Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age (2007) / Chapter Skim
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8 Libraries and Privacy
8 Libraries and Privacy
Pages 231-250
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From page 231... ...
In fact, the American Library Association's Code of Ethics for members (Box 8.1) explicitly recognizes a responsibility to protect the rights of library users to privacy and confidentiality regarding information that they have sought or received and resources that they have consulted, borrowed, acquired, or transmitted.
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From page 232... ...
Indeed, the American Library Association estimates that there are "117,418 libraries of all kinds in the United States today,"1 a number that includes public libraries (large and small) , school libraries, university libraries, research libraries, law libraries, institutional (or special)
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From page 233... ...
Next, it looks at the ways in which libraries have responded to technological change, with respect to both their primary goal and efforts to secure the privacy of their patrons. Finally, it outlines some of the new technological developments that will affect the practices of librarians and describes actions that the library community is already taking to ensure that it will be able to guarantee the privacy of library patrons in the face of these developments.
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From page 234... ...
This historical background can still be seen in the mission statements of public libraries. For example, the Louisville, Kentucky, Public Library's mission statement begins, "The Louisville Public Library is committed to providing its citizens: The benefit and pleasure of learning and discovery through its collections, services, and staff";2 the Greene County, Ohio, Public Library's mission statement begins, "The Greene County Public Library system is the community connection to reading, lifelong learning, and personal and professional enrichment for people of all ages." 3 While the mission of public education was first articulated as part of the movement to establish public libraries, this mission now has been adopted by all kinds of libraries.
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From page 235... ...
5American Library Association, "Libraries: An American Value," adopted February 3, 1999, available at http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/americanvalue/librariesamerican.htm. 6 For example, the committee took testimony in April 2003 from the director of the Queens borough Public Library in New York City, which serves a population that is predominantly immigrant.
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From page 236... ...
Indeed, the interpretation states that "when users recognize or fear that their privacy or confidentiality is compromised, true freedom of inquiry no longer exists." Well before the advent of modern information technology, the desire to ensure patron privacy led librarians to develop techniques for tracking books checked out of the library that minimized leakage of information 7American Library Association, "Privacy: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights," adopted June 19, 2002, by the ALA Council, available at http://www.ala.org/ Template.cfm? Section=interpretations&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.
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From page 237... ...
Further, more complete records linking numbers to names were destroyed soon after the book had been returned. Although there are no federal laws protecting the privacy of library patrons, 48 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws and the other two states have prevailing opinions from their attorneys general.
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From page 238... ...
Michael Gorman has talked about an example of a technology that might help preserve patron privacy and intellectual freedom in libraries. He describes how self-service book checkout systems might make a "signal contribu 8American Library Association, "State Privacy Laws Regarding Library Records," avail able at http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/stateprivacylaws.html, accessed June 12, 2006.
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From page 239... ...
In many ways, the Internet seems to be the ultimate mechanism for fulfilling the goal of public libraries, as it opens up to all library patrons a vast world of information that they can explore at their leisure. The Internet multiplies the holdings of any library by allowing access to information stored anywhere in the world, without expanding the physical space needed for the library.
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From page 240... ...
The American Library Association has developed a toolkit to help individual libraries develop policies designed to address both of these aspects of Internet use.10 This toolkit acknowledges that there is content on the Internet that is both inappropriate and, in some cases, illegal, but also emphasizes the importance of ensuring patron privacy, allowing patrons free use of the tools that enable access to information, and ensuring that the dignity and autonomy of individual patrons is not compromised. In general, the library community rejects the notion that librarians should act as guardians or gatekeepers of their patrons' access to the Internet.
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From page 241... ...
While this can be done through the library's computer system, and the library can ensure that it does not keep information about which patron uses what database, the library has little or no control over whether the database provider gathers information on the subjects of interest to the library patrons. Although libraries are the primary customers for computer systems used to track the circulation of library materials, they are simply patrons of the database service (and often patrons requesting discounted fees)
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From page 242... ...
Legislation passed in the post9/11 period, including the USA PATRIOT Act, has expanded the authority of law enforcement to conduct surveillance and gather data on individu 16 Under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 2709, an "electronic communication service provider" must comply with "a request for electronic communication transactional records in its custody or possession made by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." However, Section 5 of the USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006, P.L.
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From page 243... ...
to compel the production of any information from any party, including libraries, that is (merely) relevant to a criminal investigation, Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act expanded the authority of the FISA Court to issue an order compelling the production of any tangible object from any source as part of an investigation to protect the United States from international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities (Box 8.3)
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From page 244... ...
If every viewing is subject to the content provider's being able to learn the 18American Library Association, "USA PATRIOT Act and Intellectual Freedom," available at http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/ifissues/usapatriotact.htm, accessed June 14, 2006. 19 Much of this story is told, from the perspective of the library community, at http://www.
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From page 245... ...
There is no particular need for the smart card to be associated with a specific library patron, and indeed a library could present the patron with a bin of smart cards with different electronic identifiers that he or she could pick at random and/or trade in at any time. The bin itself could be made available only on presentation of
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From page 246... ...
further complicates matters from a privacy perspective. As noted in Box 8.5, Title I of the DMCA prohibits technological attempts to circumvent DRMTs deployed to protect digital content, and thus eliminates (or at least reduces significantly)
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From page 247... ...
It also eliminates or reduces the availability of these technologies to libraries that might otherwise be inclined to take affirmative steps in protecting patron privacy. DRMTs and the DMCA thus pose a potential threat to libraries' current practice of ensuring that the content viewed by patrons of the library is kept private.
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From page 248... ...
Concerns have also been raised about the use of RFID tags in library books.21 Some proposals envision placing RFID tags in all of the physical materials held by libraries. These tags could then be used to control loss and to speed checkout -- another application of information and information technology to improve the efficiency of libraries and perhaps even enhance patron privacy, as the library staff would not have to conduct the checkout procedures.
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From page 249... ...
They have hoped that the information could be used to discover patterns of inquiry that might indicate threats to the United States. The library community has strenuously resisted such attempts, and continues to challenge recent laws that it believes compromise the privacy of library patrons.
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From page 250... ...
As the format of the content that libraries offer their patrons becomes more and more digitally based, attempts by the providers of that content to ensure that they retain control of it may become as great a threat as that posed by the government, because of the financial implications of such control. While statutes like the USA PATRIOT Act may define the current battleground for the library community's attempt to ensure patron privacy, DRMTs may well define the next battleground.
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