may04b.indd


C o l l e g e  &  R e s e a r c h  L i b r a r i e s  

Authentication
and
library


public
access
computers



A
call
for
discussion


by Nancy Courtney 

A
uthentication is creeping quietly into academic libraries. It is often initiated by 
groups external to the library, mainly campus 
computing personnel, database vendors, and 
serials publishers. Librarians who would rise 
up to defend library circulation records are, 
often without protest, allowing a system to be 
put in place that will track every movement 
made by a patron on a library computer and 
match it to the patron’s identity. Besides the 
loss of privacy, there are real concerns of ac­
cess and convenience. Imagine having to log 
into a library computer every time you want 
to check a reference in a database. Imagine 
being a visitor at a library with which you 
are not affiliated. Will you have to fill out fi ve 
minutes worth of paperwork in order to do a 
two­minute search? Will you even be able to 
check a reference or will access to the data­
base be denied you altogether? Authentication 
seems to represent a major shift in library 
policy, yet the subject is nearly absent in the 
library literature and remains undiscussed at 
conferences. 

Authentication is considered here within 
the context of public access computers in 
academic libraries (i.e., computers located in 
public areas of the library that are intended 
for patron use) and is defined as having to log 
in with a username and password in order to 

use the computer. In many academic libraries, 
staff computers already function this way, but 
public computers have been largely open 
for anyone to walk up and use. This article 
is not concerned with the issue of remote 
authentication, which provides a means for 
affiliated patrons to use proprietary databases 
from off­campus Internet addresses, nor is it 
concerned primarily with the issues of privacy 
and anonymity, although these are deserving 
of further scrutiny.1 Its primary focus is ac­
cess to academic library resources by patrons 
unaffiliated with the institution and how the 
adoption of authentication on public access 
computers can limit or deny access to library 
materials. 

Authentication practices 
As part of a 2001 survey of 814 academic 
libraries regarding policies toward unaffi liat­
ed users, 72 academic libraries indicated that 
they used authentication, and 56 planned to 
implement it within the next 12 months.2 

In order to look more closely at the details 
involved in authentication, an informal sur­
vey was developed and e­mailed to a rep­
resentative of the reference department or 
alternate at each of these libraries. In some 
cases, a suitable e­mail address could not be 
identified easily and the library was not sur­

About the author 

Nancy Courtney is head of the Information Services Department at Ohio State University Libraries, e-mail: Pcourtney.24 
@osu.edu 

© 2004 Nancy Courtney 

C&RL News May 2004 / 269 

http:Pcourtney.24


veyed. Surveys were sent to 62 of the librar­
ies that indicated they were already using 
authentication and to 35 of the libraries that 
indicated planning to authenticate. If the li­
brary was not planning to use authentica­
tion, they were asked not to complete the 
rest of the survey. Thirty­eight replies were 
received from libraries now using authen­
tication (30 from the “using” group and 8 
from the “planning” group). 

Twenty­one of the 38 libraries answered 
that they had a mix of authenticated and 
unauthenticated computers in the library. Of 
these, nine libraries had a certain number of 
catalog­only machines, two had “kiosk­type” 
machines, eight had a limited number of 
“public” machines, one mentioned a single 
machine for the catalog and one database, 
and one had a machine just for accessing 
government documents. Most libraries had 
a limited number of public machines, rang­
ing in number from two to six, although an 
exceptional library had 50. 

Twenty­seven libraries allowed unaffi li­
ated patrons to use authenticated machines. 
Two additional libraries said they did not 
allow use but made very limited exceptions. 
In 11 libraries, the staff logs the patron on, 8 
libraries had generic or guest logins available, 
9 assigned guests a temporary identifi cation, 
and 1 had a single password for consortium 
users. When questioned about what resources 
unaffiliated users were not allowed to access, 
nine libraries indicated productivity software 
and nine specified databases with licensing 
restrictions or all subscription databases. 
Other types of resources unavailable to un­
affiliated patrons in a small number of cases 
were Internet access, free printing, certain 
special databases, campus network drives, 
and, in one case, everything but the online 
catalog. 

Why authenticate? 
Libraries were asked to indicate the moti­
vation for requiring authentication. Fifteen 
answered that it was a campus requirement 
and ten libraries cited high demand for com­
puter use. Hacking, threats, and other secu­
rity issues were cited in eight cases, and da­
tabase licensing restrictions were mentioned 
by five libraries. Other reasons given were 
the need to limit printing to authorized us­
ers, the desire to give affiliated users more 

access to the network, and the desire to pre­
vent users from viewing pornography. 

Most libraries reported that users and 
library staff were satisfied with the system, 
although a few mentioned that it was more 
work for staff to log patrons in and, in one 
case, staff expressed concern over the loss 
of user privacy. 

Conclusion 
The results seem to indicate an ambivalence 
among academic libraries regarding authen­
tication as evidenced by the fact that more 
than half of the sample still provide some 
form of public access, such as a catalog­
only machine or a limited number of public 
workstations, and an even greater percent­
age allow use of authenticated machines by 
the public. In addition, the restrictions that 
existed were sometimes limited to provid­
ing an increased benefit for affi liated users 
(such as use of productivity software or free 
printing) without denying access to outside 
users. Of greater concern is the acceptance 
of database license restrictions as a reason 
for authentication. Libraries are not obligat­
ed to accept licenses that do not permit use 
by walk­in users. 

