Digital spaces are one of the most important aspects of the modern world. More jobs are moving online in one way or another, even if that just means to stay in touch for work, but as libraries modernize they must adapt to these changes and the difficulties that come with it. My first reflection focused on how libraries should move online in a social sense, but they cannot forget the importance of internet safety.

I learned from a young age you shouldn’t post too many personal details online, nothing that can easily get you tracked or put yourself in danger. That’s why I originally suggested locking a social library site to those with library cards to prevent harassment. Along side this I believe libraries have a duty to protect the data users do provide.

I agree with Anne Ford’s article that quoted the director of the Library Freedom Project as it urged librarians to negotiate with ISPs, educate patrons, and advocate for better legal standards (April 21, 2017). It’s important for us as archives, educations, and community members to protect our communities. Minority groups aren’t always safe and can be targeted if their personal information is leaked, this is a prevalent issue on the internet already. Furthermore it’s important to not simply sell away information even if it’s not putting anyone in danger because people aren’t comfortable with that.

As was noted in Brooke Auxier article, “three-quarters of Americans said they thought there should be more government regulation of what companies can do with their customers’ personal information” (May 4, 2020). There are also reports in the same article people don’t use what they don’t trust to keep them safe, which makes sense. Our communities should be safe and have the anonymity to freely discuss what they want comfortably.

That is all to say I don’t believe libraries should sell off data, instead it should be encrypted, and only used to ensure members aren’t abusing the technology available to them or others in the community. It might be difficult to achieve, but it is our duty to preserve technology and peace. This will only get more difficult with time as more things are logged, but the least libraries can do is not pawn off information people don’t want to share.

References–

Auxier, B. (2020, May 4). How Americans see digital privacy issues amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/05/04/how-americans-see-digital-privacy-issues-amid-the-covid-19-outbreak/

Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. (2016) With October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month [Photograph]. PICRYL. https://picryl.com/media/with-october-as-national-cyber-security-awareness-month-e187ff

Ford, A. (2017, April 21). How to protect patrons’ digital privacy As broadband privacy rules are rolled back, what can libraries do to respond? American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/04/21/protect-patrons-digital-privacy/