Thursday, March 20, 2008

Introduction to Information Policy Blog Session

Information policy is an organization’s set of criteria for what information will be shared willingly with the public, what will remain hidden, and how detailed the information they are willing to divulge will be. Such policies may be formed by laws (The First Amendment, Freedom of Information Act, PATRIOT Act), but are also often a set of policies created by an organization or government. Information Policy is created at every level of government and also by groups that disseminate information such as libraries. Information policy can be used to disclose or hide safety information (toxins in a product) or security information (military details).

For us as future librarians, the federal government’s policies will affect not only what information is available to us and thus our patrons, but also what sort of records we may have to divulge to proper authorities. Our libraries may also have policies as to what information they block from our patrons. We would like the government to divulge as much information as possible so that our patrons can make informed decisions, we also want to protect our patrons from being targeted for what materials they look up. Our goal is to provide information while maintaining individual privacy.

ALA’s Policy on Info Policy

The ALA lists “Government Information” on their “Issues and Advocacy web page, so it is clear the ALA believes this to be a major issue:

“ALA supports equal, ready and equitable access to information collected, compiled, produced, funded and/or disseminated by the government of the United States. ALA also supports the protection of individual privacy in information collected, compiled, produced, funded and/or disseminated by the government of the United States, and the right of individuals to gain anonymous access to government information.”

The ALA website has a few websites and even a round table devoted to this topic, I have linked some of the relevant pages below. You can see the ALA policy handbook here.

From the policy manual:

52.4.1 The Rights of Library Users and the

USA Patriot Act

The American Library Association opposes anyuse

of governmental power to suppress the free and open

exchange of knowledge and information or to intimidate

individuals exercising free inquiry. All librarians,

library administrators, library governing bodies,

and library advocates are encouraged to educate their

users, staff, and communities about the process for

compliance with theUSAPatriot Actandotherrelated

measures and about the dangers to individual privacy

and the confidentiality of library records resulting

from those measures. (See “Current Reference File”:

The USA Patriot Act and Related Measures That Infringe

on the Rights of Library Users: 2002–2003CD

#20.1.)


52.4.4 Retention of Library Records

ALA urges all libraries to (a) limit the degree to

whichpersonallyidentifiableinformationiscollected,

monitored, disclosed, and distributed; (b) avoid creating

unnecessary records; (c) limit access to personally

identifiable information to staff performing authorized

functions; (d) dispose of library usage

records containing personally identifiable information

unless they are needed for the efficientandlawful

operation of the library…




Links


ALA Key Principles of Public Information

http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/woissues/governmentinfo/keyprins.cfm

ALA Policy Manual

http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governingdocs/policymanual/policymanual.htm

Open Government: Access, Issues, Legislation http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/woissues/governmentinfo/opengov/opengov.cfm

Office for Information Technology Policy http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/oitp/oitpofficeinformation.cfm


Questions for consideration during Information Policy Blog Week:

1) How much personal information should our libraries keep on our patrons? How far do you think we should go to protect their privacy?

2) Information Policy is flexible, depending on who is in office or what party is in power in the federal government. Would you support rules or laws designed to moderate change in information policy?

3) How has the Patriot Act affected us as librarians?

4) How do you think the internet has affected the way people try to find government information? Do you think that makes them more informed or less? Think of examples from the Paul T Jaeger article we read for class.

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7 comments:

Jen Roby said...

I have just read an article about how the ALA did not support one librarian when she refused to cooperate with a court trial against some individuals who were questioned about terrorist activities and happened to use her library. She was put in jail because of her decision to stand up for her profession’s ethics. She also was turned down from gaining future employment in libraries afterward.

I know there must be stories out there that illustrate the ALA’s support of their librarians. If librarians are expected to uphold the ALA’s code of ethics and policies, it seems natural that the same organization would support their librarians when they decide to actually stand up for intellectual freedom and basically the very essence of what libraries are suppose to represent. I was very disappointed when I read about the ALA’s decision not to come to her aide.

I agree with you that all libraries should “educate their users, staff and communities about the compliance with the USA Patriot Act and other related measures and about the dangers to individual privacy and the confidentiality of library records resulting from those measures.” It is the only way to approach the Patriot Act and its effects on libraries everywhere. Knowledge is power, right? How else could we react but to educate our users and ourselves with every aspect of 52.4.1 “The Rights of Library Users and the USA Patriot Act?” Who was it that said, “The best government is the one which governs less?”

March 23, 2008 at 5:38 PM
Anne J said...

Perhaps libraries should post their policies out front and clearly, and include the Patriot Act and how that may affect patrons. Information is education but people often do not like to read the fine print! Patrons should understand that they should not expect privacy under the Patriot Act. In Article III of the Professional Code of Ethics, the ALA states we are to "protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought, borrowed, aquired, or transmitted". Yet in the ALA's Guidelines for the Development of Policies and Procedures Regarding User Behavior and Library Usage, "Libraries are advised to rely upon existing legislation and law enforcement mechanisms as the primary means of controlling behavior that involves public safety, criminal behavior, or other issues covered by existing local, state, or federal statutes." This tells me that, if tested, libraries must uphold the law before the patron's right to any and all information. With library policies and the Patriot Act in full view of all patrons, the responsibility of patrons to also uphold the laws falls in their laps i.e.child pornography, planning terrorist acts,etc. Did those patrons read the library policies and their rights under the Patriot Act?
References:
Code of Ethics, American Library Association. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
Http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.htm.

