Library Patron Privacy

Privacy is a growing concern in the United States and around the world. The spread of the Internet and the seemingly boundaryless options for collecting, saving, sharing, and comparing information trigger consumer worries. Online practices of business and government agencies may present new ways to compromise privacy, and e-commerce and technologies that make a wide range of personal information available to anyone with a Web browser only begin to hint at the possibilities for inappropriate or unwarranted intrusion into our personal lives. Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age presents a comprehensive and multidisciplinary examination of privacy in the information age. It explores such important concepts as how the threats to privacy evolving, how can privacy be protected and how society can balance the interests of individuals, businesses and government in ways that promote privacy reasonably and effectively? This book seeks to raise awareness of the web of connectedness among the actions one takes and the privacy policies that are enacted, and provides a variety of tools and concepts with which debates over privacy can be more fruitfully engaged. Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age focuses on three major components affecting notions, perceptions, and expectations of privacy: technological change, societal shifts, and circumstantial discontinuities. This book will be of special interest to anyone interested in understanding why privacy issues are often so intractable.

Although privacy is one of the core tenets of librarianship, technology changes have made it increasingly difficult for libraries to ensure the privacy of their patrons in the 21st century library. This authoritative LITA Guide offers readers guidance on a wide range of topics, including • Foundations of privacy in libraries • Data collection, retention, use, and protection • Laws and regulations • Privacy instruction for patrons and staff • Contracts with third parties • Use of in-house and internet tools including social network sites, surveillance video, and RFID

A Guide to Using the Anonymous Web in Libraries and Information Organizations provides practical guidance to those who are interested in integrating the anonymous web into their services. It will be particularly useful to those seeking to promote enhanced privacy for their patrons. The book begins by explaining, in simple terms, what the anonymous web is, how it works, and its benefits for users. Lund and Beckstrom also explain why they believe access to the anonymous web should be provided in library and information organizations around the world. They describe how to provide access, as well as educate library users on how to utilize the anonymous web and navigate any challenges that might arise during implementation. The authors also encourage the development of library policies that guide appropriate conduct and filter content, where appropriate, in order to deter illegal activity. A Guide to Using the Anonymous Web in Libraries and Information Organizations reminds us that libraries and other information providers have a duty to educate and support their communities, while also preserving privacy. Demonstrating that the anonymous web can help them to fulfil these obligations, this book will be essential reading for library and information professionals working around the world.

Covering circulation and Internet use records, along with the role of the library as employer, this guide is librarians’ first line of defense of the First Amendment.

"This book will provide a deeper understanding of how to protect patron data and how to implement strategies to help you improve patron data privacy at your library"--

A quick, easy-to-read synthesis of theory, guidelines, and evidence-based research, this book offers timely, practical guidance for library and information professionals who must navigate ethical crises in information privacy and stay on top of emerging privacy trends. Emerging technologies create new concerns about information privacy within library and information organizations, and many information professionals lack guidance on how to navigate the ethical crises that emerge when information privacy and library policy clash. What should we do when a patron leaves something behind? How do we justify filtering internet access while respecting accessibility and privacy? How do we balance new technologies that provide anonymity with the library's need to prevent the illegal use of their facilities? Library Patrons' Privacy presents clear, conversational, evidence-based guidance on how to navigate these ethical questions in information privacy. Ideas from professional organizations, government entities, scholarly publications, and personal experiences are synthesized into an approachable guide for librarians at all stages of their career. This guide, designed by three experienced LIS scholars and professionals, is a quick and enjoyable read that students and professionals of all levels of technical knowledge and skill will find useful and applicable to their libraries.