Iowa: A Security Camera in a Public Library Bathroom Causes Concern
A University of Iowa student has voiced her concern after noticing a security camera in the public library bathroom.
Iowa City Public Library Director Susan Craig said the cameras are part of a security system that was put in place when the library opened in 2004. Craig says the library serves as the main public restrooms for downtown Iowa City, seeing about 22,000 people a week in and out. She says the cameras are there for safety.
Although the cameras at Iowa City’s Public Library are not able to see the inside of stalls, the student who complained said they are in the area where people still need their privacy. The student then contacted the Iowa American Civil Liberties Union asking for help getting the cameras removed.
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More from the Iowa City Press-Citizen:
The ACLU of Iowa emailed the letter Friday on behalf of University of Iowa sophomore Kellsie Pepponi, who in September had used one of the bathrooms and afterward noticed a camera on the bathroom ceiling.
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Pepponi saw a sign outside the bathroom noting cameras were in use but, in seeing cameras outside the bathroom, believed the sign was referencing those cameras, the letter said. She did not notice the camera inside the bathroom on her way in because they are near the entrance, but noticed it while standing inside one of the stalls, the letter said.
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See Also: From ACLU Iowa: News Release and Full Text of Letter Sent to Library
Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.