Thanks, Margie & James, for both your clarification of the circumstances of
the database, and for expediting the removal of ethnicity and member
IDs from the public database. This is a good start.
However, I am still disturbed that contact information is so readily
available to the public. You write:
> The new information about individual members was collected over a two-year
> period when AALL members renewed their membership. Over 2500 members
> submitted a voluntary "AALL Member Profile" to AALL Headquarters. The
> member profile form indicated that the information would be added to the
> membership database, and made available.
My assumption when I completed the form was that my information would
be made available in two ways:
1) to AALL members, and
2) to others (publishers, professional groups, etc.), as screened by
AALL **in the organization's exercise of reasonable judgment.**
Those were the circumstances under which I consented to have that
information made available. I did not give AALL blanket permission to
publish that information for the world to see. Judging by the responses
I've already received to my posting earlier today, I was far from alone
in that assumption.
> The form also noted that "if
> there are any questions you'd rather not answer, we respect your
> privacy... " I apologize if this information wasn't as clear as it might
> have been.
Publishing the information on the web is a gross abuse of the license
granted to use the information. Had I been aware that this would've
been done, I would have withheld the information. I am all in favor of
my professional colleagues having access to my contact information,
and I had trusted AALL to otherwise use that information in a
responsible manner. Please convince me that I did not err in placing
that trust in the organization.
(NB: As a former administrator of a small nonprofit organization
nearly a decade ago, I am aware of the value of having a membership
list available to sell or barter to other organizations. It can be
a valuable networking and fundraising resource. However, part of
its usefulness is its judicious disbursement. I fail to understand why
AALL is either broadcasting valuable fundraising data or violating
members' expectations - or both.)
> Again, I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and do thank you
> for your comments.
I'm sorry, but it's not just an "inconvenience". I consider it a serious
breach of etiquette, at best. Simply saying "Well, don't fill out the
form next year if you don't wish to have your contact information
available to every data mining 'bot on the web" doesn't do anything
to correct the original breach.
Respectfully, but nonetheless frustrated -
-- Sarah Gregory
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
* Sarah Crary Gregory, JD Reference Librarian sgregory@lclark.edu*
~ Boley Law Library, Northwestern School of Law ~
* of Lewis & Clark College *
~ Portland, OR 97219 503.768.6740 ~
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