Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs
Q. What does a public library have to do if the library
has applied and accepted Internet discounts for this year?
A. Make sure that the
library has either followed through with the guidelines (Internet use safety
policy and public hearing) if the library checked last year on Form 486 that it
was "undertaking actions" toward compliance with CIPA or if this is the very
first year for the library to receive discounts on Internet after the
E-rate funding year of 2000, creation of the Internet use safety policy and
the holding a public hearing about CIPA as part of your public library board
meeting need to be completed this year. It is very important to have
documentation showing that the library had a public meeting. It should be noted
on the agenda and discussion about CIPA, filtering, and/or the Internet use
safety policy should be also included in the meeting minutes. The
technology protection measure or otherwise known as filtering software needs to
be installed on all the computers (staff and public) no later than July 1, 2004.
Q. What does the library's Internet use policy have to include in order to be in compliance with
the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)?
A. The Schools and Libraries Division website at
http://www.universalservice.org/sl/applicants/step06/cipa.aspx provides a listing of
the five areas that need to be addressed in the policy. They are as
follows: 1) access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and World
Wide Web; 2) the safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat
rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications; 3) unauthorized
access, including so-called "hacking" and other unlawful activities by minors
online; 4) unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal
information regarding minors, and; 5) measures designed to restrict minors'
access to materials harmful to minors.
Since the library also has
to install filtering software on all the computers, the policy should include a
paragraph that addresses this requirement. Some questions to address in
this portion of the policy might include: 1) why are the filtering software has
been installed; 2) can the filtering software be disabled; 3) what does the
filtering software block; 4) what are the limitations of the filtering software;
and 5) which aged customers have to search the Internet with the filtering
software enabled.
Public libraries should also
address other specific local needs and/or concerns in the Internet use/safety
policy. What are some examples of these areas? How long can a
customer use the Internet? Is there a limit as to how many times a day the same
customer can access the Internet? Are there any charges for printing pages
off the Internet? Can a customer use their own floppy disks for creating
documents on the computer? Does a customer have to sign-off on the
guidelines to the Internet use policy before using the Internet? Take a look at
additional questions to possibly address from the Intellectual Freedom section
of the current Basic Skills online course
http://nlc.nebraska.gov/CE/basicskills/IntFreedom.aspx.
If you would like to have
another pair of eyes to review your policy please contact Richard Miller via phone:
800-303-2665.
Q. Where can I find resources to assist with the research for the technology protection measure
(filtering software)?
A. There is a
sample listing of resources listed below that are available through the Internet
to assist with your research in this area. If you needed further assistance
please contact Richard Miller via phone: 800-307-2665 or via email:
Richard Miller .
American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/civilliberties/washcipa/cipa.htm
Cost Comparison charts are included for
library's own research along with sample questions to ask of software vendors
E-rate Central
http://www.e-ratecentral.com/help/filtering_prods.htm
Electronic Frontier Foundation
http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Censorware/
Public Access Computing for
Gates computers-- Gates Foundation
http://www.pacomputing.org
Washington State Library
CIPA workshop materials including filters and filtering
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/library/libraries/libDev/technology/
cipaworkshop_101903.pdf
WebJunction
http://www.webjunction.org