Weathervane: show your board how the internet is used, and kept safe
What your community uses the connection for, which services and when, what the filter stopped, and your CIPA record, in a board-ready report with your logo. Built from the filter you already have. Nothing to install.
Your filter already knows what your community needs. Weathervane tells your board.
Every library and school that takes E-Rate money has to filter, and pays for the filter from its own budget. Until now that money bought protection and a log nobody reads. Weathervane turns the same log into the report a director, a board or a funder actually asks for.
Boards want to know what the public connection delivers. How many people used it for job applications, government forms or homework? Which e-books and databases are popular enough to renew? Did the filter work, and can you prove it if anyone asks? Directors answer these questions with guesses, or with hours spent collecting numbers from five systems.
Weathervane answers them from data you already have. The filter handles every website lookup on your network, so it sees which services your community relies on, at what times and in which branch. Weathervane groups that activity by purpose, names the services, keeps machine traffic apart, and writes it up as a clear report with your logo on the cover.
- Public value in plain words: learning, jobs, government services, health, library e-resources and more, each with the change against the month before.
- Safety you can show: adult content blocked, scam websites stopped, VPN attempts, and the full staff and patron unblock log.
- A CIPA record for your files: the requirements, your policy and the evidence for the period on one page.
- No extra work: it arrives by email on the first day of each month, and stays in your dashboard for any period you pick.
What is in the board report, page by page
A consulting-style PDF of about twelve pages. Click any page to see it full size, then use the arrows to page through the whole report. The sample shows a library with three networks over two weeks.
CoverYour logo and name, the period, who prepared it, and four headline figures: lookups by people, websites and services used, lookups blocked and filter availability.
About this reportYour own introduction for the board, the contents with page numbers, and a short guide to reading the figures.
At a glanceSix key figures with their change, five headline findings written in plain sentences, and a chart of use per day.
What the internet was used forEvery website and service grouped into sixteen purposes, with the share of use, the change, and the most used services in each.
Most used services and websitesThe top twenty by name, such as YouTube, Libby or Google Classroom, plus the services that are new and those no longer used.
When people were onlineA heat map by day of the week and hour, the busiest day, hour and weekday, for staffing, opening hours and maintenance windows.
Branches and networksUse, blocks and unblocks for each branch or network, so a library system sees every location side by side.
AI tools on your networkEvery AI tool reached, matched against a register of more than 11,000 AI tools, with its use, whether it was blocked and whether it is new.
Safety and protectionAdult content blocked, scam and malware websites stopped, VPN and proxy attempts, and the most blocked websites, with adult names masked.
CIPA compliance recordA checklist of the requirements with your evidence, the filtering policy on record and the latest staff and patron unblocks.
Behind the scenesDevice updates, advertising networks, security agents and cameras, shown apart so they never inflate the figures for people.
RecommendationsConcrete next steps, such as switching on scam protection or reviewing new AI tools, and notes for the record.
In your dashboard, for any period you choose
The PDF is the summary. The dashboard page has everything behind it: pick the last 7 or 30 days, a month, a quarter or any dates, one network or all of them, and switch machine traffic in or out. Click a screenshot to enlarge it.
OverviewEight key figures with their change, the headline findings and the recommendations, plus use per day. Buttons for the board PDF, a preview, Excel and CSV are always one click away.
What it was used forSixteen purposes as a chart and a table with the change, and a list of library services and e-resources by name.
ServicesThousands of services and websites, searchable and filtered by purpose, with lookups, share, change, days used and blocks.
WhenThe busiest day, hour and weekday, the heat map by day and hour, and the profile of a typical day.
Safety and CIPAThe CIPA checklist for the period, the unblock log, blocked categories and the most blocked websites.
Reports and sharingThe board PDF, an Excel workbook with every table, the monthly email recipients, your branding and private links for stakeholders.
Who it helps, and how
One report, read differently by everyone who has a stake in your connection.
Evidence of public value for budget meetings: how many lookups went to jobs, government services, health and learning, and how that changed. A page you can put in the board pack without editing.
When each branch is busiest, which services patrons use there, and how unblocks are handled, to plan staffing, programs and computer time.
A clear split between people and machines, the security and management tools at work on the network, and the encrypted DNS and VPN attempts the filter stopped.
Which learning platforms students actually use, which AI tools appear, and the safety record for each school, ready for the school board and parents.
A dated CIPA record for every month: the protection measure, your policy and the unblock log, kept with your E-Rate files.
Real figures for applications and reports: digital inclusion, workforce, health and learning outcomes supported by the connection you provide.
Ways libraries and schools use it
Your logo, your name
Under Settings, Report branding, add your logo, your colour, the name of the person or team that prepares the report, a contact line and your own introduction for the board. The cover, every page header and the footer then carry your name. Untick our name for a fully white-label report that looks like it came from your own office.
Your website counts as a library service in the figures, so visits to your own catalog and pages show up where they belong. The same branding goes on the activity report, the policy record and the monthly report PDFs.
