User Privacy

Personal data in the online world as become a commodity. Coveted by criminals, demanded by governments, and used for unsavory purposes by marketers and advertisers, your private information is at risk everywhere. For libraries and librarians, this poses a professional threat as well as a personal one. How can we protect the privacy of library patrons and users who browse our online catalogs, borrow sensitive materials, and use our public computers and networks?

User Privacy: A Practical Guide for Librarians answers that question. Through simple explanations and detailed, step-by-step guides, library professionals will learn how to strengthen privacy protections for:

• Library policies
• Wired and wireless networks
• Public computers
• Web browsers
• Mobile devices
• Apps
• Cloud computing

Each chapter begins with a "threat assessment" that provides an overview of the biggest security risks – and the steps that can be taken to deal with them. Also covered are techniques for preserving online anonymity, protecting activists and at-risk groups, and the current state of data encryption.