What Every Librarian Should Know about Electronic Privacy [Paperback]

Library computer users are often novices and may not be aware that even seemingly innocuous information supplied to Web sites can be mined by government agencies, unscrupulous businesses, and criminals. Even the donated computers that libraries accept and pass on to otherwcan reveal confidential information like social security numbers. The recent discovery that online service providers have been supplying vast quantities of data to government agencies without the public's knowledge dramatically brought this threat to light. This book will help you, as a librarian, understand the threats and pitfalls of electronic privacy and develop a solid plan to protect the privacy of your patrons.Jeannette Woodward, a former Library Director of the Fremont County Library System in Lander, Wyoming, and academic librarian, is Principal and Consultant for Wind River Nonprofit & Library Consulting. She is author of several professional books, including,Nonprofit Essentials: Managing Technology(2006).

This book addresses many forms of privacy invasion and the parties who are responsible for them. It includes an index and glossary of terms and acronyms. . . . No treatment of electronic privacy would be complete without a study of government privacy intrusions; Woodward provides a critical analysis of the U.S. government's track record on privacy invasion, noting how the government's overdependence on technology has led to inefficient and inadequate law enforcement. . . . Every library should have a copy of this book. It is an excellent guide to the kinds of privacy intrusion that libraries and those who frequent them experience and how to avoid them. College & Research Libraries

Jeannette Woodward outlines the chief threats and explains why it's the library's responsibility to protect its users. She also provides a step-by-step approach to formulating a policy and making computers more secure. . . . The idea that it's part of our mission to save peopl£,