What Every Librarian Should Know about Electronic Privacy

Citation

Parry, F. (2008), "What Every Librarian Should Know about Electronic Privacy", The Electronic Library, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 611-612. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470810893873

This is a book about how librarians should tackle the issue of privacy in the computer age. It seems that the very real threat of invasion of privacy is the flipside to the benefits of easy access to information. And the threats appear to be coming from all directions.

The first part of this book identifies the core areas of concern: crime, identity theft, loss of personal data, demands for too much personal information from businesses, government and even libraries who may feel the need to collect customer data “just in case”. Examples are frequently drawn from American public libraries, although the issues and solutions offered are certainly more widely applicable. The chapters of particular interest in this first section are on identifying the typical library user, protecting children and teenagers and a long discussion of the dangers of too much vulnerable information on RFID tags, both within books and on borrower cards.

Libraries are in the frontline because they offer IT facilities to a wide range of customers in a generally free environment which can be open to abuse. Much is made of the uniqueness of library computer provision to a public who, for a variety of reasons, may not have readily available computer access at home or elsewhere. Librarians have responsibilities to both their readers and the wider general welfare of the community and herein lies the dilemma which has been plaguing librarians. To give an example, the PATRIOT act in the USA has divided the library profession and law enforcement, with the American Library Association challenging the constitutionality of the law. The Act was a response to the 9/11 terror attacks, although this was not the first instance of attempts to enlist librarians as an arm of law enforcement. Mention is also made of the earlier FBI Library Awareness program from the 1980s. Should a library provide a government with borrower details such as histories of loans and website visits? The author clearly thinks not, even though a significant minority of library customers use libraries precisely because they inadvertently offer anonymity for illegal activities. Woodward clearly believes that privacy is not a political issue – it should be a cornerstone of librarians' professional ethics. It is instructive to note how intrusive government surveillance can be seen to be as much a threat as other more obvious forms of misuse of personal information. There again, it can be argued that governments have been spying on citizens for a long time – it is only the technology that has changed.

The early chapters outline the background issues and serve as awareness exercises for librarians. Readers have to wait until the end for a step‐by‐step plan of action, which is full of excellent, detailed advice. A companion chapter entitled “Education and Advocacy” does pretty much what it says on the tin – tips for educating often vulnerable users in safe computer use, advice and workshop programmes. There is a useful glossary of key terms, index and up‐to‐date references. Updated links appear in the publisher website.

This is an extremely interesting book which is bound to stimulate discussion within the profession.