Justine Withers, Kim Hill, and Adam Chandler at ALA Annual 2024

Patron Privacy and Enhanced Research

June 30, 2024

Panelists at “Identity and Authentication: Enhancing the Research Experience with Responsible Use of Patron Data,” moderated by Justine Withers, electronic resources librarian at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, addressed these and other questions around privacy policies in the academic library. The panel took place on Saturday, June 30, at the American Library Association’s … Continue reading Patron Privacy and Enhanced Research


Headshot of Mel Baldwin

Prioritizing Trans Privacy

June 3, 2024

With nearly 400 active anti-trans bills pending in state legislatures as of April 2024, it is a dangerous time in the US to be gender nonconforming, someone whose gender expression does not align with the traditional male or female binary. And for trans people of color, studies show the risk of discrimination and violence is … Continue reading Prioritizing Trans Privacy


Dulcé Sloan speaks on stage during the closing session for the 2024 Public Library Association Conference on April 5 in Columbus, Ohio.

Protect Yourself

April 8, 2024

“I have a copy of the Magic School Bus that I might have checked out in 1991 from the library in Sandy Springs,” Sloan said. “It’s somewhere in my mom’s house. If you want to go to Stone Mountain, maybe you can find it. I think I have the fine in my purse if you … Continue reading Protect Yourself


Glen J. Benedict (right), access services librarian at the University of the District of Colombia in Washington D.C. and Mel Baldwin, adult services librarian at Granville County (N.C.) Library System, present “Upholding Trans Patron Privacy & Information Access” January 21 at the 2024 LibLearnX Conference in Baltimore.

Protecting Trans Patrons

January 21, 2024

This is one of the scenarios library workers were asked to ponder during “Upholding Trans Patron Privacy and Information Access,” presented January 21 at the American Library Association’s 2024 LibLearnX conference in Baltimore. Privacy is “not just a service aspect,” said Glen J. Benedict, access services librarian at the University of the District of Colombia … Continue reading Protecting Trans Patrons


Dispatches, by Marshall Breeding

A Model for Privacy?

March 1, 2022

In general, there are four approaches that libraries can take in relation to patron privacy. As library leaders consider implementing new tools for improving user outreach, they need to consider which model best suits their mission and strategic initiatives: Strict privacy. At one end of the spectrum, the library configures its integrated library system (ILS) … Continue reading A Model for Privacy?


Man in plaid shirt, back to camera, films library patron with a cellphone

Uptick in First Amendment Audits

January 3, 2022

“My heart sank,” Ryan says. She had learned about these encounters in 2020 and knew what they entailed. In First Amendment audits, individuals arm themselves with video cameras, proclaim themselves “auditors,” and enter public buildings, like police precincts and libraries, to record alleged Constitutional violations. “I know what these people do, so when I heard … Continue reading Uptick in First Amendment Audits


Man in plaid shirt, back to camera, films library patron with a cellphone

Uptick in First Amendment Audits

August 26, 2021

“My heart sank,” Ryan says. She had learned about these encounters in 2020 and knew what they entailed. In First Amendment audits, individuals arm themselves with video cameras, proclaim themselves “auditors,” and enter public buildings, like police precincts and libraries, to record alleged violations. “I know what these people do, so when I heard it … Continue reading Uptick in First Amendment Audits


ACRL 2021 Opening Session speaker Tressie McMillan Cottom

Ascending into an Open Future

April 14, 2021

Cottom, associate professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Science, spoke about how these discussions inform the courses she teaches as well as her current thinking about the role of the academic library. One course, “Networks of Racial Capitalism,” examines the effects of information capitalism and structural inequality. … Continue reading Ascending into an Open Future



Teen participants in Boston Public Library’s “Drag vs. AI” program test their makeup and props against facial recognition software. (Photo: Kathy Pham/American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts)

Dragging AI

September 1, 2020

In November 2019, Boston Public Library’s (BPL) Teen Central hosted a digital privacy instruction workshop for teens that centered on facial recognition technology. Titled “Drag vs. AI,” the workshop partnered BPL with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLU-MA) and Joy “Poet of Code” Buolamwini, artificial intelligence (AI) scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology … Continue reading Dragging AI