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Librarians have long recognized the importance of privacy to intellectual freedom. As digital technology and its applications advance, however, efforts to protect privacy may become increasingly difficult. With some users behaving in ways that suggest they do not care about privacy and with powerful voices claiming that privacy is dead, librarians may question whether privacy is worth protecting. This article reviews some of the extensive scholarly literature on privacy from disciplines outside the field of library science, including anthropology, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology, and it identifies fourteen reasons privacy matters to individuals, relationships, and to society. It also discusses the challenge of defining privacy and addresses the question of how the concept of privacy spans cultures. Librarians may find this broader understanding of the value of privacy useful in affirming and defending their commitment to the privacy of library users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, academic librarians have provided individual research consultations for students. There is little information, however, about why students schedule consultations, the kinds of assistance students feel are provided by librarians during consultations, and what students find valuable about face-to-face consultations, even with the availability of online research help. This exploratory, qualitative study of individual research consultations at the University of Vermont gathered students' views on these questions. The findings will help librarians better understand how individual consultations serve students and what role consultations should play in the mix of reference services offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Librarians have a long history of protecting user privacy, but they have done seemingly little to understand or influence the privacy policies of library resource vendors that increasingly collect user information through Web 2.0-style personalization features. After citing evidence that college students value privacy, this study used content analysis to determine the degree to which the privacy policies of 27 major vendors meet standards articulated by the library profession and information technology industry. While most vendors have privacy policies, the policy provisions fall short on many library profession standards and show little support for the library Code of Ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For years, academic librarians have developed research guides and subject bibliographies to help students more quickly find information in various disciplines. This quantitative study compared a print pathfinder and a web-based research tool in library instruction for two sections of a first-year business course. The study was intended to help the librarian decide whether it is in the best interest of students to replace the traditional printed pathfinder with an interactive web tool.

Identifies practices and trends in business school libraries in the U.S. Expenditures on resources; Content elements of library Web sites; Scope and nature of user education.