Libraries and Intellectual Freedom: Protecting Individual Privacy

                                                               Joseph Mhanna

       LIS 6010 Blog Assignment

 

            The issue of intellectual freedom has been a matter of debate for several decades. The American Library Association defines intellectual freedom as “the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored.” This is an essential human right in order to have a decision based on knowledge.

            Democracy is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as “a system of government in which all the people of a state or polity (or, esp. formerly, a subset of them meeting particular conditions) are involved in making decisions about its affairs, typically by voting to elect representatives to a parliament or similar assembly.” The ALA considers intellectual freedom as the basis for a democratic system and expect people to be self-governors. But to achieve this responsibility, the citizens must be well-informed. Therefore an educated population is a fundamental element of democracy. Libraries are major places representing intellectual freedom and they have always opposed any kind of censorship. Librarians strive to provide balanced collections to present both sides of an issue. Brey (2002) posited “there are many things in any library collection that are sure to offend someone, because we represent the points of view of all the people” (p. 30). In this context, intellectual freedom upholds democracy. It provides people the ability to access needed information to make a decision based on knowledge and information. Brey (2002) explained “as librarians, we must never forget the basic tenets of our profession. We are places of democracy, of opportunity for the diverse communities that we serve” (p. 31).

Our privacy is under attack from various sources; governments have been keeping surveillance through various medium such as wire recordings, data mining and mail interceptions. Moreover, the technological advancement has made it possible for governments to expand the scope of surveillance. The big problem is that not only are governments monitoring our lives but our privacy is exposed to hackers who can unveil sensitive materials and information, invade a credit card account and many other private issues.

One of the core values of librarianship is intellectual freedom and privacy is an essential part in exercising intellectual freedom. “The American Library Association affirms that rights of privacy are necessary for intellectual freedom and are fundamental to the ethics and practice of librarianship.” Libraries have always defended and respected the privacy of their users. Lack of privacy prevents users from seeking information and exploring new ideas because they are afraid of being monitored and being faced by criminal charges or ostracism based on their access to information that are considered a threat to national security. Reading books on terrorism or how to make a bomb does not necessarily mean that the reader is a terrorist. It is critical for societies to have innovation and this process relies on people accessing information to explore new ideas, retrieve and criticize old ones, and formulate new conclusions. The ALA states that “lack of privacy and confidentiality chills users' choices, thereby suppressing access to ideas. The possibility of surveillance, whether direct or through access to records of speech, research and exploration, undermines a democratic society.”

With the technological advances and increased numbers of electronic publications, access to the Internet became an essential resource in libraries. Similarly, issues of privacy and confidentiality are becoming more complex and critical for library users. The question is how libraries can protect the privacy of the patrons. Every library should have in place privacy policies to govern the revelation of patrons’ use of information. Moreover, libraries should continuously plan to train staff and educate patrons about the status of their privacy rights and necessary activities that could help in protecting those rights. The increased use of electronic information raised more concerns with respect to privacy; libraries are using the service of third-party vendors to supply electronic content to patrons. The problem is that vendors are capable of tracking patrons’ data while using digital devices and accessing e-content. Chmara (2012) explains that “based on research conducted by various digital organizations, it appears that the third-party vendors have the capability to track patron data and use of information on digital devices” (p. 64). Libraries should extend the protection of library use to electronic resources. The author also states that “contractual provisions governing use of electronic reading devices by library patrons should ensure that the patron’s browsing of reading materials, download of reading materials, and reading habits will note be divulged to any other parties without the specific permission of the individual user” (p. 65). However, the feasibility of such contracts remains questionable. On a different level, less complex procedures to limit privacy violations in libraries include elimination of sign in sheets, avoid using smart ID for circulating records and providing private workstation with no monitoring.

            As a general overview of the intellectual freedom in Lebanon, the Lebanese Library Association (LLA) sets the professional standards and ethical codes and ensures their implementation. However, there are no written policies addressing the notion of intellectual freedom. Therefore, the presence of an interdisciplinary collection meeting the different needs of all users is not feasible in Lebanese public libraries; there are many factors that come to play in determining the type of collection such as political views, religious views, and location of the library. It is rare, for example, to find a book about GLBT and erotic literature in public libraries.

Things are different in academic libraries. Inspired by the values and beliefs of the ALA, academic libraries are active in protecting individual privacy and advocating intellectual freedom. In major academic libraries users can find a book about almost any topic. Even banned books are usually available as “closed circulation” materials where users can use them within the library building. Privacy is respected by all means such as providing individual workstations with no monitoring, retaining the confidentiality of borrowers’ records and signing license agreements to prevent users’ browsing history and use of electronic materials from being divulged by third-party vendors. Universities have been working hard to meet different users’ needs because they believe that students are the future of the nation. It is the role of the LLA to set clear rules and practices to foster intellectual freedom in all type of Lebanese libraries.

Intellectual freedom is fundamental for a democratic system. Innovation is another aspect of intellectual freedom in its relationship with democracy. Exploring information, new thoughts and ideas leads to innovation in all fields. However, this objective cannot be achieved without the respect of individual privacy. Libraries have always been pioneers in defending individual privacy. With the technological evolution, privacy has been more exposed. Thus, it is more important now than even before for librarians to fight for their patrons’ privacy. There are many things that could be done, yet education and public awareness are fundamental. While ALA is continuously fighting for intellectual freedom, the question is what more can be done to protect our privacy.

  

References:

Brey, C. A. (2002). Libraries as places of democracy. Texas Library Journal, 78(1), 30-33.

Chmara, T. (2012). Privacy and E-Books. Knowledge Quest, 40(3), 62-65.

Privacy and Confidentiality: Library Core Values. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacyconfidentiality/toolkitsprivacy/privacy-and-confidentiality-library-core-values

Questions and Answers on Privacy and Confidentiality. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/qa-privacy

 Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://www.llaweb.org/aboutus/mission.php