[WEB4LIB] Re: Privacy, the USA Patriot Act,electronic fingerprinting to replace library cards etc.

[Karen Harker]

I think we (librarians and IT people in libraries) may have a false
sense of security regarding our library circulation systems (aka ILS
(Integrated Library Systems)).  Connections are maintained in all
systems while the item is checked out.  We really don't have a pragmatic
solution to this, given we need to maintain our collection.  But
remember, backup tapes are maintained, sometimes for beyond 30 days,
which can be requested (or demanded) by authorities.
 
And people are getting better at recovering tapes that have been
overwritten, "cleared", etc.  Our systems are vulnerable to the
authorities. Whether we should change our procedures and systems for
this protection and open ourselves to risks (such as systems crashing
with no backup) is a something that I have not seen debated much.
 
And then there are other systems that record usage, sometimes even more
personal info than our ILS. What about those Internet usage logs? A
person who signs in to use a computer can be (theoretically) traced to
what sites he/she visited, by matching ISP logs with the times the user
was at that computer.  
 
Privacy is a major concern for librarians, and I am quite proud of the
debate and discussion that does occur, as well as the efforts that my
peers take to protect our clients.  I just don't want us to feel
satisfied with our ILS simply because it breaks the link at a certain
point in time.
 
 
 
Karen R. Harker, MLS
UT Southwestern Medical Library
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Dallas, TX  75390-9049
214-648-1698
http://www.swmed.edu/library/ 

>>> Dan Lester <dan at riverofdata.com> 7/30/02 8:51:27 AM >>>
Being brave or foolish, I don't care if he's who he says he is.

Tuesday, July 30, 2002, 4:21:31 AM, you wrote:

<snip>
RP> What is the current situation, for instance, with regard to
library
RP> automation systems: are they encouraging the use of new
technological
RP> methods that might cause privacy concerns (maintenance of records
on
RP> reading habits/ electronic fingerprinting techniques etc.), or are
they
RP> being designed to automatically erase records. Is this good or
bad?

Any library circulation system I've heard of breaks the link between
borrower and item as soon as the item is returned and any
delinquencies (fines, etc.) cleared up.  Of course one could be
designed differently, and some added information might be gleaned from
backup tapes for some period of time.  The online systems have
actually increased privacy, as in "the olden days" your name that you
signed on the card in the book pocket stayed there for a long time.

RP> Are there issues also with regard to the tracking of usage of
online
RP> databases like Dialog/Lexis-Nexis etc.? What issues?

Well, if you log into them individually, sure.  However, in most
libraries the user doesn't log in to the system, so you can't easily
tell who did the search on making pipe bombs.  Again, such would/could
be possible if you had video surveillance and so forth on all your
computers.

RP> Other issues?

Not enough yet?

RP> I welcome comments for anyone with views and/or personal experience
of
RP> this. I am happy for any comments to be on or off the record (so
long as
RP> I know who has contacted me),

I don't do off the record.  Anything I say is always public and I'll
always stand behind it.  Anyone who does otherwise is dreaming, as
"secrets" and "off the record" and "for your eyes only" always come
back to bite you.

cheers

dan



-- 
Dan Lester, Data Wrangler  dan at RiverOfData.com 208-283-7711
3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho  83716-7115 USA
www.riverofdata.com  www.gailndan.com  Stop Global Whining!






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