The Chronicle of Higher Education explores the increased use of digital services by libraries and the corresponding privacy concerns that arise. Libraries have traditionally protected patrons’ privacy but are increasingly expanding digital services for recommending, sharing and discovering books. University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee School of Information Studies Assistant Prof. Michael Zimmer has said libraries will need to “tap into and encourage increased flows of personal information from their patrons,” but they face “a Faustian bargain.” Zimmer writes that librarians may decide “the benefits of these advanced data-based services outweigh the traditional protection of patron privacy.”
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