Although privacy is one of the core tenets of librarianship, technology changes have made it increasingly difficult for libraries to ensure the privacy of their patrons in the 21st century library. This authoritative LITA Guide offers readers guidance on a wide range of topics, including • Foundations of privacy in libraries • Data collection, retention, use, and protection • Laws and regulations • Privacy instruction for patrons and staff • Contracts with third parties • Use of in-house and internet tools including social network sites, surveillance video, and RFID

Privacy is a growing concern in the United States and around the world. The spread of the Internet and the seemingly boundaryless options for collecting, saving, sharing, and comparing information trigger consumer worries. Online practices of business and government agencies may present new ways to compromise privacy, and e-commerce and technologies that make a wide range of personal information available to anyone with a Web browser only begin to hint at the possibilities for inappropriate or unwarranted intrusion into our personal lives. Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age presents a comprehensive and multidisciplinary examination of privacy in the information age. It explores such important concepts as how the threats to privacy evolving, how can privacy be protected and how society can balance the interests of individuals, businesses and government in ways that promote privacy reasonably and effectively? This book seeks to raise awareness of the web of connectedness among the actions one takes and the privacy policies that are enacted, and provides a variety of tools and concepts with which debates over privacy can be more fruitfully engaged. Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age focuses on three major components affecting notions, perceptions, and expectations of privacy: technological change, societal shifts, and circumstantial discontinuities. This book will be of special interest to anyone interested in understanding why privacy issues are often so intractable.

Collecting several key documents and policy statements, this supplement to the ninth edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual traces a history of ALA’s commitment to fighting censorship. An introductory essay by Judith Krug and Candace Morgan, updated by OIF Director Barbara Jones, sketches out an overview of ALA policy on intellectual freedom. An important resource, this volume includes documents which discuss such foundational issues as The Library Bill of RightsProtecting the freedom to readALA’s Code of EthicsHow to respond to challenges and concerns about library resourcesMinors and internet activityMeeting rooms, bulletin boards, and exhibitsCopyrightPrivacy, including the retention of library usage records

Covering circulation and Internet use records, along with the role of the library as employer, this guide is librarians’ first line of defense of the First Amendment.

A quick, easy-to-read synthesis of theory, guidelines, and evidence-based research, this book offers timely, practical guidance for library and information professionals who must navigate ethical crises in information privacy and stay on top of emerging privacy trends. Emerging technologies create new concerns about information privacy within library and information organizations, and many information professionals lack guidance on how to navigate the ethical crises that emerge when information privacy and library policy clash. What should we do when a patron leaves something behind? How do we justify filtering internet access while respecting accessibility and privacy? How do we balance new technologies that provide anonymity with the library's need to prevent the illegal use of their facilities? Library Patrons' Privacy presents clear, conversational, evidence-based guidance on how to navigate these ethical questions in information privacy. Ideas from professional organizations, government entities, scholarly publications, and personal experiences are synthesized into an approachable guide for librarians at all stages of their career. This guide, designed by three experienced LIS scholars and professionals, is a quick and enjoyable read that students and professionals of all levels of technical knowledge and skill will find useful and applicable to their libraries.

Protect patron privacy and safeguard Internet usage using this how-to manual for creating a secure environment in your library. You'll learn how simple changes to your policies, procedures, and computer settings can ensure a private and safe research space for users. In a world where almost anyone with computer savvy can hack, track, and record the online activities of others, your library can serve as a protected haven for your visitors who rely on the Internet to conduct research—if you take the necessary steps to safeguard their privacy. This book shows you how to protect patrons' privacy while using the technology that your library provides, including public computers, Internet access, wireless networks, and other devices. Logically organized into two major sections, the first part of the book discusses why the privacy of your users is of paramount importance, explains the applicable laws and regulations related to patron privacy, and delves into the mechanics of security breaches on public computers. The second half outlines the practical steps you can take to preserve the rights of library visitors by working with computer and mobile device configurations, network security settings, and special applications.

Written by a well-known intellectual freedom advocate, this book is a one-stop source for school librarians on intellectual freedom and privacy issues that blends principles with best practices. In order to sort out fact from fiction and become effective, critically thinking adults in a global society, children need access to diverse points of view from authoritative sources in their school libraries. This book provides school librarians with easy-to-read guidance on specific aspects of intellectual freedom and privacy, explaining how the core values of the library profession translate into everyday practice. The readings supply current information and targeted, practical advice on a broad range of topics, including privacy and confidentiality in the context of a school library; working with homeless students, English language learners, and other special needs students; challenges to school library materials; filtering issues; and advocacy for intellectual freedom. Each of the nine chapters begins with an introductory essay examining the topic and concludes with a "key ideas" summary; a list of annotated resources to lead the reader to more information on the individual column topics; and discussion questions. The volume's appendices include the text of the ALA Library Bill of Rights and the Code of Ethics as well as an annotated list of pro-First Amendment and privacy protecting organizations with contact information.