Category: Technology
The Urge to Censor, Or: “Everything You Think Is True”
One librarian’s reflections on diversity of opinion as it fits within our understanding of intellectual freedom and information literacy.
Facial Recognition Surveillance at the Library?
It would feel strange if a library started taking fingerprints of patrons who entered and exited just for the purpose of matching them against a state or federal database containing fingerprints of criminals.
Privacy v. Personalized Services in Libraries
Society has evolved to expect personalized recommendations from providers like Amazon and Netflix. (Who doesn’t love the suggestions for what to read or watch next, right?) I think most of us have even gotten used to seeing personalized advertising in our Facebook feeds or Google ads. However, a Library Journal article on OCLC Wise points out that this level of personalization requires data collection. Data collection by libraries can risk compromising patron privacy.
Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Library, and The New York Public Library Join Forces for New Digital Privacy Initiative
New York City’s three library systems and the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) are hard at work on a new initiative to bring resources covering digital privacy and data security to the City’s frontline public library staff.
The Blockchain: What It Is and How It Can Benefit Libraries (Part Two)
By: guest blogger Shawn Demerjian. Part two on blockchains. We take a closer look at these (along with some important additions), briefly talk about the different types of blockchains that exist (yes, there is more than one blockchain), and discuss some of the issues and limitations.
Net Neutrality Represents Ongoing Debate about Affordable Broadband in America
The main premise of “Net Neutrality: An Intellectual Freedom Issue” is that intellectual freedom and the full functioning of libraries in America will be impeded by allowing internet service providers (ISPs) to throttle content in pursuit of their financial and customer service interests. I have to admit that the two ideas seemed unrelated to me. Is the premise really true? How exactly does net neutrality relate to public libraries and their provision of internet access?
The Blockchain: What It Is and How It Can Benefit Libraries
By: guest blogger Shawn Demerjian. It seems like you can’t walk past a magazine rack these days without hearing about Bitcoin, crypto-currencies, or blockchain. My goal here is to clarify some of these terms, provide a little background history, and explain how this all works.
Censorship, Content Moderation and Social Media
“I want a president” is a famous poem in some circles. It is a sacrosanct work in others, an emblem of an angry generation reeling from the AIDS epidemic, environmental degradation and trickle-down economics. Written by Zoe Leonard in 1992, it describes the desire for a different kind of world than the one she inhabits, and it was partly inspired by Eileen Myles’ write-in campaign for president 1991-1992 election. Myles is herself also an artist and published poet, winning a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2012.
Net Neutrality Update: The FCCs Restoring Internet Freedom Order and the Senate’s Joint Resolution
On January 4, 2017, the FCC issued an updated Declaratory Ruling of the Restoring Internet Freedom order, finalizing the changes the FCC would like to see done to it’s former Open Internet policy. While we wait to see how internet access might change under, one hurdle to the enactment of these policies might be the U.S. Congress.
Twitter’s “Trump Exception”
According to Twitter’s Rules, “You may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people.” The policy has already been enforced against several high-profile accounts, including the leaders of the far-right Britain First party.