This week's trio of articles deals with issues that libraries and librarians will be confronting in the years ahead. The first article, "The Googlization of Everything" discusses the Google Library Project. This is an ambitious project that Google has begun which has the end goal of digitizing all books in all languages and putting them in a searchable database. The author states three areas of concern: privacy, privatization and property. He makes a persuasive case that more content should be released from some of the more stringent barriers of copyright, but in the end thinks that Google's project is misguided, as it "threatens to unravel everything that is good and stable about the copyright system. It injects more uncertainty and panic into a system that is already in disequilibrium," (Vaidhyanathan, 2005).
The second article touches upon technology and the erosion of privacy in the U.S. The author pines for the days before 9/11, when it was much easier for us to experience an unrecorded moment. As more of our lives and information become recorded, there is greater opportunities for governments, corporations, or other individuals to attempt to use our personal information without our knowledge. Thankfully, libraries value privacy and serve as bulwarks against the erosion of privacy. The American Library Association code states, "We protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted," (Dixon, 2008). Compare this to a statement by a CEO of Sun Microsystems when questioned about privacy features on a computer networking system, "You have no privacy anyway. Get over it," (Lester, 2001). The author ends the article with a call for all librarians to guard patron information zealously, as they have in the past.
The final article shows us the way in which one library in Birmingham, UK (LoB) is evolving to stay relevant in the digital age. LoB understands that the way people access and view information is dramatically changing, and they are focusing on allowing for greater access to mobile devices to reach more users. LoB envisions itself as actually being five libraries: the Connected Library, the Virtual Library, the Logical Library, the Self-Service Library, and the Extended Library. LoB is on the bleeding edge of library design and is staged to serve as a model for the library of the future. As the author concludes, "if we adapt, take advantages of the technology, build sustainable partnerships, engage with communities and continue to provide meaningful services, and learn to operate effectively in the digital space, then the future looks bright," (Gambles, 2010).
Discussion Question: What are the ways that the Washington DC Public Library is or isn't adopting to the digital age as LoB is?
References:
1. Vaidhyanathan, S. (2005). The Googlization of Everything and the Future of Copyright. Retrieved from: http://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/40/3/copyright-creativity-catalogs/DavisVol40No3_Vaidhyanathan.pdf
2. Dixon, P. (2008), “Ethical issues implicit in library authentication and access management: risks and best practices”, Journal of Library Administration, Vol. 47 Nos 3/4, pp. 141-62
3. Lester, T. (2001), “The reinvention of privacy”, Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 267, pp. 27-39.
4. Zimerman, M. (2010). Technology and privacy erosion in United States
Libraries: A personal viewpoint. New Library World. 111(1/2): 7-15
5. Brian Gambles (2010). "Rewriting the Book: On the Move in the Library of
Birmingham " 30-July-2010 Publication: Ariadne Issue 64: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue64/gambles/
