The underside of the ILS, courtesy of a Hacker Mag.

 Whilst reading my favorite 'zine I came across a brief article entitled "The Voyager Library Information System".  Normally that wouldn't mean much but the zine was 2600 and it was the typical article that you find in 2600. (In other words an alarming discovery of the ILS system and the data that it contains).

It reads that every item you checkout, browse, or even search for is logged and kept (sometimes unbeknownst to the Library itself) in a database that could potentially be used by some Government organization for some illicit purpose.  It also describes the process of cataloguing and introduces WorldCat.  There is also a brief discussion saying that OCLC is trying to claim ownership of all the metadata created by libraries that gets entered into WorldCat.  I don't know if that is for certain, but it does sound like typical ILS business.  All in all the privacy of every Library patron is only one invocation of the Patriot Act away from being shared with the NSA.

Think it this is a bit reactionary?  Well, just so you know, Jonathan Doe was fingered in the movie Seven because the police did a search for unusual library borrowing patterns.

"Accessing the periodical reading room is a privilege not a right!"

Is this just tin foil hat fodder?  Or does the Voyager system keep track of all search queries in a FBI friendly format?  Either way it gets you thinking about ILS systems, what they do, and how the public perceives them. 

This isn't the first time someone has written a bit on Library related antics for 2600.  Running a search on the TOCs of 2600 comes back with some interesting results.  If only the title was indexed in some database...

Reading this article got me thinking.  Does 2600 even exist in the library infosphere?  A title as subversive as this would go well in the typical public library collection, or even in the academic library.  Turns out some places are hip to it.  WorldCat (a-hem), tell me that the Edmonton Public Library has a subscription.  WorldCat also mentions that is is available in 36 Libraries in the United States. Just goes to show that no matter how niche you are some Library somewhere will pick up on it.  I have to say that I'm impressed with Edmonton.

Anyone with any sort of interest in computer security should look at an issue of 2600.  It is one of those publications that still doesn't have any external ads on its pages, which is quite a rare experience these days.