The tension between caring surveillance and controlling surveillance in the public library

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis visual presentation will take the format of a poster, displaying the preliminary results of a study into acceptable use policies (AUPs) in UK public libraries. This study seeks to understand how surveillance is used in the public library and if surveillance is used in a caring or controlling way. This research used discourse analysis to analyse the content of 200 acceptable use policies in the UK. Results indicate that libraries use both caring and controlling surveillance, with more instances of controlling surveillance being found, and that there appears to be tension between the usage of caring and controlling surveillance in public libraries in the UK.