You bring up an interesting point. I work at the university library for my university (and I've had a few hats while I've worked here). I know that we have analytics/metrics on how many books are taken out, how many online journals have been accessed and how often and so on.
You're right, no user data stays recorded (mainly I think due to the PATRIOT act in the US) but in some of my graduate work I have often talked about user recommendation systems that could be great for library users if people could opt-in to have their data tracked (just like Google Latitude is opt-in), we might see more usage of our resources.
As far as I know, what people do with these metrics tend to be used for managerial purposes, funding (receiving of and allocation of). I don't know if any of this info goes back to colleges or specific departments to show how their faculty and students use the resources (or don't use them and thus have an opportunity to showcase some resource)
Apostolos,
A few years ago, I taught a class in Web Content Development and had my students flesh out a paper prototype for a similar "opt in" recommendation system for library holdings. The students loved the idea, but the library balked on grounds of privacy.
I thought the library really blew it and missed an opportunity to use its own data to become more relevant in the academic and intellectual lives of students, especially at a time when Libraries themselves were going through a transformation from book repository to digital information hub.
I also think there's a difference between privacy and confidentiality. For example, the U.S. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requires educational institutions to keep student identities confidential, but FERPA does so to liberate administrators to innovate with their institutional data if there is an "educational interest" that can benefit current and future students. Too many schools view FERPA as a restraint, but miss the opportunity that confidentiality affords.
Here's the new confidentiality statement we've added to the homepage of our Check My Activity (CMA) tool for students:
"In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), your use of this site may be monitored to improve its educational effectiveness for you and future students. However, all UMBC officials are obliged to keep your identity confidential. For more information, please read the Notification of Rights under FERPA."
Anyway, I like the idea of opt-in user acceptance of confidentiality in lieu of privacy, for the wider benefit of insight that can only be gained from tracking people's behavior. Similar to putting the onus on students to check their own activity in an LMS--and deciding for themselves what it does or doesn't mean --Library patrons could opt-in to a system that contextualizes their own browsing and searching behaviors with others who have opted in to do the same. No harm, no foul, I say.
Best,
John
A few years ago, I taught a class in Web Content Development and had my students flesh out a paper prototype for a similar "opt in" recommendation system for library holdings. The students loved the idea, but the library balked on grounds of privacy.
I thought the library really blew it and missed an opportunity to use its own data to become more relevant in the academic and intellectual lives of students, especially at a time when Libraries themselves were going through a transformation from book repository to digital information hub.
I also think there's a difference between privacy and confidentiality. For example, the U.S. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requires educational institutions to keep student identities confidential, but FERPA does so to liberate administrators to innovate with their institutional data if there is an "educational interest" that can benefit current and future students. Too many schools view FERPA as a restraint, but miss the opportunity that confidentiality affords.
Here's the new confidentiality statement we've added to the homepage of our Check My Activity (CMA) tool for students:
"In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), your use of this site may be monitored to improve its educational effectiveness for you and future students. However, all UMBC officials are obliged to keep your identity confidential. For more information, please read the Notification of Rights under FERPA."
Anyway, I like the idea of opt-in user acceptance of confidentiality in lieu of privacy, for the wider benefit of insight that can only be gained from tracking people's behavior. Similar to putting the onus on students to check their own activity in an LMS--and deciding for themselves what it does or doesn't mean --Library patrons could opt-in to a system that contextualizes their own browsing and searching behaviors with others who have opted in to do the same. No harm, no foul, I say.
Best,
John
Libraries tend to hide behind the PATRIOT act (federal government being able to come and take all records of a user's library activity). I haven't actually seen anyone invoke FERPA, at least for library related issues.
I do agree that libraries missed the boat! (perhaps though it's not too late!) A number of years ago I had developed a proposal for a new type of library website (for one of my IT courses) that I never really presented or published anywhere. I was reading some articles yesterday and it seems like the concept is still not really out there. It's given me the idea that perhaps I need to write more about it :-)
I do agree that libraries missed the boat! (perhaps though it's not too late!) A number of years ago I had developed a proposal for a new type of library website (for one of my IT courses) that I never really presented or published anywhere. I was reading some articles yesterday and it seems like the concept is still not really out there. It's given me the idea that perhaps I need to write more about it :-)