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Anonymous Library Cards An Option?
Ben Ostrowsky writes "On the heels of the possibility of requiring fingerprinting to use library resources, librarians don't like hoarding personally identifiable information; many are keenly aware of privacy concerns. Now it appears that anonymous library cards may be a possibility on the horizon. Tell your librarian you want to be anonymous!" From the article: " You've seen anonymous cash cards already; you may even have received them before. They're better known as gift cards. Using the same principle, libraries can issue a borrower card that uses cash, rather than personal ID information, as collateral. Here's an example: If a privacy-minded user deposits $20 to get an anonymous library card, she can check out The Terror State without identifying herself. Her account balance is temporarily reduced by $15, and when the library checks the CD back in (in good condition), her balance is restored to its original value."
I work in a library. $20 is a small fine... many users end up with over $50, and I've seen hundreds owing (it's not that hard.. lose 4 hardcovers and that's nearly $200 right there). I would only think this would work if the deposit was much higher.. but of course then no one would use it.
I would say that all librarians are very concerned about privacy issues. My IS degree was thru the graduate library school (so I had to take a few courses there) and the first thing they taught was that what and if somebody reads is that person's business and no one else's. The librarian has an interest in the book (and it being returned promptly) but not in the person or what they do with the book within their allotted time.
So long and thanks for all the fish . . . !!!
Not everyone who uses a library frequently has the $$$ to plop down on a book
/. would be able to take a couple minutes out of their day to search for library history on Google. Originally, libraries were private. Then, many went 'public', but charged a membership fee. After many years of fighting for equal rights, the membership fees were abolished so that even the poorest Americans would be allowed to use the resources at the public library.
/. solution is that the poor people who can't afford to plop down cash can just get an old card - one that isn't anonymous. Toss equal rights right out the window. The rich get to be anonymous. The poor get tracked.
This isn't a matter of just not having the money - you'd think that the geeks on
I know the idiotic
Isn't there some old phrase about learning your history so it doesn't repeat itself?
The previous comment is purposely vague and generalized, but all of the facts are completely true.
First of all, the 'value' of the material you check-out should be increased from the purchase price. I regularly use inter library loan to get materials that are next to impossible to find otherwise. If this system was anonymous and the price of CD say was $15, then all of the obscure music would quickly vanish from circulation. You would need to increase the value to say $60 to discourage stealing.
The way that libraries counteract stealing now is that they have a dollar limit above which they do not lend further materials out to you and you can only have one library card per name address pair. So even if the value is comparable to real world cost, the fact that you can only steal a limited amount before you can return to steal more, and the fact that if you steal enough at one time they will put you in collection work well enough to prevent casual theft.
Already at that increased value rate for the card, this would turn-away most people. But say that they did not mark-up the value, just wait until you have three kids like I do. Right now I have some twenty odd books/videos/CDs checked-out from the library near my home. I also have two movies, two books, and 11 CDs that I am returning today to the library near my work. I do not even know how much my wife has checked-out, but she is a pretty voracious reader too. Think about how much money we would need to set aside for that.
So why is this being proposed? It looks like it is a solution to the wrong end of the problem. The real problem are the laws that force libraries to turn-over information. So guess what the solution is? Yes that's right, change those laws.
RTFA, dumbass. That request wasn't made under the PATRIOT Act. Despite what idiots like yourself think, such subpoenas were allowed before that law was passed.
I think we need to clarify something here. MOST libraries are very cautious about patron privacy, and every librarian I know (including myself) thinks the Naperville library is on crack for using fingerprints to use their computers. This is probably not something that Naperville would use because, well, they're insane. But most other, non-fingerprint-requiring libraries might very well be interested. I don't imagine anyone would require you to have the balance of a PC on your card. That's just silly. :)
I certainly think the anonymous cards are a very interesting idea. My library requires ID to borrow materials because if the patron does not return the item, we need a way to contact them and bill them. If we already have the money from them in advance, then we wouldn't really care who they were.
The only downside that immediately comes to mind for me is that sometimes people think they've returned something they have not, and the library sending them an overdue notice causes them to look for the item. Without a means to contact the patron, we'll have to replace more items (which is a pain because of the amount of processing required and the time lag where a copy of the item is unavailable or if the item is no longer available).
In terms of using the cards to access the computers: I don't see why this would be an issue. My library specifically set up our computers so that personal identification is not required to use them. We hope to eventually have people give us their municipality to help us judge computer usage by patron bases, but that's in the future and really vague. Most libraries in the area that do require library card numbers do it as a way to 1) increase sign-ups for library cards (which generally increases funding for the library), 2) charge for printouts, 3) encourage fine-paying by blocking patrons with over a certain amount in fines until the fines are paid down, and 4) share the electronic resources fairly by limiting the number of hours a day a person may use their computers. The last generally occurs in areas where the computers are in high demand and some way of apportioning computer time fairly is needed.
