Last week I recevied an ad in the mail from CDB Infotek for their
"Discovery Plus! database. I imagine it's going to other AALL members as
well. Did the rest of you see this? There's a picture of four "criminal
types" on the outside leading into an explanation of how this database
helped law enforcement officers "track them down." The banner reads "They
could run but they couldn't hide."
The ad goes on to say that you can get listings on neighbors, potential
relatives, etc. including social security numbers. The implication is
that loss of personal privacy is a small price to pay for being able to
get these criminals off the streets.
In addition to again raising the issue of personal privacy and
inappropriate access to social security numbers, I think this ad is
particularly offensive as it is designed to appeal to people's worst fears
in a sensationalized manner. Frankly, I thought it was a rather racist
appeal and I'm troubled that anyone would think this an effective tactic
to reach law librarians.
Did other people think this ad was in bad taste? I certainly plan on
registering my disapproval with this vendor (both about privacy concerns
and the manner in which they are promoting their product) and hope others
will do the same.
Sam Trosow
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Samuel E. Trosow Boalt Express
Boalt Express Librarian Document Delivery and Research Service
Phone: (800) 832-4586 Boalt Hall Law Library
Fax: (800) 232-4896 University of California
strosow@library.berkeley.edu Berkeley, CA 94720-7210
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