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

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

The Queens Public Library (QPL) serves 2.3 million people from 62 locations and has seven Adult Learning Centers and two Family Literacy Centers. QPL’s circulation of books and other library materials is among the highest in the country.

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 QPL’s policies are sufficient to prevent unauthorized access to inappropriate sites as required by CIPA. The Comprise M86 Security software used by QPL to filter out restricted sites and content has the ability to detect inappropriate websites and prevent unauthorized access. We noted that the Comprise M86 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 QPL policy. However, our test of eight websites that should be blocked based on QPL’s policies found that several were initially accessible despite the use of Comprise M86. When these websites were identified, however, the library staff immediately contacted the service desk and the exposure was eliminated.

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