World Libraries

Art Institute of Chicago: Visitors’ Privacy

2023-01-09T02:16:42+00:00

The Art Institute of Chicago is a world-class art museum that receives millions of visitors every year. The museum gathers, stores, and uses data on its visitors from a multitude of places including: the museum website and online store, the museum’s mobile app, and the physical museum itself. Each location uses a distinct data-collection method and involves different privacy policies which correlate to the collection method. While the museum does well to follow the basic laws surrounding user information privacy, it can stand to improve its policies and techniques to become a world-class advocate for museum visitor privacy.

Case Study: Information Privacy & YouTube

2023-03-23T22:10:36+00:00

Many individuals and organizations in the United States rely on YouTube to publicly share information and/or promote their organization and offerings. However, YouTube has mastered the practice of offering users a false sense of security when it comes to their information privacy. While there are many policies in place within YouTube’s privacy standards–and children’s personally identifiable information (PII) is rather well protected by the site due to a settlement requiring the site to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA)–there are little to no true protections for users when faced with the threat of their information being leaked to bad actors. This does not have to be the case, though, as YouTube has the ability to strengthen their policies to offer more assistance to its users in times where their PII may be used in a malicious way. On the other hand, it is not solely up to YouTube to be responsible in creating new policies surrounding user privacy. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for regulating privacy practices for companies in the United States and has yet to make a groundbreaking move against social media sites like YouTube to protect the information of web users. By instituting regulations that perform similarly to laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of Europe, or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the United States can offer consumers better protections in regard to their PII and web safety overall.

Librarians as Social Justice Advocates

2023-05-10T21:09:12+00:00

Public libraries, traditionally seen as neutral spaces, are increasingly recognized as potential platforms for social justice. This literature review examines the role of librarians as social justice advocates, exploring their core values, the current state of American public libraries, and their engagement with issues like Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ rights, and literary justice. While librarianship values neutrality and equal access, it is argued that true social justice requires active engagement and advocacy. By addressing issues of information redlining, promoting diversity, and supporting marginalized communities, libraries can play a crucial role in creating a more equitable society.

Information and the Incarcerated

2024-05-04T20:31:02+00:00

Incarcerated individuals in the United States of America continue to be one of the most underserved communities, despite policies set in place by the American Library Association. Incarcerated people are often denied information access or face challenges to meet their information needs. The incarcerated also face arbitrary censorship in various forms as a way to limit their information access. Within this literature review, the difficulties and absurd policies that incarcerated individuals face will be discussed as well as the American Library Association’s policies for carceral facilities, and direct and indirect library services that are available.