Are video or electronic surveillance cameras in libraries a violation of patron privacy?
Today’s sophisticated high-resolution surveillance equipment is capable of recording patron reading and viewing habits in ways that are as revealing as the written circulation records libraries routinely protect. When a library considers installing surveillance equipment, the administrative necessity of doing so must be weighed against the fact that most of the activity being recorded is innocent and harmless. Any records kept may be subject to FOI requests. Since any such personal information is sensitive and has the potential to be used inappropriately in the wrong hands, gathering surveillance data has serious implications for library management. If the library decides surveillance is necessary, it is essential for the library to develop and enforce strong policies protecting patron privacy and confidentiality appropriate to managing the equipment, including routine destruction of the tapes in the briefest amount of time possible, or as soon as permitted by law.
