Privacy and access are two important elements in librarianship that we hold dear- Both concepts are prominent in ALA’s Code of Ethics, but what happens when access and privacy collide?
Author: Virginia Dressler
Virginia Dressler is the Digital Projects Librarian at Kent State University. Her specialty areas are project management of digital projects and reformatting of analog collections for open digital collections, including overseeing the Daily Kent Stater digital archive project (daily student newspaper) and working with the university’s unique collections. She holds an MLIS from Kent State University and MA in Art gallery and Museum Studies from the University of Leeds.
Overview of two new ALA privacy-related resolutions
Overview of newly passed ALA resolutions, “Resolution on the Surveillance of Library Users Through Behavioral Tracking” and “Resolution in Opposition to Facial Recognition Software in Libraries”
Book review of Library Privacy Policies
A book review of the 2020 Library Privacy Policies by Jason Vaughan. The book includes a great breakdown of how data is regularly collected and used in a number of different systems, many of which are routinely used in libraries (web servers, virtual reference tracking systems, patron records, etc.). Vaughan also outlines how this data can be used and shared outside of the intended purpose, serving as an important reminder of how many inlets and collection points in data collecting.
Book review: Privacy is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data
Book review of ‘Privacy is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data’ by Carissa Véliz (Penguin: 2020).
The Right to be Forgotten in Digital Archives
The Right to be Forgotten as it relates to digital archives, in how privacy can intersect in day to day decisions around content removal and takedown requests.