Introduction. Libraries have traditionally protected the privacy of their users. It is an ambition that is becoming increasingly difficult, with the introduction of new information technologies in libraries. This thesis consists of an examination of an incipient interest in digital security among Swedish libraries and librarians. It also consists of an examination to what degree Swedish municipality libraries are using social plugins, an information practice with potential privacy concerns, on their websites. Method. Key actors were interviewed to shed light on why issues on privacy and digital security have moved into the foreground. 59 municipality libraries were randomly selected, and their websites surveyed. Analysis. Contextual integrity (CI), a privacy concept developed by Helen Nissenbaum, was used as a theoreti-cal framework. According to the concept, privacy is linked to information norms in a specific context. The con-cept has both a descriptive and a prescriptive aspect. In this thesis I used CI to evaluate libraries’ information practice of using social plugins on their websites. Results. The study showed that one out of three municipality libraries in Sweden are using social plugins on their website. The interest in digital security among Swedish libraries is linked to privacy concerns for groups of people with the need of high digital protection. The interest was sparked by Edward Snowden revelations of mass surveillance and the refugee crisis in 2015. Conclusion. Contextual integrity was used to evaluate libraries’ practice of using social plugins on their web-sites. The evaluation showed that the practice encroaches on information norms normally taken for granted in the library. The use of social plugins should be cancelled. Libraries have a responsibility to secure the privacy of their users, and CI is a useful concept to evaluate different information practices.This is a two years master’s thesis in library and information science.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-307921 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Soldal, Johannes |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för ABM |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Uppsatser inom biblioteks- & informationsvetenskap, 1650-4267 ; 713 |
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