Library puts patrons’ privacy first

The South Brunswick Library works hard to keep patrons’ personal information safe.

By: Lorraine Jackson
The next time you head for the airport, be careful what card you show as identification. You could be giving the government a license to snoop.
    Homeland Security forces can keep and store the data on the library card. This makes your private reading habits open for federal dossier collectors.
    Also, you soon will have to beware of what card you use to prove residency identification to gain your own very library card. The highly contested REAL ID Act of 2005 establishes, in essence, a national government identification card via one’s driver’s license. This card amasses all kinds of personal data and stores it in astoundingly insecure databanks, open to many government agencies without any warrant.
    Besides footing the bloated $180 million cost for this privacy invasion, library card holders face a double threat. By linking this new driver’s license to one’s library card, the federal government can make access into that individual’s reading habits.
    Beginning March 12, The American Library Association (ALA) launched its Sunshine Week in celebration of the importance of open government and freedom of information. ALA believes "what people read, research or access remains a fundamental matter of privacy." So does the fourth amendment, which demands "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, and papers from unwarranted search."
I support both statements. And while many current federal leaders do not value your freedom, we at South Brunswick have protected them as best as possible. When you return any item to the South Brunswick Library, all records of it are irretrievably erased. All evidences of a computer-user’s data and browsings are erased daily. In the one case Homeland Security and the FBI actually got a warrant, our records only yielded that book currently on loan. No more.
    As a shining example of the politicians who stand on the side of libraries, we want to thank Councilman Joe Camarotta for his praiseworthy generosity. On March 10, a huge crowd gathered at the Senior Center for the Library Foundation’s fundraiser — the Annual Beefsteak Dinner. Councilman Camarotta won the $885, 50-50 prize and in a gesture of goodwill turned his winnings back to the South Brunswick Library Foundation. Our sincere thanks, Joe.
    Many parents are frustrated that we have had to cut back on the number of our popular programs. Unfortunately, several members of our over-stretched staff have retired and moved away recently. The Library
Board assures us there is no funding to replace these people, so we ask for your patience. Yet, in celebration of Sunshine Week, our Library Board wants you to know that it welcomes a public sharing of concerns at the monthly meetings.
    Finally, we ask all patrons to take part on our Weekly FlashScan Challenge. FlashScan are computerized self-checkout gadgets. To fight the checkout lines, just use the FlashScan, then on your return, bring your book slips back to the drawing box, where they will go into a drawing for a host of new prizes each week. I invite you to try our new FlashScan Challenge, and also to keep watching this space for developments.
Lorraine Jackson is the director of the South Brunswick Library. Her phone number is (732) 329-4000, ext. 7282.