Guidelines for the Development of Policies and Procedures Regarding User Behavior ad Library Usage, American Library Association. Retrieved on March24,2008. Http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/otherpolicies/guidelinesdevelopmentuserbehavior.pdf.

March 24, 2008 at 9:22 AM
Xanthe said...

Allison, when you say that "Our libraries may also have policies as to what information they block from our patrons," are you referring to things like internet filtering and pulling books from the shelves? Because from the way you phrased it, I'm imagining that there is some secret library handbook somewhere containing what patrons should never learn about what goes on behind the shelves. But now that I think about, filtering and selection make more sense.

I ran across a real-world example of the issues that we've been discussing in class today on a Livejournal group: Access and Privacy. It makes me glad that we're covering these topics in this class so that we can be prepared for these kinds of situations and to better interpret our libraries' policies.

March 25, 2008 at 1:28 PM
Unknown said...

I think that the best policy for protecting patron information is possibly what ALA suggests, that being to create as few records with identifiable information as possible. I feel this is both a service to patrons as well as a way to avoid circumstances where law enforcment ask for information. After all, if it doesn't exist, it can't be handed over.

This may sound simple, but I have seen varying degrees of privacy protection in the libraries I have worked. For example, Ann Arbor District library branches shelves their holds on the public floor. While the spine of the book is turned toward the inside of the shelf, a last name and first initial is still on the book. Anyone walking by who sees a familiar name could take the book off the shelf to see what their friend, neighbor, or employee is reading. In my mind this is a violation of the Michigan Privacy Act, which we spoke about in class, but this large city library makes this identifiable information available anyway.

Another issue is library computer systems that require a library card to be swiped before a patron can use the computer. While I am unsure how easily tracable this information would be, this definitly links a patron name to a specific computer at a specific time. Having records like this only makes it more desirable for law inforcement under the Patriot Act to seek the information in the first place.

Slightly off of what Ann said, I do think one big responsibility of a library is to inform patrons of policies and the reason that they are in place. I have worked at circulation in the past and I can't tell you how many times patrons have complained because I required them to show picture ID if they did not have their library card with them. They found it hard to believe that my asking for it was in compliance with a law. There have also been situations where my fellow part-time circ workers have let people get away without proper identification because they didn't see what the big deal was. Having a clearly posted policy would be both beneficial in educating the public on privacy issues and enforcing privacy policy proceedures.

March 25, 2008 at 4:46 PM
Nicole P. said...

Information policy is such a tough area to sort out. The worst part is that our society contains entities that make it imperative to come up with rules and procedures for dealing with controversial topics. It seems for a library and its subsequent librarians, the safest bet is to make sure clear privacy policies have been enacted, are followed by everyone, and are readily available for patrons to assess. If everyone is informed, it is less likely someone will have to take the blame without realizing they had done something wrong in the first place. If libraries only keep information on patrons that is essential, there isn't anything to hand over in the end. This saves the librarians. If patrons are aware of their rights to privacy and under which circumstances their information may be obtained, they can proceed accordingly.
I tend to think of libraries idealistically, so reading about such topics is helpful in keeping myself grounded. The reality is, people use information for evil. The best way to beat this is to be prepared. However much that empowers Big Brother.

March 25, 2008 at 8:35 PM
Robin Lang said...

I agree with you Nicole that information policy is a tough area. There is so many different rules and regulations. It makes me remember that saying " damned if you do, damned if you don't" (excuse my language). For instance with showing the picture IDs, why would you be upset if circ asked to see your ID in the absence of a library card. The director at my library once said, treat your library card like your credit card. You wouldn't let someone borrow your credit card so why your library card. Anybody could walk up, say they were John Smith, and check out books on bomb making, drugs, porn, whatever. If something happens and authorities gain access to the records, who's every card that was, will be held responsible. At BTPL, patrons are given a copy of the patriot act as part of their wecome packet when they sign up for a library card. They even sign an agreement, saying their were given a copy.

I think the library should only keep what is absolutely necessary on patrons. Name, address, phone number, email. If librarians need to keep any other information for progam sign up, that info should be shredded when its done.

My library (btpl) actually does what Ann Arbor library does. Have self-serving shelfs. The spines of the books are covered up with only the last name and first intials showing. I never thought of it as a privacy issue. I thought of it as the quickest way for patrons to come in, get their items and go.

March 27, 2008 at 9:21 AM
Anonymous said...

I found an interesting article by David H. Price; anthropologist at St. Martin’s College about librarians and the Patriotic Act.
“The FBI is back in our libraries, and librarians and their professional associations are doing nothing to directly obstruct their access to private records of what we read…
We may be entering an age where we will view librarians as the equivalent of FBI extension agents, serving at the beck and call of John Ashcroft and other intellectual descendants of J. Edgar Hoover…
Whimpering about FBI intrusions is not enough, if librarians want patrons' trust they need to evolve ethical backbones that will support them in protecting what has been an assumed trust between patrons and libraries-if they cannot do this, then they should resign their posts and find (better paying from my understanding) work as records administrators or librarians within the NSA, FBI, CIA or local police agencies.”

David H. Price. Prostrate to the Patriotic Act: Librarians as FBI Extension Agents
Retrieved March 27,2008 from http://www.counterpunch.com/price03062003.html

March 27, 2008 at 9:19 PM

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