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16 • COGNOTES 2015 ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS ISSUE
Forecasting the Climate of Intellectual Privacy
By Rachael Wettenstein, Student to ALA
Two celebrated defenders of civil liberties discussed the current climate of intellectual privacy and surveillance on June 29. Neil Richards, professor of law at Washington University, and David Greene, senior staff attorney and civil Liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, came together at the session, “Principles & Politics: Intellectual Privacy and Surveillance in the Digital Age.”
Richards began by introducing the definition of intellectual privacy: the protection from surveillance or interference when engaged in the processes of generating ideas. He explained how behavior changes when people are aware that they are being monitored. For example, in some cases having a video camera in front of a cash register may reduce the number of employees stealing money. While this may seem like good news for surveillance, Richards argues it may also stifle people’s intellectual curiosity. He pointed to Google analytics, which revealed after Edward Snowden's documents leaked that people began searching less for things which may be socially disfavored — i.e., topics of terrorism, homosexuality, and eating disorders.
Greene stressed that what is most important, especially for information professionals, is to make sure researchers do not have to make a trade-off between the research and the resources available that have privacy options. “We want to make sure that when people are using tools that they make conscious decisions about whether or not they want to share their information.”
IN THE EXHIBITS
Thomas MacNamara of Index Data shows Darrell Davis of Berkeley, Calif., how to use the virtual reality catalog in the Exhibits.
Neil Richards and David Greene's Recommended Intellectual Privacy Resources
Mozilla Firefox (approved privacy browser)
DuckDuckGo (approved privacy browser)
HTTPS Everywhere (for encryption) Privacy Badger (prevents third-party tracking)
Organizations that can help educate on issues of privacy and surveillance:
privacyconfidentiality/toolkitsprivacy/privacy
https://libraryfreedomproject.org
ALA Midwinter Deep Dives
The inaugural ALA Midwinter Meeting Deep Dive half-day education sessions are for active, participatory learning in an intimate, interactive workshop-style setting. The maximum attendance for each session will be 25. Advance registration is required.
Participants may be required to do some advance work. To receive CEUs, a participant must attend the entire course.
ALA Midwinter Deep Dive sessions will be scheduled either 8:15 — 11:30 a.m. or 1:00 — 4:15 p.m. (each session includes a 15-minute snack break — provided). All Deep Dive sessions will be in rooms set with round tables. The standard AV set will include a projector, laptop, and screen. Deep Dive sessions will not be recorded. All Deep Dive sessions will be scheduled during the Midwinter Meeting, i.e. Saturday — Monday.
Call for Proposals:
Proposals for ALA Midwinter Deep Dive sessions at the 2016 Midwinter Meeting in Boston will be accepted online. Contact Alee Navarro at anavarro@ala.org for more information.
Focused proposals are specifically requested within the following broad areas:
- Learning in libraries (e.g. connected learning, gamification, making)
- Data management and use
- Digitization and preservation
- Diversity and inclusion
- Futuring/trend-watching
- The library in the community
These broad areas are selected based on post-conference survey responses indicating that ALA attendees seek “skill-building” opportunities, particularly in these areas, to provide leadership in a transforming library environment and to manage complex services. They are also informed by the work of the ALA Center for the Future of Libraries.
2016
Save the Dates
ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibition
January 8-12, Boston
ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition
June 23-28, Orlando
