Supporters of Natchez’s public library say the system’s library card policy is reaping unfair criticism.

&uot;I don’t think anybody could find anything wrong with having to go to a little trouble to get a library card,&uot; said Dr. Clifford Tillman, president of the Judge George W. Armstrong Public Library’s board of directors. &uot;It’s not like we said you have to do penance for two months.&uot;

The library’s card policy, along with its policies on providing public access to free Internet services, were criticized in back-to-back letters to the editor published this week in The Democrat. The first letter, written by a Missouri resident, complained about the lack of Internet access available to tourists who don’t have library cards. A second letter, written by a Natchez resident, insisted the public should demand better service, and fewer restrictions, from the library.

&uot;It hurts,&uot; Director Donna Janky said of the criticism. &uot;What really blows your mind is that they complain about the institution when they don’t even use it.&uot;

Janky compared the library’s policy on issuing cards to the issuing of credit cards. &uot;The library card is really like a credit card … you can’t just walk into a store and get a credit card. In order to get that card we have to prove who we are. … We need to know who you are.&uot;

To get a library card, a Mississippi resident over the age of 18 must provide two forms of identification, &uot;a driver’s license and something else with the home address, such as a bill or checkbook,&uot; Janky said. &uot;It’s amazing how many people swear this is their home address and, when we send them an overdue notice, they’re not there.&uot;

Cards are not issued to anyone under the age of 5, but children ages 5 to 18 may obtain a card if the application is signed by a parent or legal guardian, who must show proof of residency through two valid forms of identification.

And instead of the policy being strict, Janky said, &uot;we’ve been very lax in that we let anybody in the state of Mississippi have a card for free.&uot; Out-of-state residents must pay $3 for an adult card and $1 for a child’s card.

&uot;One of the things the library has always done is try to assure that we are the protectors of the property of the city (which funds the library),&uot; Tillman said. &uot;We must make sure the material is properly cared for and hold the people accountable for the use of the material.&uot;

The Homochitto Valley Library Service, which operates the Natchez library and two branches in Centreville and Woodville, includes 93,000 volumes and has about 17,000 patrons who have been issued library cards, Janky said.

The City of Natchez provides $255,000 of the Natchez’s branch’s annual $413,000 operating budget. The remainder, Janky said, comes from state grants and assistance.

As for the access to the Internet, Janky said the library’s policy is to allow free access only for educational research. No e-mail or chat rooms are accessible. And, a patron must show a valid library card before using the service.

The lack of that card is what left Doug Elley of Jamestown, Mo., feeling as if he was &uot;being denied access to this most public of information by the guards at your library’s entrance,&uot; according to his letter.

Elley was denied access to the computers, and Janky said he was referred to the Natchez Visitor Reception Center, which she said provides a computer for public Internet access.

According to Elley’s letter, he was able to utilize the public library’s Internet access in St. Francisville, La., in contrast to the Natchez facility.