Kenning Arlitsch
Dean of the Library
Montana State University
Scott W.H. Young
User Experience and Assessment Librarian
Montana State University
The library profession has a long history of safeguarding user privacy, and many of our professional organizations have made formal statements to that effect in their foundational documents. But how well do academic libraries protect privacy in the digital age? This presentation will report the results of a recently published study, funded by IMLS and conducted by Montana State University and the University of New Mexico. We audited the websites of 279 academic libraries that are members of one or more of the following professional organizations: ARL, OCLC-RLP, or DLF. We tested websites for the presence and effective use of the secure hypertext transfer protocol (HTTPS), the presence of the Google Analytics tracking protocol, and whether libraries have implemented the privacy features that are available in Google Analytics. The results of the study demonstrate conclusively that academic libraries must do much more to ensure user privacy. We will conclude with five specific recommendations that can help libraries enhance web privacy and maintain trust with their users.