So, 2 points worth discussing here.

1. I'll bet you most proxy servers are not proxying AddThis.com or Sharethis.com. So there wouldn't be any effect of proxying on the user tracking they do.

2. It really doesn't matter if you identify yourself to the catalog or not. You're being tracked across sites all over the internet. If you identify yourself to one of them, you can be identified. Note that the main concern here is if you use your own device to access the library's catalog.


On Aug 15, 2014, at 5:52 PM, Karen Coyle <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> On 8/15/14, 12:07 PM, Eric Hellman wrote:
>> AddThis and ShareThis, on the other hand have TOS that let them use tracking for advertising, and that's what their business is. So, hypothetically, a teen could look at library catalog records for books about childbirth, and as a result, later be shown ads for pregnancy tests, and that would be something the library has permitted.
> 
> Eric, I'm wondering about the full scenario that you are envisioning. Many libraries use proxy servers, so individual users are not identified. (Meaning that an 80-yr-old man may get the ad for the pregnancy test, not the teen.) In addition, in many cases the machine wipes itself clean daily, replacing all potential user files. (Someone else can explain this MUCH better than I just did.)
> 
> In my public library, I do not identify myself to the use the catalog on site -- not even to use journal article databases, because 1) authentication takes place in the library system 2) the proxy server's IP is my identity for those services. I have no idea what exits the library when I hook my laptop to the open network. Shouldn't all of these factors be taken into account? Can anyone articulate them from the point of view of a public library?
> 
> Note: At the university here at Berkeley, no network use is allowed without an account, so there is no anonymous use, at least on the human side of any proxy server that they run. But at the public library there is no log-on. So what is AddThis getting in those two situations?
> 
> kc
> 
> -- 
> Karen Coyle
> [log in to unmask] http://kcoyle.net
> m: +1-510-435-8234
> skype: kcoylenet/+1-510-984-3600