Library News

DAYTON–This month the display features Women's History Month. You can find many resources on the subject through the internet and on the shelves. For young crafters, the Easy Take-and-Make is a paper heart strawberry, and for the advanced Take-and-Make is a paper flower pop-up Also, for those who wish to start your gardens, the Seed Library is back.

From the Director: This week I'd like to talk about the Children's Internet Protection Act, and what the library does to ensure the safety of all our patrons when they use the internet here.

Enacted in 2000, CIPA requires that schools and libraries adopt and internet and safety policy that addresses the following points to receive federal e-Rate funding for internet services:

• Access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet;

• The safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms and other forms of direct electronic communications;

• Unauthorized access, including so-called "hacking," and other unlawful activities by minors online;

• Unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal information regarding minors; and

• Measures restricting minors' access to materials harmful to them.

We use an internet filter provided by CleanBrowsing. This filters all computers and devices connected to library internet - upstairs and downstairs computers, staff laptops, and any personal devices such as smartphones or tablets that are using library wi-fi. By using this filter, the library can block access to sites that contain pornography, illegal activities such as torrenting, and sites known by CleanBrowsing to be malicious and blacklisted. If an adult patron is doing research that requires them to have access to a site that would be blocked by this filter, we can remove the filter upon request.

Another important thing to remember is that CIPA stands for the Children's Internet Protection Act - it only covers content on the internet.

-Ellen Brigham, Director of Library Services