Stolen Pages: On the 20th anniversary of a confounding crime; American Libraries, November 1, 2024

Anne Ford, American Libraries; Stolen Pages: On the 20th anniversary of a confounding crime 

"Less than two months after the robbery, Allen, Borsuk, Lipka, and Reinhard were arrested and the stolen items recovered undamaged. All four robbers confessed. All pled guilty to six federal charges, among them conspiracy to commit robbery, aiding and abetting the theft of objects of cultural heritage, and interstate transportation of stolen property.

“BJ Gooch’s ordeal had become a cause célèbre among librarians, many of whom wrote letters to the judge arguing against leniency,” wrote Falk in the Vanity Fair article about the case. In the end, Allen, Borsuk, Lipka, and Reinhard each received a sentence of seven years and three months in federal prison with no possibility of parole.

Taking responsibility

All served their sentences and were released in 2012. Allen’s LinkedIn page describes him as a filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter. Borsuk is now a writer and prison-reform advocate. Lipka earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in film from Temple University in Philadelphia and now, according to his social media pages, works as an electrician. Reinhard is a working artist.

In 2018, Borsuk published his account of the crime, American Animals; a companion film of the same name, written and directed by Bart Layton, came out the same year. In the film, the robbers and Gooch appear as themselves...

While the RBMS Security Committee does not issue statements on specific thefts, the section provides guidelines on security, most recently updated in 2023, and hosts regular webinars on the topic. But try as a library might to prevent or prepare for thefts, when a high-profile incident rocks a community, collection access will come into question."

NEH Awards $2.72 Million to Create Research Centers Examining the Cultural Implications of Artificial Intelligence; National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), August 27, 2024

Press Release, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH); NEH Awards $2.72 Million to Create Research Centers Examining the Cultural Implications of Artificial Intelligence

"The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced grant awards totaling $2.72 million for five colleges and universities to create new humanities-led research centers that will serve as hubs for interdisciplinary collaborative research on the human and social impact of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

As part of NEH’s third and final round of grant awards for FY2024, the Endowment made its inaugural awards under the new Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence program, which aims to foster a more holistic understanding of AI in the modern world by creating scholarship and learning centers across the country that spearhead research exploring the societal, ethical, and legal implications of AI. 

Institutions in California, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia were awarded NEH grants to establish the first AI research centers and pilot two or more collaborative research projects that examine AI through a multidisciplinary humanities lens. 

The new Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence grant program is part of NEH’s agencywide Humanities Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence initiative, which supports humanities projects that explore the impacts of AI-related technologies on truth, trust, and democracy; safety and security; and privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. The initiative responds to President Biden’s Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, which establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, and advances equity and civil rights."

Ethical and Responsible AI: A Governance Framework for Boards; Directors & Boards, August 27, 2024

Sonita Lontoh, Directors & Boards; Ethical and Responsible AI: A Governance Framework for Boards 

"Boards must understand what gen AI is being used for and its potential business value supercharging both efficiencies and growth. They must also recognize the risks that gen AI may present. As we have already seen, these risks may include data inaccuracy, bias, privacy issues and security. To address some of these risks, boards and companies should ensure that their organizations' data and security protocols are AI-ready. Several criteria must be met:

• Data must be ethically governed. Companies' data must align with their organization's guiding principles. The different groups inside the organization must also be aligned on the outcome objectives, responsibilities, risks and opportunities around the company's data and analytics.
• Data must be secure. Companies must protect their data to ensure that intruders don't get access to it and that their data doesn't go into someone else's training model.
• Data must be free of bias to the greatest extent possible. Companies should gather data from diverse sources, not from a narrow set of people of the same age, gender, race or backgrounds. Additionally, companies must ensure that their algorithms do not inadvertently perpetuate bias.
• AI-ready data must mirror real-world conditions. For example, robots in a warehouse need more than data; they also need to be taught the laws of physics so they can move around safely.
• AI-ready data must be accurate. In some cases, companies may need people to double-check data for inaccuracy.

It's important to understand that all these attributes build on one another. The more ethically governed, secure, free of bias and enriched a company's data is, the more accurate its AI outcomes will be."

You can say no to a TSA face scan. But even a senator had trouble.; The Washington Post, July 11, 2023

 Shira Ovide, The Washington Post; You can say no to a TSA face scan. But even a senator had trouble.

