ALA 2010: Privacy in the School Library
By SLJ Staff Jun 26, 2010There's no shortage of intellectual freedom issues in the school library--but one of the most neglected is privacy.
A two-hour session at the American Library Association's annual conference in Washington, DC, on Saturday questioned why there wasn't more discussion among librarians about children's privacy in the media center.
| Helen Adams |
"The reason for that is most libraries don't have a privacy policy," says Helen Adams, a former school librarian and technology coordinator in Wisconsin who teaches Access and Legal Issues in the Information Age, an online course for media specialists offered by Pennsylvania's Mansfield University.
Adams, the guest speaker for the session "Finding the balance: Kid's Rights, Parental Demands, and Librarian's Role," says one of the main reasons librarians don't discuss student privacy rights in the library is because state and federal laws can be difficult to interpret. Another reason is because librarians are ambivalent about protecting students' rights when parents want to know details about their kids' library experience, says Adams, explaining that middle school parents have asked her what their children are reading in the library.
Adams says students should be free to borrow materials without the fear of being scrutinized about the books they check out or read. In short, there should be a balance between the privacy of young patrons and satisfying the curiosity of parents and teachers.
A school district, for example, is responsible for ensuring that all parents and students are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Teachers and librarians must sometimes access individual student records while performing their official duties. But Adams warns that under FERPA, librarians are legally and ethically obliged to safeguard the confidentiality of any information they obtain.
ALA's code of ethics also specifically states that librarians "protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted," and that librarians "respect intellectual property rights and advocate balance between the interests of information users and rights holders."
In short, Adams says students should have the right to seek information about a topic and expect that information to remain confidential. The American Association of School Librarians also recognizes that children have the same rights to privacy as adults.
Adams recommends that librarians familiarize themselves with their state privacy laws; talk to their principal about such incidents and how to handle them before they arise; create school library privacy policies and ensure they're adopted by the school district; and celebrate Choose Privacy Week, the first one of which was just celebrated in May.
Sponsored by the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, the campaign invites library users into a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital age, gives libraries the tools they need to educate and engage users, and gives citizens the resources to think critically and make more informed choices about their privacy.
Visit ALA Annual Conference News for ongoing coverage of the conference by the editors of Library Journal and School Library Journal.
