At the intersection of library data and privacy
Welcome back to our series about responsibly sharing patron stories! Last week we talked about the importance of consent for libraries publishing stories about individual patrons. This week we get into the mechanics of consent and some of the complications around seeking consent to share particular stories. A couple of housekeeping points before we get …
Continue reading “Before You Share a Patron’s Story, Part 2”
We sometimes encounter a heartwarming story that restores a little of our faith in humanity during our regularly scheduled doomscrolling. In the library world, we commonly come across stories of people remembering the excitement they felt with getting their first library card or a book they checked out at the library that changed their lives …
Continue reading “Before You Share a Patron’s Story: Part 1”
This Friday, January 28, is Data Privacy Day! Don’t worry if you don’t have anything planned to mark the data at your library – you still have some time for some last-minute planning. You can check out last year’s Data Privacy Day post for some last-minute ideas. This year’s Data Privacy Day, though, should include …
Continue reading “Data Privacy Day (or Week!) Celebrations and Reflections”
Wouldn’t it be nice if you never had to take another work-mandated training ever again? No more having to block an entire day off to head over to sit in a stuffy windowless room trying to focus on the training slides while all the lights are still on, making the projection barely readable, and you …
Continue reading “Training is Only One Part of the Library Privacy Equation”
There’s a saying that makes the rounds at the LDH office – “same problems, different day.” While there is no shortage of unique and exciting privacy challenges out there, eventually there will be a version of a previous privacy issue we dealt with in the past that pops up in our daily work. The same …
Happy National Spicy Hermit Cookie Day! Today is your day if you need an excuse to make a batch of cookies to prepare for the baking rush in a few weeks. While the term “hermit” refers to the cookie’s ability to keep for months, we at LDH are not exactly sure if we can call …
Juan saw his recent promotion to Director of Access Services at Nebo University Libraries as an opportunity to change his library’s approach to patron privacy. However, Juan knew that becoming a manager of one of the largest departments in the libraries would not altogether remove the roadblocks he kept running into when he advocated for …
Librarians like our acronyms, but we’re not the only profession to indulge in linguistic gymnastics. The technology field is awash in acronyms: HTTP, AWS, UI, LAN, I/O, etc. etc. etc. One acronym you might know from working in libraries, though, is OSS – Open Source Software. Library technology is no stranger to OSS. The archived …
Continue reading “FUD and Reality – Information Security and Open Source Software”
There’s never a dull moment in Cybersecurity Awareness Month, with last week being no exception. Here are some news stories you might have missed, along with possible implications and considerations for your library. K-12 cybersecurity bill signed into law You might remember reading about a new federal cybersecurity bill being signed into law. You remembered …
Library ethics, privacy, and technology collided again last week, this time with the publication of issue 52 of the Code4Lib Journal. In this issue, the editorial committee published an article describing an assessment process with serious data privacy and ethical issues and then explained their rationale for publishing the article in the issue editorial. The …
Continue reading “Is Library Scholarship a Privacy Information Hazard?”