Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Big Data's Impact On Privacy For Librarians And Information Professionals, Lindsey M. Harper, Shannon M. Oltmann

Librarian Research

In a digital age, it is very difficult to maintain complete privacy when posting on social media or making purchases. Individual activity on the internet is increasingly collected by corporations, even with the user’s knowledge, and can be used to predict future behavior, purchasing choices or other sensitive subjects. This data analysis is often done without a user’s consent and in many cases presents unethical behavior and breaches of privacy. Big data can be beneficial to libraries in many ways, and if pointed at library systems, rather than the habits of patrons, can also keep privacy intact.