Abstract
Librarians have a professional responsibility to protect the right to access information free from surveillance. This right is at risk from a new and increasing threat: the collection and use of non-personally identifying information such as IP addresses through online behavioral tracking. This paper provides an overview of behavioral tracking, identifying the risks and benefits, describes the mechanisms used to track this information, and offers strategies that can be used to identify and limit behavioral tracking. We argue that this knowledge is critical for librarians in two interconnected ways. First, librarians should be evaluating recommended websites with respect to behavioral tracking practices to help protect patron privacy; second, they should be providing digital literacy education about behavioral tracking to empower patrons to protect their own privacy online.
Highlights
The American Library Association Code of Ethics (2008) states that “we protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted,” while the Canadian Library Association Code of Ethics (1976) states that members have responsibility to “protect the privacy and dignity of library users and staff.”. This translates to a core professional commitment: according to the American Library Association (2014, under “Why Libraries?”), “librarians feel a professional responsibility to protect the right to search for information free from surveillance.”
Many concerns about online privacy relate to the collection, use, and sharing of personally identifiable information, there is increasing awareness of the risks associated with the collection and use of what has been termed ‘non-‐personally identifiable information’
We argue that librarians have a dual professional responsibility with respect to this issue: first, librarians should be aware of the surveillance practices of the websites they recommend to patrons and take these practices into account in making website recommendations; second, digital literacy initiatives spearheaded by librarians include a focus on online privacy, and provide patrons with the information they need to manage their own online privacy
Summary
The American Library Association Code of Ethics (2008) states that “we protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted,” while the Canadian Library Association Code of Ethics (1976) states that members have responsibility to “protect the privacy and dignity of library users and staff.” This translates to a core professional commitment: according to the American Library Association (2014, under “Why Libraries?”), “librarians feel a professional responsibility to protect the right to search for information free from surveillance.”. Information searches are conducted online, and as a result librarians should be paying specific attention to online surveillance in their efforts to satisfy their privacy-‐related professional responsibility This is important given the current environment of significant and increasing threat to privacy in the online context. Many concerns about online privacy relate to the collection, use, and sharing of personally identifiable information, there is increasing awareness of the risks associated with the collection and use of what has been termed ‘non-‐personally identifiable information’
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