LinkedIn Learning Makes Changes to Their Terms of Service and Plans to Launch a New Learning Product For Libraries

From a LinkedIn Blog Post: A New Learning Product for Libraries

We are excited to begin building the new product and are committed to helping library patrons build and develop their skills. We look forward to sharing more specifics on the roll out in the coming months.

We know our world has changed dramatically over the past few weeks, with many libraries temporarily closing in response to the Coronavirus. We are committed to providing uninterrupted service of Lynda.com during this time to ensure patrons have access to learning courses to build and develop their skills.

We also wanted to thank you for your patience as we worked through the plans for your transition from Lynda.com to LinkedIn Learning. We’re excited to share that after continued discussions with the library community over the past few months, we’re taking the first steps toward building a new library product that’s dedicated to serving the needs of our library customers and their patrons.

We are building a product that gives libraries and their patrons access to our complete catalogue of over 15,500 courses in seven languages while honoring our commitment to privacy and confidentiality.

[Emphasis Ours] This includes the ability for patrons to use LinkedIn Learning without having a LinkedIn profile, which was a key ask from our library customers and the American Library Association. Patrons will only need to provide their library card number and PIN to login.

Read the Complete Statement

From ALA:

After conversations with the American Library Association (ALA) and other industry leaders, LinkedIn Learning — formerly Lynda.com, a platform used by libraries to provide online learning opportunities to library users —announced today that it has made changes to its terms of service.

Under LinkedIn Learning’s revised terms, a library cardholder will no longer need to create a LinkedIn profile in order to access LinkedIn Learning. Additionally, users will need no longer need to provide an email address to use the service; they will be able to sign on with a library card number and PIN.

“We are pleased that LinkedIn Learning heard our concerns and responded with a solution that preserves library users’ privacy,” said ALA President Wanda Kay Brown. “Their previously announced plans to require users to disclose personally identifiable information, such as full name and email address, were contrary to ALA policies addressing library users’ privacy, and may have violated some states’ library confidentiality laws. We thank them for listening and doing the right thing.”

Read the Complete Statement

Background

American Library Association Blasts LinkedIn for Intrusive ToS Changes (July 23, 2019; via ZDNet)

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