A study on the changes in librarians' perception before and after user privacy education.

The focus of this study is to investigate the perception of librarians towards user privacy in libraries. This study measures the change in perception after providing education related to the privacy of library users. The change in perception regarding privacy issues in libraries in the past 5 years by comparing its results with those of a 2013 study was also examined. The results show that librarians' level of interest and awareness of the privacy of library users in 2019 is significantly higher than that of 2013; awareness of the danger in collection of user data increased significantly after education; and finally, after education, there was greater receptivity to the education courses and willingness to recommend them to their colleagues. In order to increase awareness of privacy violations and for greater protection of library user privacy libraries and professional associations must strive to provide standardized and regular privacy education for librarians and library staff. • Many librarians have a low level of awareness about how and when user data is collected and the impact on user privacy. • Librarians' level of interest and awareness about library users' privacy in 2019 is significantly higher than that of 2013. • Librarians' awareness of library privacy issues was higher after participating in privacy education. • Librarians became more aware of the necessity of privacy education for librarians after receiving education themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]