Unnervingly, book apps record data about how we read, including which books we do and don’t finish, how long we spend reading them, and where we give up, if we do. And niftily, that information can be passed on to publishers.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the same technology is soon to be used by universities to monitor students’ reading. CourseSmart, which sells digital versions of the big publishers’ textbooks, announced [its] new program last week.
Luckily, for now, this software is being piloted at only three universities. But it is, almost inevitably, coming our way.
Beware the ‘vengeful librarians’ [which is pretty much an oxymoron, if you ask me]
In an anonymous industrial park in Virginia, in an unassuming brick building, the CIA is following tweets — up to 5 million a day.
At the agency’s Open Source Center, a team known affectionately as the “vengeful librarians” also pores over Facebook, newspapers, TV news channels, local radio stations, Internet chat rooms — anything overseas that anyone can access and contribute to openly.
Seattle’s King County Library System has decided to remove all security cameras from their libraries. The reason? Fear that the video footage would be used by law enforcement to pry into the reading lives of their patrons.
Researchers have discovered that the iPhone is keeping track of where you go and storing that information in a file that is stored – unencrypted and unprotected – onto any machine with which you synchronize your phone.
…While it is not unusual for cellphones to track users’ location, that information is typically kept behind a firewall and it requires a court order for others to be able to access it. This isn’t the case with this particular file, raising serious questions about privacy and security.
Choose Privacy Week (May 2-8) is a new initiative by the American Library Association that invites library users into a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital age. Their vision statement declares “In the spirit of civic values that allow people to freely seek information in all formats without fear of retribution or exploitation, it’s time to reclaim our right to privacy.” Check out their website for more information and what you can do to protect your digital privacy at privacyrevolution.org
A look at the news and events happening in the Libraries at Waubonsee Community College
s into a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital age. Their vision statement declares “In the spirit of civic values that allow people to freely seek information in all formats without fear of retribution or exploitation, it’s time to reclaim our right to privacy.” Check out their website for more information and what you can do to protect your digital privacy at