Patron Privacy Protections in Public Libraries: IT Professionals’ Points of View

Chieh-Li Chin; Tian Wang; Erh-Hsuan Wang; Masooda Bashir

doi:10.5860/jifp.v8i3.7965

Patron Privacy Protections in Public Libraries: IT Professionals’ Points of View

Chieh-Li Chin, Tian Wang, Erh-Hsuan Wang, Masooda Bashir

Abstract

Public libraries serve as crucial resources for the public to access information, with the safeguarding of patrons’ privacy being a longstanding and essential mission. This study builds on a previous survey that delved into the perspectives of public librarians and administrators on patron privacy protection. Our specific goal in this study was to identify the practices employed by Information Technology (IT) professionals and the challenges they face in safeguarding patrons’ privacy within public libraries. Conducting a comprehensive focus group study involving 33 IT professionals across 10 sessions, we sought to gain insights into their experiences and perspectives on protecting patrons’ privacy. Our findings reveal that IT professionals express concerns about patrons’ lack of awareness regarding the significance of privacy protection, placing staff in the challenging position of balancing convenient customer service with the imperative to protect patron privacy. Moreover, a notable challenge faced by IT professionals in libraries is the lack of training and technical knowledge among library staff to optimize technologies for ensuring patrons’ privacy. The study also highlights IT professionals’ reservations about the collection of patrons’ data by libraries or vendors, prompting a desire for a deeper understanding of both technical and nontechnical measures to enhance privacy protection. While our research sheds light on the concerns and practices of library IT professionals, we believe the insights gained can provide library administrators and policymakers to gauge the critical role of technology in privacy protection. By understanding these challenges, policymakers can modify and implement policies and practices to effectively enhance the protection of patrons’ privacy in public libraries.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5860/jifp.v8i3.7965

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