It is also a concern that libraries are being 
driven by campus computing policies when 
it comes to authentication. The comparison 
with library circulation records is not an idle 
one. Librarians have taken a strong stand con­
cerning patron privacy with respect to circula­
tion records and have policies to prevent their 
misuse, even to the extent that systems are 
designed to prevent retention of information. 
The difference is that circulation records exist 
within the library’s control and public access 
computers, now connected to the Internet 
and tied to the campus computing center, 
are perceived as being outside the library’s 
control. It is also possible that librarians with 
little technical knowledge readily bow to the 
desires of campus computing professionals 
when confronted with incidents of hacking, 
security breaches, and the specter of death 
threats issuing from the reference room. 

The issue is not that authentication is un­
equivocally good or bad. It is that it is a sub­
ject that needs to be considered deliberately, 
with concern for how it relates to the library’s 
philosophy of service and existing policies. 

(continued on page 277) 

270 / C&RL News May 2004 



W  a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n e  Bernadette Murphy 

Register to Vote @ your library 
Libraries are essential to our democracy 
and, thanks to a new partnership, libraries 
throughout America will have an opportu­
nity to make it easier than ever for people to 
become registered voters. Through Register 
to Vote @ your library, ALA and Working As­
sets will cosponsor a voter registration page 
at www.yourvotematters.org/ala, where in­
dividuals can register to vote or update their 
registration information. Voters in all states 
except New Hampshire, North Dakota, and 
Wyoming are eligible to complete registra­
tion via this Web site. 

The Your Vote Matters site was created 
and customized by Working Assets for par­
ticipating nonpartisan, nonprofi t organiza­
tions. When citizens register to vote through 
www.yourvotematters.org/ala, they help raise 
funds for ALA thanks to a generous grant 
from Working Assets. All donated funds will 
be used to support ALA’s library advocacy 
efforts nationwide. 

“Libraries have always served their 
communities by providing the information 
resources needed to be informed citizens,” 
said ALA President Carla Hayden. “Libraries 
are community centers offering information 
on voter registration, hosting forums, and 
providing resources about issues of concern 
in the community and the nation. Our public 
libraries are a perfect fit for this critical civic 
activity. We are delighted to have Working 
Assets support in this effort.” 

ALA will highlight Register to Vote @ your 
library on its homepage and via press releases 
and member publications. Through these ef­
forts, ALA will not only encourage members 
to become registered voters, but also will 
ask librarians to promote voter registration 
through this site in their local libraries. 

ALA will award a grant of $1,000 to the 
library that registers the largest number of 
voters through the site and grants of $500 
to the fi rst five libraries that register 500 
individuals. 

Bernadette Murphy is communications specialist at ALA’s 
Washington Offi ce, e-mail: bmurphy@alawash.org 

In addition to helping to support advocacy 
at ALA, Working Assets will underwrite the 
costs of producing tip sheets, bookmarks, 
and buttons for library workers to use in 
promoting voter registration in their com­
munities. These materials can be requested 
online at www.ala.org/requestmaterials by 
any library interested in participating in this 
voter registration initiative and grant contest. 
Materials will be mailed to libraries until early 
September. 

“When it comes to defending our democ­
racy, librarians have always been on the front 
lines,” said Working Assets President Michael 
Kieschnick. “We’re proud to be their partner 
in this crucial campaign to register new voters 
in library branches nationwide.” 

For more information about Register to 
Vote @ your library, please contact Lainie Cas­
tle at (800) 545­2433, extension 5050. Contact 
Your Vote Matters at (877) 205­VOTE(8683) 
with technical or voter registration questions. 
For more information about Working Assets, 
visit www.workingassets.com. 

(“Authentication...” cont. from page 270) 
It should not be dictated by the conve­

nience of other units or the passive accep­
tance of standard license agreements. 

Notes 
1. Two articles that do consider the privacy 

aspects of authentication from somewhat dif­
ferent perspectives are: Lynn Sutton, “Advo­
cacy for Intellectual Freedom in an Academic 
Library,” in Crossing the Divide : Proceedings 
of the Tenth National Conference of the As­
sociation of College and Research Libraries, 
March 15–18, 2001, Denver, Colorado, ed. 
Hugh A. Thompson (Chicago, ACRL: 2001), 
54–56 and Virginia Rezmierski and Aline 
Soules, “Security vs. Anonymity: the Debate 
over User Authentication and Information 
Access,” EDUCAUSE Review 35 (March­April 
2000): 22–30. 
2. Nancy Courtney, “Unaffiliated Users’ Ac­
cess to Academic Libraries: A Survey,” Jour­
nal of Academic Librarianship 29 (January 
2003): 3–7. 

C&RL NewsMay 2004 / 277 

http:www.workingassets.com
www.ala.org/requestmaterials
mailto:bmurphy@alawash.org
www.yourvotematters.org/ala
www.yourvotematters.org/ala