"Let’s discuss two topics:

• TSA’s face scanning is supposed to be optional for us. Is it, really?
• What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of the TSA’s use of facial recognition software?"

Driver’s Licenses, Addresses, Photos: Inside How TikTok Shares User Data; The New York Times, May 24, 2023

 Sapna Maheshwari and Ryan Mac, The New York Times; Driver’s Licenses, Addresses, Photos: Inside How TikTok Shares User Data

"The user materials on Lark raise questions about TikTok’s data and privacy practices and show how intertwined it is with ByteDance, just as the video app faces mounting scrutiny over its potential security risks and ties to China. Last week, Montana’s governor signed a bill banning TikTok in the state as of Jan. 1. The app has also been prohibited at universities and government agencies and by the military."

Library Sees Resignations Following Bullet-Riddled Books; Flathead Beacon, August 29, 2022

MICAH DREW, Flathead Beacon; Library Sees Resignations Following Bullet-Riddled Books

"Two ImagineIF library advisors have resigned from their posts due to perceived threats to their safety after several bullet-riddled books were dropped off at the library earlier this month. A third advisor who had previously planned to retire this year, also mentioned safety concerns upon leaving. 

On Aug. 3, library staff in Kalispell found five books left in the overnight drop box that appeared to have been shot with a firearm. All library branches closed for the day while law enforcement investigated. They determined it was an isolated incident and there was no threat to staff or the public. 

Two days later, two more books were found with bullets lodged in them. Library staff say that similar markings on the books indicated they were likely from the same person. 

While director Ashley Cummins said law enforcement still did not feel there was any threat to the community, members of the library staff opted to leave their positions. 

“They said they did not feel safe coming to work anymore,” Cummins said. “They signed up to be library workers, they didn’t sign up for that.”

Two additional staff members have expressed desires to resign as well, but Cummins said so far that has not happened. Instead, the director is working to reassure the staff with new safety precautions including the installation of security cameras around each library branch and new mandatory monthly safety trainings."

BBC, CNN and other global news outlets suspend reporting in Russia; The Guardian, March 4, 2022

Harriet Sherwood, Dan Milmo and agencies, The Guardian; BBC, CNN and other global news outlets suspend reporting in Russia

"The new law, passed on Friday, makes intentionally spreading “fake” or “false” news about the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine a criminal offence. President Valdimir Putin approved the new law on Friday evening, according to the Tass state news agency.

It came after the Kremlin accused the BBC of playing a “determined role in undermining the Russian stability and security”.

Davie said: “This legislation appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism. It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development.

“Our BBC News service in Russian will continue to operate from outside Russia.

“The safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs. I’d like to pay tribute to all of them, for their bravery, determination and professionalism.

“We remain committed to making accurate, independent information available to audiences around the world, including the millions of Russians who use our news services. Our journalists in Ukraine and around the world will continue to report on the invasion of Ukraine.”"

AirTags are being used to track people and cars. Here's what is being done about it; NPR, February 18, 2022

MICHAEL LEVITT, NPR; AirTags are being used to track people and cars. Here's what is being done about it

""As technology becomes more sophisticated and advanced, as wonderful as that is for society, unfortunately, it also becomes much easier to misuse and abuse," she told NPR. "I wouldn't say that we've necessarily seen an uptick with the use of AirTags any more or less than any cutting edge technology."

Williams said that what was rare was a technology company taking the issue seriously and moving to address it.

"[Apple is] not only listening to the field, but actively reaching out at times to do safety checks. That in and of itself might sound like a very small step, but it's rare," she said.

Still, Galperin thinks that Apple should have done more to protect people ahead of time. 

"The mitigations that Apple had in place at the time that the AirTag came out were woefully insufficient," Galperin said. 

"I think that Apple has been very careful and responsive after putting the product out and introducing new mitigations. But the fact that they chose to bring the product to market in the state that it was in last year, is shameful.""

Defenders of Patron Privacy; American Libraries, September 1, 2021

Sanhita SinhaRoy , American Libraries; Defenders of Patron Privacy

"When the FBI approached George Christian in 2005 with a national security letter (NSL) and lifetime gag order, the then–executive director of the Library Connection—a Connecticut library consortium—convened a meeting with the organization’s executive committee. The NSL would have forced them to turn over customer information without a judge’s order or a grand jury subpoena. They refused to comply and later came to be known as the Connecticut Four.

