You may remember how thrilled I was to recently discover that our library system offered access to the Lynda.com catalog of training videos for graphic arts programs. I just received a punch in the gut in the form of an email from the county library system.
An important message about Lynda.com
Beginning September 1, 2019, the Library will no longer support access to Lynda.com
Ensuring privacy is fundamental to the operation of libraries and in California it is the law. The Contra
Costa County Library takes the protection of user privacy very seriously and seeks to work with vendors
who do the same.
To that end, the Library has decided to end its agreement with Lynda.com due to coming changes in the
user policy that will endanger the privacy of library patrons.
LinkedIn, the company that owns Lynda.com, is creating new usage rules for people who access the
platform with their library card. Library users would be required to create publicly searchable profiles and
agree to LinkedIn’s user agreement and privacy policy. The privacy policy, among other things, grants
LinkedIn the power to share user information with third parties.
Libraries across the country have urged LinkedIn to respect the rights of library users and so far they have
refused. As a result, the California State Library and the American Library Association recommend public
libraries end agreements with LinkedIn before these changes take place.
