Letter Report on the New York Public Library’s Controls Over Internet Access

This audit determined if the New York Public Library’s controls are sufficient to prevent unauthorized access to inappropriate sites as required by the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

NYPL has 90 locations including four research centers, focusing on the humanities and social sciences, the performing arts, black history and culture, and business and industry. It also has a network of neighborhood libraries throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Throughout the system, NYPL provides free and open access to its physical and electronic collections and information as well as to its services for people of all ages, from toddlers to teens to adults.

The Children’s Internet Protection Act requires that schools and libraries in the United States use and implement measures to protect children from harmful online content as a condition for the receipt of federal funding under the Universal Service Discount Program and the Library Services and Technology Act. CIPA was signed into law on December 21, 2000, and was found constitutional on June 23, 2003.

The use of internet filters or content-control software varies widely in public libraries in the United States because internet use policies are established by the local board. Many libraries adopted internet filters after Congress conditioned the receipt of universal service discounts on the use of internet filters through CIPA. Other libraries do not install content-control software, believing that acceptable use policies and educational efforts address the issue of children accessing age-inappropriate content while preserving adult users’ rights to freely access information. Some libraries use internet filters on computers used by children only. Some libraries that employ content-control software allow the software to be deactivated on a case-by-case basis on application to a librarian; libraries that are subject to CIPA are required to have a policy that allows adults to request that the filter be disabled without having to explain the reason for their request.

Results

It is our opinion that the NYPL libraries’ policies are sufficient to prevent unauthorized access to inappropriate sites as required by CIPA. The WebSense Enterprise software package used by NYPL has the ability to detect inappropriate websites and prevent unauthorized access. The WebSense Enterprise software package is updated daily to reflect new websites that should be controlled. In addition, we found that the individual libraries we tested complied with NYPL policy. However, our test of eight common websites found that several were initially accessible despite the use of WebSense. When these websites were identified, however, the library staff immediately contacted the service desk and the exposure was eliminated.

In their response, NYPL officials agreed with the report’s conclusions.