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 goes for the general privacy discourse in the library world. It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the library discourse where we see versions of the same topics and issues discussed in the past. It can feel like we’re stuck in a time loop, reliving the same conversations.
GIF source – https://giphy.com/gifs/pr-13USAwkGCTd6xy
Luckily, this gives LDH the opportunity to highlight relevant posts from the Tip of The Hat! Whether you missed the posts the first time around or are looking to revisit some of our older content, the newsletter-turned-blog has covered a lot of ground in the library privacy world. Let’s take some time to review some of those posts as the library world revisits several privacy conversations this week.
Mergers and Acquisitions and Consolidation oh my!
It’s official – Clarivate’s acquisition of Proquest is finally complete, furthering the consolidation of the library vendor marketplace. The acquisition isn’t the first one that led many in the library community to worry about the consequences of having only a handful of companies controlling the marketplace and what effects this consolidation would have on data privacy. In addition, there’s the practical concern of what exactly happens to patron data when a business is acquired or goes bankrupt. Here are some previous posts that touch on the relationship between vendors and library data privacy:
- A Quick Chat About Patron Data Privacy During Company Acquisitions and Mergers
- Vendor Ethics and You, Or Giving a Damn About Who’s Sharing Your Patron Data
- Caring Who Is Sharing Your Patron Data
- Some tools and resources covered on the blog that can help you through the vendor selection and contract negotiation processes:
The Library Privacy Trope That Nevers Die
Libraries full of dusty books. Librarians reading all day on the job. Librarians shushing patrons. No matter where you go, there’s always a version of one of these tropes whenever libraries come up in the conversation. Most of the time, you find these tropes being brought up by people who don’t work at libraries, be it news reporters with cringeworthy article openers (“Libraries are no longer for books!”) to everyday conversation (“library quiet”). However, sometimes libraries themselves indulge in using library tropes for their own purposes. This week was no different with a social media account for a public library system in the US creating a meme about how the library doesn’t track patron use of library materials.
Longtime readers of the blog might recall our library privacy trope post from last year detailing the dangers of the trope to libraries and patrons. While the profession has a strong ethical mandate to protect patron privacy, including patron data, the reality is that libraries are subject to the same data privacy constraints and issues that show up in any other industry. For example, libraries and their vendors keep track of which patrons use specific resources and services. A library failing to let patrons know how the library or vendor collects, processes, and shares patron data or misrepresents library data privacy practices in communications to patrons is at risk of an ethics breach, losing the trust of their patrons.
While it might be fun to poke fun at the data privacy practices of commercial companies, libraries are best served to remember that they are not above engaging in the same privacy-invasive practices as their commercial counterparts. Case in point – the growth of customer relationship management systems in libraries and how the use of a CRM led a library to be investigated by a civil grand jury. Another case in point – many libraries still use Google Analytics to track patron use of the library website. In any case, meme responsibly.
When Privacy and Security Become a Barrier unto Themselves
A recent Twitter thread touched on many patrons’ struggles with multifactor authentication and how library workers encounter this struggle daily. Take some time to read the thread and the replies. It is a good reminder that not all privacy and security controls work for everyone. In some cases, these controls create barriers to using the library. These controls can disproportionally affect patrons who, for example, do not have reliable access to a mobile phone or limited phone service if the library or vendor requires all patrons to use multifactor authentication for using library resources or services.
Privacy and equity are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes the choices libraries make can put some patrons in a bind, particularly when libraries move core services to newer platforms that collect more data about patron use of the service than before. Our post about ethical design in library privacy practices is a good starting point to consider how to center patrons in how your library approaches patron services and programs.
[Related – sometimes your data privacy and security policies for staff are a liability in themselves! We touched on this liability last October using administrator privileges on work computers. As you think about what data privacy and security measures to put in place at your library, take some time to think about the costs and benefits of each measure. Sometimes it’s better – both for the bottom line and for data privacy and security – to accept certain risks.]