[WEB4LIB] Re: customization is a double-edged sword

[Chris Gray]

Would all the people "in control" of the information have to be MLS
librarians?  Can the FBI get information from doctors' and lawyers'
secretaries and receptionists that they can't get from the doctors and
lawyers?

In the absence of legal protection, I think the big question that Eric asks
is "do our patrons know?"  If patrons are providing libraries with
information that the libraries are in no position to keep private in certain
circumstances, then there would seem to be an urgent need to ensure patron
awareness of this.

On another hand, if you frequent certain establishments and a private
detective follows you and notes your patterns of behavior, is the
information he collects private and privileged?  Perhaps people have to be
made aware that surfing to a Web site is as much a public act as walking
into a store.  The information highway is as public as the interstate.

Chris Gray
Library Systems
University of Waterloo

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib at webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org]On
Behalf Of Mark Gooch
Sent: Friday, October 20, 2000 10:48 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] Re: customization is a double-edged sword

I agree with everything that Eric says, however, while we may conduct
ourselves
in a professional manner which would protect the librarian/patron
relationship
there is no legal protection of it as there is for doctor/patient and
lawyer/client.  If they come knocking with a court order we probably aren't
able
to refuse in the case of the user profiles.  Even if we were able have the
relationship legally covered, are all of the people in positions controlling
such user profile-type information MLS librarians?  If not the legal
coverage
wouldn't apply.  Eric is right, this opens up a can of worms.

Mark

Eric Lease Morgan wrote:

> (This message is cross-posted to web4lib and pacs-l. Apologies.)
>
> Customization is a double-edged sword, and are ready to go into the
jungle?
>
> The primary strength of user-driven, customizable interfaces to library
> resources like MyGateway of University of Washington, My Library of
Virginia
> Commonwealth University and MyLibrary at NCState of the NCSU Libraries is
> customization, but customization is a double-edged sword. On one side it
> allows libraries to provide service beyond the lowest common denominator.
On
> the other side, customization reduces privacy.
>
> We have seen the advantages of customization. We can remove from the
picture
> unwanted sets of information. People can get as much or as little
> information as they desire. We as librarians can tailor our services to
> specific sets of individuals. It makes us more scalable.
>
> The disadvantage is privacy. It is possible to know what individuals are
> using and what individuals are interested in. While, as a profession, we
> regularly purge our circulation records, we can not regularly purge our
> "MyLibrary" profiles. Doing so would defeat the purpose of the entire
> system. What are we going to do when the FBI comes knocking on our door
> asking to see the profile of an individual who is making death threats?
>
> In other words, as we swing our sword one way to blaze a path through the
> jungle of information, are we skilled enough not get cut ourselves as we
> bring the sword back for another pass?
>
> IMHO, the answer lies in advocating, demonstrating, and promoting the idea
> of a librarian/patron relationship similar to the doctor/patient
> relationship in medicine and the lawyer/client relationship in law. While
> we, as a profession, practice this sort of relationship, do our patrons
know
> it? In this world where information is seen as the driving force of our
> economy, maybe such an idea is not so far fetched, and libraries can build
> on its aura of good will to promote it.
>
> --
> Eric Lease Morgan
> NCSU Libraries
> http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/staff/morgan/

--
Mark D. Gooch
Librarian and Technology Consultant
Olin and Chalmers Libraries
Kenyon College
Gambier, Ohio 43022
Voice: (740) 427-5873
FAX: (740) 427-5272
goochm at kenyon.edu