Every month, by email, and private links
On the first day of each month the report for the month before goes to the addresses you choose: the director, the board secretary, your IT provider. The activity report PDF and the CSV files come with it, so your records are complete without anyone logging in.
For a meeting or a funder, create a private link to any report. It opens in the browser with a PDF download and needs no sign-in. You choose how long it works, from 30 days to a year, and you can stop sharing it at any time.
Privacy by design
The filter sees which websites devices look up, not who uses a device, so the report shows totals by service, purpose, time and network, never a person. Adult website names are masked in every report. Your data stays in your dashboard and in the reports you choose to send.
Simple prices, with customization included
Analytics tools sold per device often cost as much as the filter itself. Weathervane costs less than the filter, covers every device on your network, phones on the Wi-Fi included, and any changes you need to the report are part of the price.
One library or school
Weathervane for one site, with the monthly board PDF, your branding, Excel exports and share links.
Add WeathervaneLibrary system or district
One price for the whole system, with every branch or school side by side and a report for each network.
Choose the system planCIPA Filter + Weathervane
For new subscribers: the hosted CIPA filter with Weathervane for one site. Add AI Controls or App Control at checkout.
Subscribe with WeathervaneAdd Weathervane to your filter
For customers of the hosted CIPA filter. New to the filter? Subscribe to the filter with Weathervane, or start with the filter and add Weathervane later.
- Monthly plans can be cancelled at any time
- Works for every network and branch on your account
- Customization and changes to the report are included in the price
- Library systems and districts: $149 a month or $1,490 a year for the whole system
- No personal information: the filter does not know who used a computer or phone
Secure payment by PayPal or card. We switch Weathervane on for your account and confirm by email.
Figures you can stand behind
A report for a board has to be right. Every figure in Weathervane adds up: the purposes, the services, the daily chart, the hours and the branches all total the same number of lookups by people, and together with the blocked lookups and the machine traffic they match the filter's own log for the period.
Days follow your time zone, so a month means your month. Changes are only shown when the earlier period has enough data to compare with, so a filter that started mid-month never shows a misleading jump of thousands of percent. Machine traffic is kept apart, so a busy security camera or software update never looks like a busy branch.
When a figure needs explaining, the report explains it in a sentence, and the dashboard shows the detail behind it, down to each service and each day.
Getting started takes a minute
- Add Weathervane with the form below. We switch it on for your account and confirm by email.
- Add your branding under Settings, Report branding: your logo, colour and an introduction for the board.
- Choose who receives it under Settings, Monthly report email. The first report arrives on the first day of the next month.
- Open it any time in your dashboard, for any period, and share a private link when someone asks.
Your earlier activity is included from the day your filter started, so the first report is never empty if the filter has been running.
Questions
Do we need the hosted filter?
Yes. Weathervane reads the lookups your filter already handles, so there is nothing to install and nothing changes for staff or patrons. If you are new, subscribe to the filter with Weathervane in one step.
Which email should we enter?
The email you use for your filter account, so we switch it on for the right library. If several people manage the account, any of their addresses works.
Does it show what one person did?
No. The filter sees which websites devices look up, not who uses a device. Reports show totals by service, purpose, time and network.
What is a lookup, and why not count visits?
A lookup is a device asking where a website is. One page visit usually makes several lookups, so lookups measure activity rather than people. Used the same way every month, they show reliably what grows, what shrinks and when people are online.
Why are some lookups shown apart?
Computers and phones also talk to the internet on their own: software updates, advertising networks, security agents and cameras. Weathervane keeps this traffic in its own section, so the figures for people are not inflated. You can include it with one click.
Can we choose the period?
Yes. In the dashboard pick the last 7, 30 or 90 days, this month, last month or any dates, for one network or all of them. The monthly email always covers the month before.
Does it work for a library system with many branches?
Yes. Each branch or network is shown side by side, and every report can be made for one network or the whole system. The system plan covers the whole system for one price.
Can we change the report?
Yes, customization is included. Tell us what your board needs, a different focus, your own wording or an extra figure, and we adjust it for you.
Is it useful for E-Rate and CIPA?
It gives you a dated record each month: the protection measure, your policy and the adult unblock log. It supports your own documentation; it is not legal advice and does not guarantee E-Rate eligibility.
Does Weathervane slow down the internet?
No. It reads the records your filter keeps anyway, after the fact. Nothing changes in how websites are looked up or how fast they open.
Can we read the report before the board does?
Yes. Preview it in your dashboard at any time, change the period or the branding, and only then download the PDF or create a share link. The monthly email goes only to the addresses you choose.
What happens if we stop?
Weathervane switches off at the end of your billing period and your filter keeps working exactly as before. Share links stop working, and the activity reports and CSV files of the filter stay available in your dashboard.
Can we try it first?
Open the sample report above. It has every page your own report will have, with figures from a demo library. Monthly plans can be cancelled at any time.