As libraries across the United States rapidly adopt artificial intelligence tools and digital services, longstanding assumptions about patron confidentiality are being tested in new and urgent ways. “Library Patron Privacy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” is an analysis examining how existing state library privacy laws intersect with emerging AI technologies, third-party data practices, and the realities of modern digital library services.
Produced by Lucie Daignault, Samuel Lim, and Catherine Ferri of the Georgetown University Communications and Technology Law Clinic in collaboration with the EveryLibrary Institute, this report surveys all fifty states and the District of Columbia to assess how current library patron privacy laws may or may not protect readers, researchers, and library users in the AI era. The paper explores the implications of generative AI, data retention, vendor relationships, digital circulation systems, and the growing tension between technological innovation and the constitutional and ethical obligations libraries have long upheld.
The paper includes a detailed, state-by-state, contemporaneous survey of state laws intended to inform librarians, trustees, policymakers, researchers, advocates, technologists, and anyone concerned with the future of intellectual freedom and privacy. The paper is designed to help start and deepen conversations across the library, legal, civic technology, and public policy communities. The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence requires libraries and their partners to think proactively about privacy, confidentiality, free expression, and the role of trusted public institutions in a data-driven society.
The EveryLibrary Institute invites stakeholders to engage with the information and insights presented in this report. We hope this work encourages new collaborations, updated legislation, stronger vendor accountability, and ongoing public dialogue about how libraries can continue to protect reader privacy and public trust in the age of AI.
Download the full report: Library Patron Privacy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: An Overview of Existing Law and Policy Recommendations, by Lucie Daignault, Samuel Lim, and Catherine Ferri, Georgetown Communications and Technology Law Clinic in partnership with the EveryLibrary Institute (May 2026)