Privacy Resources for Librarians, Library Users, and Families
| Existing ALA Policies, Guidelines, and Resources on Privacy and Confidentiality | Resources for Librarians Concerned about Internet Privacy | Privacy Resources for Library Patrons | Educational Resources for Children and Families | Bottom |
“How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.”—George Orwell
As technologies change, new laws get enacted, and access to the Internet becomes a more and more essential library resource, issues of privacy and confidentiality are becoming far more complex and important for our library patrons than they ever have before. This is all the more true since public and school libraries often provide the only Internet access available to many in our communities. With library catalogs acting as gateways to the World Wide Web, it is becoming imperative that libraries take a proactive role in educating the public about threats to their privacy and confidentiality posed by shopping, emailing, chatting, and even surfing the Internet. Libraries can take steps to minimize these risks; for instance, through enacting privacy policies, through educating patrons, and through installing privacy enhancing technologies. This resource is intended to assist in such efforts, and to encourage librarians to think about and question more than just circulation record policies when rewriting privacy and confidentiality policies.
Resources that provide various types of privacy protection have been gathered here, as a preliminary effort towards responding to Council’s charge, and to assist in researching the threats to and possible protections of Internet privacy. Those libraries seeking to write privacy-protecting policies and practices into their Internet Access Policies may benefit from these links to existing privacy policies and other professional, legal, and technological resources. Direct links from library home pages or library privacy policy pages to some of these educational resources could help library patrons seeking to both educate themselves about these issues and to protect their own personally-identifiable information.
I. Existing ALA Policies, Guidelines, and Resources on Privacy and Confidentiality
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Background to Privacy Interpretation
II. Resources for Librarians Concerned about Internet Privacy
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Papers and Presentations on Privacy
“Fact or Fiction: Privacy in American Libraries,” presented at CFP 2002, the 12th Conference on Computers Freedom & Privacy by Carrie Gardner, Ph.D.
“Privacy and Library Systems Before & After 9/11: Outline of talk given March 27, 2002 at the Public Library Directors' Forum” by Karen Coyle
“Privacy and the Rights and Responsibilities of Librarians,” by Kenneth A. Winter. The Katharine Sharp Review (No. 4), Winter 1997
“Privacy and Librarians: An Overview,” by Robert G. Weiner. Texas Library Journal (vol. 73, no. 1) Spring 1997
Statements in Support of Privacy as a Human and Civil Right
“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.” Article 12, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
“We protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.” Article 3, Code of Ethics of the American Library Association (1995)
“4. Any organization creating, maintaining, using, or disseminating records of personally identifiable information must assure the reliability of the data for its intended use and must take precautions to prevent misuse; and 5. There must be a way for an individual to prevent personal information obtained for one purpose from being used for another purpose without his or her consent.” Principles 4-5 of the “Code of Fair Information Practices.” Source: U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare, Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Automated Personal Data Systems, Records, Computers, and the Rights of Citizens viii (1973). Quoted in CDT’s Guide to Online Privacy: Privacy Basics
“Demographic or identifying information gathered at servers that is not actively provided by the user should not be used beyond the analysis of site activity; in particular, no attempt should be made to identify individual users or to pass this information on to other parties.” Electronic Privacy Principles, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility Cyber-Rights Working Group (1996)
Governmental and Legislative Issues
Privacy Protection: Tools and Technologies
Privacy Policies
- Sample Library Web sites:
- UT Southwestern Medical Center Library Web Site Privacy Policy (last updated November 6 2000)
- Jimmy Carter Library Web Site Privacy Statement (last updated August 1, 2000)
- US Dept of Commerce Boulder Labs Library Privacy Policy
“Thank you for visiting the Boulder Labs Library Website and reviewing our privacy policy. Our privacy policy is clear: We will collect no personal information about you when you visit our website unless you choose to provide the information to us.”
- Seattle Public Library — Privacy of Your Library Account
“The Library keeps patron transactions in confidence as a matter of policy. This Administrative Policy safeguards the privacy of all library users, regardless of their age or their relationship to the person requesting information. Legal authority for the Confidentiality Policy comes from RCW Title 42; section 17. Everyone, regardless of age, is entitled to free, open and equal access to materials and services, including books, magazines, and audio and video recordings.”
- Minnesota Public Library Privacy Statement
“Your privacy is assured when you use our e-mail reference service, or any other service. The Minneapolis Public Library staff will keep the identities of library users and the nature of their inquiries confidential. (See Minnesota Government Data Practices 13.40, Library and historical data, for more information.)”
- Non-Library Privacy Policy Resources:
III. Privacy Resources for Library Patrons
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- Privacy Protection: Recommended Practices
- Privacy Protection: Tools and Technologies
IV. Educational Resources for Children and Families
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Links to non-ALA sites have been provided because these sites may have information of interest. Neither the American Library Association nor the Office for Intellectual Freedom necessarily endorses the views expressed or the facts presented on these sites; and furthermore, ALA and OIF do not endorse any commercial products that may be advertised or available on these sites.
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