About CAP

The Community Access Program (CAP) is a Government of Canada initiative, administered by Industry Canada, that aims to provide Canadians with affordable public access to the Internet and the skills they need to use it effectively. With the combined efforts of the federal, provincial and territorial governments, community groups, social agencies, libraries, schools, volunteer groups and the business community, CAP helps Canadians, wherever they live, take advantage of emerging opportunities in the new global knowledge-based economy. Under CAP, public locations like schools, libraries and community centres act as "on-ramps" to the Information Highway, and provide computer support and training.

CAP is the key component of the Government of Canada's Connecting Canadians initiative, whose goal is to make Canada the most connected nation in the world. CAP started in 1994 in rural communities with populations up to 50,000. Then in December 1999, following a successful pilot program in urban communities, CAP is now being rolled out to larger population centres of over 50,000. By March 31, 2001, Industry Canada wants to establish public Internet access sites in 10,000 rural, remote and urban communities across Canada. It's hoped that CAP sites will increasingly join together in networking opportunities enabling them to pool resources and form networks to be able to offer even more to their communities.

Source: Industry Canada: http://www.ic.gc.ca

Internet Access Service Policy

Internet access service may be provided to registered patrons of the Haliburton County Public Library as part of its Mission Statement. The service is intended primarily to be an information resource which compliments the library’s traditional resources by providing users with access to a wealth of resources outside the library.

The Internet functions as an unregistered, global environment and there fore provides access to a wide variety of resources over which the Board and/or the library have no control. The Library and/or Board is not responsible for the content of any or all resources which may be accessed through this service.

The Internet provides access to some information that may be considered to be offensive, controversial or inappropriate for children. Parents or guardians are expected to monitor and supervise their children’s use of the Library’s Internet resources.

The Library and/or Board may or may not provide a mix of filtered and unfiltered access stations in all locations. Filtered work stations include commercial filtering software designed to block sites that may contain pornographic or graphic images of a sexual or non-sexual nature. The Library and/or Board assume no responsibility should a filter be less than 100% effective. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to monitor a child’s access to such material.

As a registered patron of the library system, users of the Library’s Internet services are expected to accept and adhere to the code of conduct that follows. Completion of the appropriate Registration Card indicates acceptance of this code and violation may result in the loss of all library privileges.

All users agree:
to use Internet services for educational and information purposes only and not for any purpose that may be interpreted as being illegal;
to not send, receive or display text or graphics which may be illegal or may reasonably be construed as being obscene or offensive;
to not attempt to:
(a) modify or gain access to files, data or passwords belonging to the library or others;
(b) see unauthorized access to other computer systems; or,
(c) damage or alter software or hardware for their own individual purposes or to hinder access to any aspect of the service by others.

To ensure access to the Internet and efficient use of resources, the Library reserves the right to modify guidelines in support of these goals when and where appropriate.

APPROVED by the Haliburton County Library Board, December 1,1999