LILRC conference highlights modern privacy concerns

The Long Island Library Resource Council hosted its 28th annual conference on Libraries and the Future on Oct. 11 at the Heritage Club at Bethpage.

The event was titled Libraries in a Post Privacy World and guest speakers approached the role of libraries to safeguard privacy, data security, freedom of information and, ultimately, trust.

Lee Raine, the director of internet and technology research at the Pew Research Center, revealed a number of different surveys on the modern consumption of news and politics during a time when consumers are overburdened with information.

Through one of his surveys, Raine found that 73 percent of Americans believe Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on basic facts. “There’s a palpable sense now that information is weaponized and people live within their own information zones,” he said.

What adds to the furor, he found, is that the main metrics of online engagement, including likes, comments and shares, trend toward people who post incendiary, one-sided information.

A common thread throughout the conference was the importance of libraries in the fight for the truth. “You are all architects of the truth and information curation,” Raine said.

“People look to us for lifelong learning, continued education, books and computers,” said Kenneth Belfiore, the LILRC board chairman and director of the Freeport Library. “They know their information is safe with us and privacy is of utmost importance.”

Raine’s presentation segued into one about a massive data breach that recently made headlines. Following him was David Carroll, who is known for his role in taking Cambridge Analytica to court in the United Kingdom, as documented in the Netflix film The Great Hack.

Also speaking at the event was Davis Erin Anderson, the project lead for NYC Digital Safety, which provides librarians with resources in data privacy and digital security.

The keynote speaker was Edward Tenner, author of several books on data and technology, including “Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences” and “Our Own Devices: How Technology Remakes Humanity.”