For many libraries, the anonymous cards could be used for logging in to the computers just fine. They wouldn't have fines on them since they are pre-paid, and they would presumably have an ID number on them that would be in the system and valid, just not associated with a particular person. Print charges might be automatically deducted from the card balance. The only problem would be in high-demand computer libraries where ownership of multiple cards might give a patron several hours of computer use and interfere with another patron getting even one hour. Still, some brainstorming could very well get around that obstacle.
The card numbers would also presumeably be good for accessing library electronic databases remotely.
There is the issue of a library's residency rules for using its collection. Some libraries I've worked in have required that a patron live in the state to have a free card because otherwise they're paying no taxes towards the upkeep of the library. However, those libraries simply charged a fee to issue out-of-state library cards. I assume an annual or bi-annual fee for the anonymous cards would solve that problem.
Sorry for the thinking-as-I-type approach to this post. It's just a flatout good idea...
I'm not a big fan of the PATRIOT Act, but I'm always apalled by the number of people, and who pontificate on its provisions without actually reading them! The referenced article states " Unfortunately, if an over-zealous special agent on a fishing expedition wants to know ... the librarian will probably have little choice. Under the USA PATRIOT Act, he or she would have to surrender the personal identity information that was originally collected to protect the library's materials."
This just isn't true! If you are going to express opinions on the PATTRIOT Act then try reading some of it so that your opinion is based on fact. The pertinent section of the PATRIOT Act is Title II section 215
Anyone notice the part about it not applying to activities protected by the first ammendment? Or the part about needing a warrant from a judge? Or the part about the agent needing to have a particular rank to pursue a library inquiry?
Here is the text of section 215, although a download of the PDF serves much better:
"SEC. 215. ACCESS TO RECORDS AND OTHER ITEMS UNDER THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT. Title V of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.) is amended by striking sections 501 through 503 and inserting the following: ''SEC. 501. ACCESS TO CERTAIN BUSINESS RECORDS FOR FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE AND INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM INVESTIGATIONS. ''(a)(1) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or a designee of the Director (whose rank shall be no lower than Assistant Special Agent in Charge) may make an application for an order requiring the production of any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, provided that such investigation of a United States person is not conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution. ''(2) An investigation conducted under this section shall-- ''(A) be conducted under guidelines approved by the Attorney General under Executive Order 12333 (or a successor order); and ''(B) not be conducted of a United States person solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States. ''(b) Each application under this section-- ''(1) shall be made to-- ''(A) a judge of the court established by section 103(a); or ''(B) a United States Magistrate Judge under chapter 43 of title 28, United States Code, who is publicly designated by the Chief Justice of the United States to have the power to hear applications and grant orders for the production of tangible things under this section on behalf of a judge of that court; and 50 USC 1861. ''(2) shall specify that the records concerned are sought for an authorized investigation conducted in accordance with subsection (a)(2) to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a United States person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities. ''(c)(1) Upon an application made pursuant to this section, the judge shall enter an ex parte order as requested, or as modified, approving the release of records if the judge finds that the application meets the requirements of this section. ''(2) An order under this subsection shall not disclose that it is issued for purposes of an investigation described in subsection (a). ''(d) No person shall disclose to any other person (other than those persons necessary to produce the tangible things under this section) that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought or obtained tangible things under this section. ''(e) A person who, in good faith, produces tangible things under an order pursuant to this section shall not be liable to any other person for such production. Such production shall not be deemed to constitute a waiver of any privilege in any other proceeding or context."
Libraries do "lend" e-books (often locked either to a single simulaneous user or for a limited period of time). They also lend CDs, videocassettes, and DVDs, and provide access to magazine and journal articles via online database subscriptions. In the USA, libraries have a long tradition of providing access to information and entertainment resources -- and yes, some libraries are also providing gaming platforms (there's even a Google group devoted to gaming in libraries, http://groups-beta.google.com/group/LibGaming).
AFAIK, all the studies point to library use INCREASING sales for any given book or author -- people check out a book, like it, buy a copy for Aunt Susie's birthday or buy the author's next book....
So, why do I think anonymous library cards are not that great an idea? 1) My system, like most, deletes the link between your library card and the item you borrow the minute the item's returned. 2) The number of people who ask "Is this all I checked out? Do I have anything checked out?" is incredible. 3) Replacement cost for a book is more than just the cost of the book itself; it's also the processing necessary to get it on catalog and on the shelf.
Yes, I'm a librarian.