Balancing Personalization and Privacy: How Libraries Can Lead with Trust

In today’s digital age people expect more from the organizations they interact with more relevance, more convenience, and more understanding of their needs. At the same time, they are more protective of their personal data than ever before, and rightly so, data protection with digital technology partners has been called into question so many times that trust has become more tenuous.  

For libraries, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity. Libraries have long been champions of privacy and intellectual freedom. Yet patrons increasingly compare their digital library experiences with those they have on retail and streaming websites, which feel unified and tailored to them. 

So how can libraries deliver engaging, personalized experiences while staying true to their mission of protecting patron privacy? 

Why Privacy-Centered UX Matters 

From Netflix to Amazon, the user experience is now all customized and centered around personalization. People have come to expect that online platforms will anticipate their needs, surface relevant suggestions, and make every interaction feel effortless. Patrons carry those expectations with them into their library. 

Unlike commercial platforms that are driven by profit, libraries must prioritize privacy, transparency, and patron control above all else. That doesn’t mean they can’t offer smart, relevant experiences, it means those experiences must be designed differently. 

Key data privacy principles for libraries: 

Above: Explicit consent, easy-opt outs and transparency are the Key Data Privacy Principles for Libraries

How Libraries Can Get It Right 

Here are three areas where libraries can meet modern expectations while keeping trust intact. 

1. Make Discovery Relevant Without Overstepping 

People want help finding what they didn’t know they were looking for, as long as it’s clear how recommendations are being generated.

• In-search suggestions, staff lists, and event promotions are effective ways to surface relevant programs and collections. 

• Tools like BiblioCommons' “Content Promotions” enable libraries to tailor messages based only on explicitly provided preferences, like genre, age-group, or stated interests, and patrons can opt out anytime. 

• Always include a “Why am I seeing this?” explanation to make recommendations transparent. 
  

Above: On-page hyperlink to a "Why am I seeing this" statement ensure transparency to patrons on how and why they are seeing personalized content.

2. Deliver Notifications Patrons Actually Want 

Notifications are most effective when they’re timely, useful, and respectful of privacy. 

• Automated emails and reminders are a valuable part of the patron experience when consent is clear and settings are easy to manage. 

• Platforms like MessageBee integrate with a library's ILS to send necessary notifications while keeping data secure and under the patron's control. 

Above: On the left, ILS-generated notifications are wordy and hard to read. On the right, MessageBee notifications are in human-centered language, easy to scan, and understand.

3. Personalize Onboarding and User Workflows

New users need guidance, and regular users appreciate it when workflows remember their preferences as long as they stay in control. 

• Frictionless Onboarding makes it possible for new users to set up accounts transparently, explaining what data is collected and why. 
  
  
• A Centralized Patron Profile makes it easy for patrons to see and adjust their provided data and preferences in one place. 
  

Above:  The 'My Preferences' patron profile page that allows users to explicitly set the content they are interested in and the library locations that are most convenient to them.

• Improved hold workflows surface helpful information on a “While You Wait” screen to promote content that is available immediately, based on what patrons have shared. 

Above:  A "While You Wait" message in the Hold Workflow keeps patrons engaged by providing resource alternatives that are available for immediate checkout; reducing friction and frustration for popular titles with long hold lists. 

Our Commitment to Privacy

At BiblioCommons, we believe that personalization and privacy can, and must, coexist. 

• We only use explicitly provided information to improve patron digital experiences. 
• Patrons can opt in, edit, or revoke their preferences at any time. 
• We clearly explain “why you’re seeing this” wherever personalized content appears. 

"Libraries can deliver relevant, engaging experiences while upholding privacy as a core operating value."

Marty Tarle, General Manager, BiblioCommons

Take the Next Step 

Your patrons deserve an experience that feels relevant, respectful, and transparent. Audit your current practices against these principles using this checklist and see how BiblioCommons can help you deliver on both personalization and privacy.

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