Information Freedom, Ethics and Integrity

NISO Virtual Conference

Wednesday, April 18, 11:00am - 5:00pm (EDT)

This is a six-hour event addressing some of the timely and very sensitive issues associated with patron privacy, appropriate use of data, information security in library IT, and the challenges associated in designing digital environments that accommodate those concerns.

Review All Speaker Abstracts Included in the Final Agenda!

Here’s what just two of our speakers will be addressing in their talks:

11:10 - 11:45 a.m. Privacy in the 21st Century: Why it matters now more than ever

Bill Marden, Director of Data Privacy and Compliance, New York Public Library

In his keynote address, Bill will talk about the changing world of data in libraries and the academic world at large.

In most libraries and research institutions, the original practice of data collection, storage, transmission and retrieval dates back to an analog era when the very terms “books”, “research”, “information”  and even “privacy” had vastly-different meanings and contexts than they do today.

How do we manage privacy in the modern research and public library: institutions born largely in the 19th century, which grew up in the 20th century, and that now need to survive and flourish in the 21st century?

We are institutions faced with a key challenge of how to provide an ever-expanding array of services and information and do so when they often come laden with privacy-related concerns never even imagined as recently as 25 years ago.

If, as New York Public Library President Tony Marx recently commented, “Libraries are universally-trusted resources that provide a safe harbor during difficult times,” how do such organizations protect and preserve the privacy and confidentiality of those seeking that safe harbor?

2:45 - 3:15 p.m. Your Search Algorithm is Political

Safiya Noble, Associate Professor, USC, and Author of Algorithms of Oppression.

Artificial intelligence is a human rights issue in the 21st century. Data scientists and engineers work outside the context of the civil and human rights abuses that algorithms foster. STEM education provides little engagement with issues giving future developers tools or stake in these issues. In this talk, I provide evidence from my new book, Algorithms of Oppression  about Google Search, the way it misrepresents people and communities, and the harm that comes from these algorithmic practices – practices designed and implemented by humans. I underscore the role of search engines and other decision making systems of its ilk in contributing to oppression and racist marginalization. With artificial intelligence must come accountability.

Other speakers featured in this NISO program include:

·      Peter Murray, Open Source Community Advocate, Index Data

·      Emily Lynema, Acting Department Head, Information Technology, North Carolina State University Libraries

·      Virginia Dressler, Digital Projects Librarian, Assistant Professor, Kent State University and Cynthia Kristof, Head, Copyright and Document Services, Associate Professor, Kent State University.

·      Clifford Anderson, Associate University Librarian for Research and Learning, Vanderbilt University

·      Denis Galvin, Director of Library Technology, Fondren Library, Rice University

·      Skott Klebe, Platform Security Architect, EBSCO

All speaker abstracts are available on the NISO event page. Want to register immediately, using a credit card? Use this online form. 

NISO Members (LSA, Voting) pay just $190.00. Non-members pay $255.00. A single paid registration entitles your organization to gather an unlimited number of staff in a conference or classroom setting to view the event on the day of the broadcast. Access to an archived recording of the event is always included in your registration fee, regardless of membership status.

Have questions? Get in touch with us at:

NISO

3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 302

Baltimore, MD 21211-1948

Phone: (301) 654-2512

Email: nisohq@niso.org