Pedley, P. (2020). A Practical Guide to Privacy in Libraries

Abstract

This book provides practical advice and examples related to privacy issues in libraries, mainly from a British perspective. The author indicates that he is not a lawyer and unable to give legal advice, and that the contents of the book do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon in any way. Given this disclaimer, the reader needs to be careful taking any advice provided. The introduction sets the scene by examining the history of library privacy issues from the 19th and 20th centuries, how privacy risks have changed, and why it is, how it applies to libraries, and where institutions commonly make mistakes and how to avoid them. The first part of the book covers the basic definitions, theories, and history of knowledge management. The second part of the book discusses the typical life cycle of knowledge management and how it builds into each of the subsequent stages presented in a manner of what that may look like in libraries. The final section of the book covers changes in society (many pandemic-related) and technology that can affect the future of knowledge management. In many cases, especially with technology, once a book is published, the content is already out of date. The author acknowledges this and does a fair job of keeping applications broad, so the details do not negate the practical application of implementing a knowledge management system. There is some good information discussed on implementing a knowledge management system in the reader’s library system. However, because of the necessary ambiguity, it becomes perhaps too generalized for meaningful application on its own and would require further research by the reader if they were developing a knowledge management system for their institution. This is not necessarily a limitation, as anyone wishing to implement such a system should fully research the topic before creating a plan of action. This book provides a great overview of the topic for those interested in developing or enhancing their current knowledge management system as a preparatory tool before creating a detailed plan of action. It is easy to navigate, with key points outlined at the beginning of each chapter, making it easily used as a reference tool in developing a knowledge management system. It has a few exercises throughout the book, questions to think about, and tables to complete that readers can apply to their institutions; however, the reader would benefit from having notepaper to apply these exercises to their current institution. This would allow readers to further explore what is briefly touched upon in these exercises.