# Advocating for ethical, responsible, and accessible civic data **What's the need?** * Civic data that is created through public funding should be well-known and easily accessible by the public. Realizing this often requires additional effort from data intermediaries. * People appear in public datasets when they perform common activities such as obtaining a license, or making a 311 report. The public should be aware of how their activity is recorded and publicly distributed. * The public interest in open data must be balanced with the protection of privacy **Why the library?** * Libraries democratize access to information. This can and should apply to data too. * Libraries protect patron privacy to support broad accessibility to information and freedom of inquiry. **What you can do:** * Review how civic data is published in your region with an eye to access. Share what you find with civic data producers and publishers. * Review how civic data is published in your region with an eye to personal privacy. Share what you find with civic data producers and publishers. * Host workshops, speakers, film screenings, and other events that raise awareness of how individuals' personal traces might appear in civic data. Include guidance on protecting personal privacy. **Inspiration:** * San Jose, CA: [Virtual Privacy Lab ](https://www.sjpl.org/privacy) **Resources you can use:** * Allied Media Project, [Our Data Bodies Playbook ](https://www.alliedmedia.org/news/2019/02/07/our-data-bodies-playbook-out) * Zimmer, Michael, and Bonnie Tijerina. “[Library Values & Privacy in Our National Digital Strategies: Field Guides, Convenings, and Conversations](https://cipr.uwm.edu/2018/08/02/project-report-library-values-privacy/).” Milwaukee, WI, July 2018. * Data Privacy Project, [Privacy Literacy Training ](https://dataprivacyproject.org/initiatives/privacy-literacy-training/) * Responsible Data, [Responsible Data Principles](https://responsibledata.io/2018/01/24/rd-101-responsible-data-principles/) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://civic-switchboard.gitbook.io/guide/library-roles/advocating.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.