In late September 2000, the US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science published results of its sixth public library Internet study released in the last decade (see the September 6, 1996 Scout Report for information about the 1996 survey). The 2000 Internet Connectivity Study measured the level of connectivity, public access, training support, and technology funding, current and anticipated, for staff and the public. Internet connectivity in public libraries is 95.7 percent, up from 83.6 percent reported in the 1998 study. Suburban libraries, according to the data, showed the largest increase in Internet hook-up, with a 20 percent increase since 1998. "Summary data is also available on the prevalence of acceptable use policies, installation of filtering software in libraries when searching the Internet, and use by the public of Internet-accessible resources including commercially produced databases." The US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science is a permanent, independent agency of the federal government charged by law to assess current library and information resources and services and to advise the President and Congress on library policy.