had just sat down and gone online — it happened so fast." Alton insists he was searching for jobs, not pornography, adding that because of privacy screens, his attacker "had to be all up on me to see what I was looking at."

Alton also noted that the library has content filters for online access, implying that it would not be possible to access adult content. That isn't necessarily the case. If someone logs into a desktop user terminal with an adult library card, they can choose to use filtered content or unfiltered content, according to a report in the Brooklyn Eagle.

The man accused in the attack, Ralph Neptune, is a 46-year-old homeless man with an arrest record that includes assault. He was taken into custody by police on suspicion of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing, and criminal possession of marijuana.

Which alleged offense is worse?

Which is worse library behavior?

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

Image: An illustration of proper library behavior. Credit: Ye Olde Wig Shoppe via Flickr