24/7 Libraries

The quiet town of Foster holds the auspicious title of becoming the inaugural 24/7 accessible library in Victoria. Local patrons can access the library outside of the usual staffed times, whenever their needs arise with an easy swipe of their library card. This convenience provides optimal opportunities for members who may work long or irregular hours to have full access the library’s physical resources, fitting in with their lifestyles and requirements. Whilst this may seem like a perfect solution, ensuring libraries remain relevant in increasingly busy and diverse lives it does bring forth security implications now and in the future.

Resident Ms Constable points out that in a small country town where “everyone knows everyone”, security may “not be a concern” (Maunder, 2019). However, this is unlikely to be case in many public libraries with larger communities where members don’t all know each other and may have different values and expectations of the facility. Accessing an unstaffed facility could see ambiguities in acceptable behaviour and practice that cannot be impartially addressed or rectified, possibly leading to personal safety and physical damage concerns. In the future communities are likely to continue to grow, increasing their user base and its diversity, possibly amplify these issues.

Additionally, the system of access that requires a library card has the potential to create cyber security issues. San Nicolas-Rocca & Burkhard (2019) conclude that patrons personal identifying information that would be necessary to issue the card to ensure accountability, would create concerns in data protection and how the facility used and stored that information. Furthermore, there are the risks of additional patron information such as tracking and image of their character, which is generated through their use of the facility encroaching on patron privacy and freedom of inquiry.

Overall, the concept of a library card allowing 24/7 access to all the amazing resources is very appealing, however it is important to recognise and have appropriate processes and guidelines firmly in place to ensure the protection of patron’s privacy is paramount.

References:

Maunder, S (2019, December 20). First library in Victoria to open 24 hours a day, seven days a week has town buzzing. ABC Gippsland. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-27/foster-library-first-in-victoria-to-open-24-hours-a-day/11777696/

San Nicolas-Rocca, T., & Burkhard, R. J. (2019). Information Security in Libraries. Information Technology and Libraries, 38(2), 58-71. https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v38i2.10973