Managing Access to the Internet in Public Libraries [MAIPLE]. End of award report submitted to the Arts & Humanities Research Council

Rachel Spacey · Louise Cooke · Adrienne Muir · Claire Creaser

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Library Science and Administration Web and Library Services Information Science and Libraries

Abstract

This end of project report summarises the work of the Managing Access to the Internet in Public Libraries [MAIPLE] project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Grant: AH/J005878/1. The introduction of public Internet access into UK public libraries has been important in generating greater equality of access to information for UK citizens and has enabled significant steps to be taken in the provision of electronic public services (e.g. the ability to renew driving licences or pay Council Tax online). This offers considerable potential benefit to both government and the citizen, in terms of cost-savings, accessibility, democratic participation and environmental sustainability. However, the provision of Internet access in public libraries has also led to concerns that such access would lead to misuse and the downloading of inappropriate and illegal content (Cooke, 2004; Home Office, 2011). A very limited amount of research had previously been undertaken that provided a comprehensive picture of measures taken in the UK to address these concerns, or of the effectiveness and impact of alternative approaches. MAIPLE aimed to identify and quantify measures implemented in UK public libraries to regulate and manage access to Internet content. MAIPLE also aimed to investigate the adoption of technical measures, such as filtering software, and organisational measures, such as Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) and the provision of user education and evaluate their impact and effectiveness. This report details the methods used to gather data (Methods) followed by a Review of the Literature. The Results are then presented including those of the online questionnaire survey and the case studies. A Discussion is followed by Conclusions and Recommendations. The Outputs of the MAIPLE project are detailed and its impacts considered. Future research questions are suggested. Finally, a Bibliography and Appendices are presented.

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