The effects of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in public libraries and its implications for research: A statistical, policy, and legal analysis

Paul T. Jaeger; John Carlo Bertot; Charles R. McClure

doi:10.1002/asi.20072

The effects of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in public libraries and its implications for research: A statistical, policy, and legal analysis

Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology ◽

10.1002/asi.20072 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 55 (13) ◽

pp. 1131-1139 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Paul T. Jaeger ◽

John Carlo Bertot ◽

Charles R. McClure

Keyword(s):

Public Libraries ◽

Legal Analysis ◽

Children’S Internet Protection Act

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An analysis of American public libraries’ policies on patron use of Internet pornography

Open Information Science ◽

10.1515/opis-2020-0005 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 58-74

Author(s):

Hannah Edlund

Keyword(s):

First Amendment ◽

Information Science ◽

Public Libraries ◽

Research Question ◽

Graduate Course ◽

Internet Pornography ◽

Internet Filtering ◽

Pornography Use ◽

Children’S Internet Protection Act ◽

Use Of Internet

AbstractDrawing on and expanding previous graduate course research, this paper investigated and analyzed public libraries’ policies regarding patron use of legal, visual Internet pornography on public computers. Pornographic imagery that falls within legal boundaries is protected by the First Amendment. Incidents of, and library responses to, pornography viewing are not a new issue and have caused turmoil across the field of library and information science. In an attempt to understand the problem, the research question asks: how do public libraries respond to patrons viewing legal Internet pornography, while upholding First Amendment rights as well as the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and other legal requirements? Libraries tread a fine line to protect First Amendment rights, respect community laws, and uphold CIPA. Research indicated that responding to Internet pornography use in public libraries is heavily dependent on individual, community and library values. Policies are more likely to prohibit patrons from accessing Internet pornography, and most libraries have at least some Internet filtering software restricting what content may be accessed on public use computers. However, evidence also suggests that regardless of policy or filters, library staff will at some point encounter a patron accessing Internet pornography.

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One Law with Two Outcomes: Comparing the Implementation of CIPA in Public Libraries and Schools

Information Technology and Libraries ◽

10.6017/ital.v28i1.3168 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Paul T. Jaeger ◽

Zheng Yan

Keyword(s):

Education Research ◽

Public Schools ◽

Public Libraries ◽

Federal Funding ◽

Internet Access ◽

Social Institutions ◽

Policy Context ◽

Current State ◽

Research Questions ◽

Children’S Internet Protection Act

<span>Though the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) established requirements for both public libraries and public schools to adopt filters on all of their computers when they receive certain federal funding, it has not attracted a great amount of research into the effects on libraries and schools and the users of these social institutions. This paper explores the implications of CIPA in terms of its effects on public libraries and public schools, individually and in tandem. Drawing from both library and education research, the paper examines the legal background and basis of CIPA, the current state of Internet access and levels of filtering in public libraries and public schools, the perceived value of CIPA, the perceived consequences of CIPA, the differences in levels of implementation of CIPA in public libraries and public schools, and the reasons for those dramatic differences. After an analysis of these issues within the greater policy context, the paper suggests research questions to help provide more data about the challenges and questions revealed in this analysis.</span>

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