With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), they challenged the climate of surveillance and government overreach that followed the September 11 attacks, showing the nation that librarians would stand by the rights of patrons and civil liberties.

Here, the four share their memories of the experience and its resonance today with American Libraries.They are Christian, retired executive director of Library Connection; Barbara Bailey, director of Welles-Turner Memorial Library in Glastonbury, Connecticut; Peter Chase, retired director of Plainville (Conn.) Public Library; and Janet Nocek, director of Portland (Conn.) Library."

TikTok bans misgendering, deadnaming from its content; NPR, February 9, 2022

RINA TORCHINSKY , NPR; TikTok bans misgendering, deadnaming from its content

"TikTok is updating its community guidelines to ban deadnaming, misgendering and misogyny.

The changes, announced Tuesday, are a part of a broader update designed to promote safety and security on the platform. The app will also remove content that promotes disordered eating and further restrict content related to dangerous acts. 

Last year, a report by GLAAD said TikTok and other top social media sites are all "effectively unsafe for LGBTQ users...

Along with the new guidelines, TikTok published its most recent quarterly Community Guidelines Enforcement Report. More than 91 million videos — about 1% of all uploaded videos — were removed during the third quarter of 2021 because they violated the guidelines. 

Of all videos removed from July to September 2021, about 1.5% were removed due to hateful behavior, which includes hate speech on the basis of race, sexual orientation and gender, among other attributes."

New York mayor Eric Adams faces nepotism claim over job for brother; The Guardian, January 9, 2022

Edward Helmore , The Guardian; New York mayor Eric Adams faces nepotism claim over job for brother

"Adams is a retired [sic] NYD officer. So is his brother, Bernard Adams, who most recently worked as assistant director of operations for parking and transportation at the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University but has now been appointed as deputy police commissioner with a $240,000-a-year salary. The move has exposed the mayor to accusations of nepotism.

Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a good governance group, told City & State: “New Yorkers expect that public servants are hired based on their unique qualifications and not because they are the mayor’s brother.”

Lerner said the approval of the city conflict of interest board would be required, but “even with a waiver, the appointment of the mayor’s close relative does not inspire public confidence”.

On CNN, Adams said the board would “make the determination and we have a great system here in the city”.

“But let me be clear on this. My brother is qualified for the position. Number one, he will be in charge of my security, which is extremely important to me in a time when we see an increase in white supremacy and hate crimes. I have to take my security in a very serious way.""

2 Sentenced to House Arrest in Long-Running Scheme to Steal Rare Books; The New York Times, June 20, 2020

Michael Levenson, The New York Times; 2 Sentenced to House Arrest in Long-Running Scheme to Steal Rare Books

[Kip Currier: We've been exploring this egregious breach of public trust and abject dereliction of institutional leadership as a case study in the new The Information Professional in the Community graduate course I launched this term.

Glaring and appallingly negligent instances of organizational malfeasance and breach of fiduciary responsibility -- over the course of more than 20 years -- are replete throughout this sordid saga. Much, if not all, of what was perpetrated by the morally-deficient defendants, archivist Gregory Priore and local bookshop owner John Schulman, was foreseeable and preventable by those charged with the duties of safeguarding and shepherding our cultural heritage and scientific treasure. Organizational leaders and Boards should also be held accountable for these kinds of ethical lapses and fiduciary failures that occur on their watches.]

"Patrick Dowd, board chair of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, said the thefts “will forever raise doubts about the security of all future charitable donations, particularly to the Carnegie Library.”"

Google Maps Just Introduced a Controversial New Feature That Drivers Will Probably Love but Police Will Utterly Hate; Inc., October 20, 2019

Bill Murphy Jr., Inc.; Google Maps Just Introduced a Controversial New Feature That Drivers Will Probably Love but Police Will Utterly Hate

"This week, however, Google announced the next best thing: Starting immediately, drivers will be able to report hazards, slowdowns, and speed traps right on Google Maps...

But one group that will likely not be happy is the police. In recent years, police have asked -- or even demanded -- that Waze drop the police-locating feature."

Under digital surveillance: how American schools spy on millions of kids; The Guardian, October 22, 2019

Lois Beckett, The Guardian; Under digital surveillance: how American schools spy on millions of kids

"The new school surveillance technology doesn’t turn off when the school day is over: anything students type in official school email accounts, chats or documents is monitored 24 hours a day, whether students are in their classrooms or their bedrooms.

