Can Libraries Help National Intelligence Agencies Learn to Navigate the Online Information World?
A fascinating artlcle, "Open-Source Spying" published in the New York Times Magazine Online today poses the question: "Could blogs and wikis prevent the next 9/11?" (1) The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is experimenting with something they call "Intellipedia, a wiki that any intelligence employee with classified clearance [can] read and contribute to," (5), but finding a balance between secrecy & social networking tools is not an easy task in the world of international intelligence & security. Classified information and national security aside a moment, could social software in the hands of intelligence agencies threaten the privacy and civil liberties of individuals in our country?
What role, if any, can libraries and librarians have in helping intelligence agencies sort through all of the static of information and "connect the dots" (5) in order to protect the public; not only from potential violence or attacks, but from encroachment upon their privacy and civil rights? Feel free to add your thoughts to this discussion.