From: Ann Shumelda Okerson <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2015 21:05:51 -0500

Bernie -- We are at last hearing growing numbers of privacy
discussions in various library venues and forums. In at least its two
most recent meetings, CNI has had presentations on privacy, and the
most recent session is on my "to listen" list:

*******

Swords, Dragons, and Spells: Libraries and User Privacy, a project
briefing presented at CNI's December 2014 member meeting, explored
these conflicting privacy challenges and surveyed the real-world data
environments that libraries are working in. Panelists were Peter
Brantley (NYPL), Marshall Breeding (consultant), Eric Hellman
(Glejar), and Gary Price (infoDOCKET.com).

Video of the presentation is now available online:
YouTube: http://youtu.be/KQeK0rCQpmo
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/114594592

*******

Last November, the Charleston conference featured a well attended
session, "Privacy in the Digital Age," with some very helpful
presentations, particularly regarding strategic thinking in this area:

http://2014charlestonconference.sched.org/event/ddd2829e1f1278192f5e96b32b263d21#.VO0rOMaDlXA

At the same conference, Bill Hannay (Schiff, Hardin, Chicago) in a
plenary session spoke about privacy and the EU legislation (The Right
to be Forgotten) and the comparatively less attention this matter gets
in the US.

Gary Price (InfoDocket) is passionate about this topic and you'll find
privacy items in his LJ columns.

At the Fiesole Retreat (Berlin, May 2015), the closing session will
feature among others, Pam Dixon, who heads the World Privacy Forum.
Pam's work is worth seeking out; it has been covered in the New York
Times, for example.

I realize this message is a bit "catch as catch can" and not as
systematic as Lisa's or Eric's, or as the topic may deserve.  And we
know that few of us can get to any one of these meetings, let alone
several.  Fortunately, a number of the conference presentations are
posted online, which is a boon for those who can take the time.

All best, Ann Okerson

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bernie Reilly <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2015 18:17:59 +0000

My intent in referencing the Politico article was to the broach the
topic of user information in the educational and scholarly publishing
realm.  Factual errors about who owns what notwithstanding, it seems
to me that the collection and use of information about student and
faculty research by large commercial entities like Pearson represents
a turning point.  The Politico report suggests to me that Pearson is
using its integration of online learning, course management, training,
testing, and publishing platforms, to aggregate -- and monetize --
information about those in academia.  While federal regulations
strictly limit what Pearson can do with data on K-12 students, there
are few restrictions on what they can do with information they gather
post-secondary users.

I wonder about the potential impact of this on libraries in
particular.  Traditionally, libraries have erected robust firewalls
around circulation data, data about who reads and uses what.  With the
advent of electronic materials ("E-books: the books that read you.")
granular usage data can now be gathered by publishers.  While these
data are in most instances anonymized, the practice encroaches upon
the absolute privacy that researchers once had.  Given the degree to
which information industry business models depend on monetizing user
data, I doubt that this reality is likely to change, even with
government regulations.

Debate about this may well be raging somewhere out there in the
research libraries world.  If so, I would be grateful if any of my
fellow Liblicense readers could direct me to that venue.

Bernie Reilly
CRL