CIPA Update, Part I: Deadline Approaches, Large PLs in Poorer Areas Squeezed
-- Library Journal, 2/23/2004
As the July 1 deadline approaches for implementing the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), an informal LJ survey suggests that the libraries with the most to lose--large libraries in poorer jurisdictions--are the most likely to comply. CIPA ties receipt of E-rate and Library Service and Technology Act funds for Internet access to filtering all workstations--including those used by staff--and E-rate discounts are linked to poverty. Nearly all the large metro libraries in Florida will comply, said Charles Parker, chair of the American Library Association's (ALA) E-rate Task Force. Donna Nicely, director of the Nashville Public Library and vice chair of the Urban Libraries Council (ULC), said her library will comply (preserving $200,000 in discounts) and 'my sense is that other ULC libraries are doing the same.' The Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, directed by ALA president Carla Hayden, will comply. 'It's financial,' said spokeswoman Mona Rock.
Still, libraries are analyzing the 'total cost of ownership,' as advised by ALA, and the results don't always favor filters. While the largest library in Wisconsin, Milwaukee Public Library, will comply, saving up to $50,000, nearly all the rest won't, according to Bob Bocher of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Internet access costs less than $1000 through the state service, and, in many cases, the filtering software would cost nearly as much as the E-rate discount received. In rural Iowa, monthly connection charges might be $20, so an E-rate discount would not even pay for a filter. Indeed, using a filter might mean cutting hours and not meeting state standards, noted Ken Davenport of the Northeast Iowa Regional Library System. A majority of libraries in the region won't comply, said Davenport, pointing out that many have an effective filter: the local librarian.
In some cases, library boards haven't yet decided. Both the New York Public Library and the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) will comply, saving more than $500,000 each, but the Queens Borough Public Library board will decide in June. BPL director Ginnie Cooper said that Supreme Court's decision to allow adults to request that the filter be turned off--essentially guaranteeing unfiltered access--was one factor in her recommendation to comply. Cooper headed the Multnomah County Public Library, OR, when it was a plaintiff in the CIPA litigation, Multnomah's Library Advisory Board will make a CIPA recommendation to the county commission this month, according to current Director Molly Raphael. About $100,000 is at stake.
This is the first of a five-part daily series this week. See also:
Deadline Approaches, Large PLs in Poorer Areas Squeezed
Tactics Vary, No Statistics Yet
Technical Questions, Help From Some States
Can Implementation Be Challenged?
CIPA Update, Part V: 'Son of CIPA Bills' Proposed
