What prompted the Intellectual Freedom Committee to take on the privacy question now?
In 1999 ALA Council resolved that the Library and Information Technology Association be asked to examine the impact of new technologies on patron privacy and the confidentiality of electronic records. The Taskforce on Privacy and Confidentiality in the Electronic Environment was formed at the 1999 ALA Midwinter Conference with broad participation from across ALA. In July 2000, ALA Council approved the Final Report of the Task Force on Privacy and Confidentiality in the Electronic Environment (Council Document #62) and referred it to the Intellectual Freedom Committee for review. The recommendations contained therein were: • That ALA revise its policy statements related to Confidentiality of Library Records (rev. 1986), and Concerning Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information About Library Users (1991), in order to specifically and appropriately incorporate Internet privacy. • That ALA develop model privacy policies, instructional materials, and privacy “best practices” doc
