Technology and privacy in the academic library
Abstract
Adoption of technology in academic libraries sets up circumstances for collection of personal patron information and records of patron information seeking behaviour not possible in the pre‐digital library. Even if collected unintentionally, this information may then be seized by law enforcement officials for criminal investigations. Passage of the USA PATRIOT Act has lowered the standards for obtaining search warrants that had previously been set by American legal precedent. This article describes potential situations where patron privacy can be endangered by the presence of information technology and how librarians can protect patron information and prepare patrons for safe information seeking in the online world.
Keywords
Citation
Fifarek, A. (2002), "Technology and privacy in the academic library", Online Information Review, Vol. 26 No. 6, pp. 366-374. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520210452691
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited