Library Privacy Policies

Protecting patron privacy in an increasingly distributed online environment is a complex challenge facing libraries. Still, publicly posted patron privacy policies can empower patrons, allow librarians to share their professional values, and help support sound library operations in the event of information disclosure requests. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 6), “Library Privacy Policies,” shares results from an analysis of publicly posted privacy policies from one hundred academic and public libraries across the United States. Details on data types, why data is collected, how data is used and protected, and how data may be released are shared. Just as importantly, nuances in how policy text is phrased reveals a richness and emphasizes the adage that “It’s not always what you say, but how you say it.”