Intellectual Freedom for Library Workers: Privacy & confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality are at the heart of intellectual freedom, and core library values.  Intellectual freedom is the right to decide for yourself what you believe, which requires that you have the freedom to explore all sides of an issue without anyone looking over your shoulder. 

• Privacy is the right to open inquiry without having the subject of one’s interest examined or scrutinized by others
• Confidentiality concerns the protection of the personal information that has been entrusted to the library, including contact information and the record of what library materials have been used

The American Library Association explains why privacy is important:  

"Protecting user privacy and confidentiality has long been an integral part of the intellectual freedom mission of libraries. The right to free inquiry as assured by the First Amendment depends upon the ability to read and access information free from scrutiny by the government or other third parties.  In their provision of services to library users, librarians have an ethical responsibility, expressed in the ALA Code of Ethics, to preserve users' right to privacy.  Librarians and libraries may also have a legal obligation to protect library users' personally identifiable information and data from unauthorized disclosure and use."

These are the kinds of privacy/confidentiality issues that you might encounter in the library:

• A frantic student:  I need to use the Statistics reserve book now before my test!  I think my friend has it checked out.  Can you tell me if she is using it now?
• A professor: One of my students says they’ve been doing the assigned reading, but I don’t believe them. Look at their account and tell me if they have checked out the book
• A concerned mother:  My son is only 16 and I'm paying for his tuition at PCC.  He isn't able to register for classes because of some overdue books.  I need you to tell me what books he has checked out.
• A campus counselor:  I just read an article that says that people who read the book Suicide 101 are at risk of actually attempting suicide.  I need to know which of our students have read this book.  

From the Metropolitan New York Library Council, 6:15 minutes.

Privacy conflicts are tricky!  What should you do when a frantic student, an angry instructor, or even a law enforcement officer with a badge and a gun ask you for information about a library user?

Good news:  you only need to remember one thing.  Only the library director has the authority to disclose personal information stored in library records  This is true even if a law enforcement officer has a warrant for the information.

For all of the examples in the box on the left, your response can be the same:

"I'm sorry, that is confidential information protected by library policy.  I can't share that information."

If the person persists in asking for that information:

"Let me get a library supervisor (or the nearest library staff person) to talk to you."  

Your turn!  What would you say to this angry instructor?  Follow the link for this scenario.