Tech companies are also working with schools to monitor students’ web searches and internet usage, and, in some cases, to track what they are writing on public social media accounts.

Parents and students are still largely unaware of the scope and intensity of school surveillance, privacy experts say, even as the market for these technologies has grown rapidly, fueled by fears of school shootings, particularly in the wake of the Parkland shooting in February 2018, which left 17 people dead."

Real-Time Surveillance Will Test the British Tolerance for Cameras; The New York Times, September 15, 2019

Adam Satariano, The New York Times; Real-Time Surveillance Will Test the British Tolerance for Cameras

Facial recognition technology is drawing scrutiny in a country more accustomed to surveillance than any other Western democracy. 

"“Technology is driving forward, and legislation and regulation follows ever so slowly behind,” said Tony Porter, Britain’s surveillance camera commissioner, who oversees compliance with the country’s surveillance camera code of practice. “It would be wrong for me to suggest the balance is right.”

Britain’s experience mirrors debates about the technology in the United States and elsewhere in Europe. Critics say the technology is an intrusion of privacy, akin to constant identification checks of an unsuspecting public, and has questionable accuracy, particularly at identifying people who aren’t white men."

FaceTime Is Eroding Trust in Tech Privacy paranoiacs have been totally vindicated.; The Atlantic, January 29, 2019

Ian Bogost, The Atlantic;

FaceTime Is Eroding Trust in Tech

Privacy paranoiacs have been totally vindicated.

"Trustworthy is hardly a word many people use to characterize big tech these days. Facebook’s careless infrastructure upended democracy. Abuse is so rampant on Twitter and Instagram that those services feel designed to deliver harassment rather than updates from friends. Hacks, leaks, and other breaches of privacy, at companies from Facebook to Equifax, have become so common that it’s hard to believe that any digital information is secure. The tech economy seems designed to steal and resell data."

The 20 Best TV Dramas Since ‘The Sopranos’; The New York Times, January 10, 2019

The New York Times; The 20 Best TV Dramas Since ‘The Sopranos’

"2014-2017

The Leftovers

Because it pondered the big questions without feeling ponderous.

Damon Lindelof, creator:..

One question the show was always asking was, “How can you emotionally invest in anyone, if you think that they could just slip out of existence in a second?”

Obviously that’s something we contend with in a nondeparture world, because people die. But that feeling of, “I now have an excuse to not emotionally connect to anyone” gets magnified in a world where 2 percent of the world’s population just slipped out."

Apple’s Tim Cook blasts Silicon Valley over privacy issues; The Washington Post, October 24, 2018

Tony Romm, The Washington Post; Apple’s Tim Cook blasts Silicon Valley over privacy issues

"Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Wednesday warned the world’s most powerful regulators that the poor privacy practices of some tech companies, the ills of social media and the erosion of trust in his own industry threaten to undermine “technology’s awesome potential” to address challenges such as disease and climate change."

Embracing the privacy-first mindset in the post-GDPR world; AdNovum Singapore via Enterprise Innovation, July 23, 2018

Leonard Cheong, Managing Director, AdNovum Singapore via Enterprise Innovation; Embracing the privacy-first mindset in the post-GDPR world

"Privacy is a fundamental human right.

This is the proclamation that Apple made when updating their App Store policies to ensure that application developers can’t access consumer data without consent, in a bid to demonstrate their commitment to data privacy.

As the world becomes more digital, privacy has indeed become more sought after and consumers today are only willing to share data with companies they trust. On 25 May 2018 the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation or EU-GDPR came into effect, sparking numerous conversations on privacy, ethics and compliance."

Beware the smart toaster: 18 tips for surviving the surveillance age; Guardian, March 28, 2018

Alex Hern and Arwa Mahdawi, Guardian; Beware the smart toaster: 18 tips for surviving the surveillance age

"Awareness of our digital footprint is one thing, but what are we to do about it? In the wake of the Facebook revelations, it’s clear that we can’t all keep clicking as usual if we value our privacy or our democracy. It’s still relatively early in the internet era and we are all still figuring it out as we go along. However, best practices when it comes to security and online etiquette are starting to emerge. Here’s a guide to some of the new rules of the internet."