CNBC: “Why Librarians are Up in Arms Against LinkedIn”

From CNBC (approx. 1000 words):

Librarians across the country are vocalizing their frustration with LinkedIn over a new policy to its Lynda.com learning tools, which are being rebranded as LinkedIn Learning by the end of this year. The update requires library patrons using the learning programs to create a LinkedIn account using their full name. Library heads told CNBC they are angry because it’s a violation of their clients’ privacy and because the company has not held a serious dialogue with them.

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“It’s the worst privacy policy I’ve ever seen and this is the first time I’ve seen a company so dismissive,” said Jill Bourne, San Jose Library director who has lived and worked in the Silicon Valley for several years. “Their [LinkedIn’s] response has been ‘We’re listening to librarians’ and every librarian I know, myself included, is livid because they’re so not listening.’”

The article includes a statement from the LinkedIn spokesperson Andrea Roberts.

From the Statement:

We did meet with a number of our largest library customers to validate the change before deciding to move ahead. While some libraries have decided to not continue to work with us, so far 67% of our library customers in the US have decided to renew their subscriptions. We have also reached out to the president of the American Library Association and have not yet heard back. While this is small from a revenue perspective, it is very important for us to continue to work with libraries as their efforts and patrons are clearly aligned with our mission.

Direct to Complete Article and Statement (approx. 1000 words)

See Also: ALA Urges LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com) to Reconsider Changes to Terms of Service that Impair Library Users’ Privacy Rights (July 22, 2019)

Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users