AALL 2012

AALL's Ethical Principles include a duty to respect confidentiality and privacy.  AALL's Government Relations Committee promotes USA PATRIOT Act amendments to strengthen library users' privacy.  And AALL's Principles for Licensing include requirements that database vendors protect privacy.  Librarians in general are widely known as leaders in privacy advocacy. 

But can we really protect library users from being tracked individually by database producers, search engines, websites, and mobile reader devices?   And does government access to this collected data undermine our PATRIOT Act advocacy?  Should librarians retire the privacy ethic and instead embrace the content, customization, remote access, cloud efficiencies, collection control, and safety benefits we can now purchase with privacy? 

Do you think librarians should protect the confidentiality of library use?  AALL members are encouraged to vote (Yes/No/Not Sure) before the Annual Meeting in anticipation of Professor Klinefelter's address.  Comments are optional, and you can vote anonymously or not.