Reading Response Six: Pyatt and Privacy

College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice

Chapter 10 – “Balancing Issues of Privacy and Confidentiality in College and University Archives”

By Tim Pyatt

I thought this book would be of particular interest to learning about university archives and with all my prior posts about privacy I decided that the chapter on privacy would be appropriate.

Privacy, Pyatt begins is driven by institutional fear of litigation, but it is impossible to screen or redact everything.  In the chapter Pyatt discusses issues with FERPA, HIPPA, electronic records, public records laws, and sensitive faculty papers.

FERPA and HIPPA are both federal laws that archivists need to understand.  FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, has significantly changed the way that student records are handled.  A 2004 study showed that archivists tend to act conservatively when it comes to student records.  The same study also found that there was confusion regarding what constitute student records due to FERPA’s ambiguous definition and lack of guidance.  The challenge with student records is that they can be hidden in unrestricted administrative or faculty papers, such as a graded paper or letter of recommendation.  Materials in faculty papers before IRBs are also an issue.  The task of handling these records if they are in large amounts can influence accepting a collection, despite potential research value.  A solution offered is to inform the research of possibility of sensitive material and place the burden on them.  The issue I see with this is that the researcher would not know the guidelines for what is sensitive the way that an archivist should and may have different definitions of what is sensitive, however it would save archivists the time of checking everything. 

HIPPA is protected patient privacy which applies to “covered entities.”  Although general university archives are not cover entities, which include health care providers and plans, archivists still have an ethical obligation to protect those records containing protected health information.

Archivists need to be familiar with state statutes for guidance in complying with public/open record laws.  Policies and procedures should then be made to handle requests made for records created under those laws.  Federal law still takes precedent of state, though, so FERPA still applies.  It is also important to note that the Freedom of Information Act only applies to federal agencies and does not create a right to access of college and university archives. 

Electronic records have made the entire process more challenging because it is harder to isolate sensitive materials.  Archivists have to rely on individuals to appraise and manage their emails and trust that guidelines and training are provided and enable employees to make correct decisions. 

Overall, with privacy issues it is important to be educated about laws and gain a better understanding through contact with legal counsel.  Education of patrons and donors can also help in lightening the load placed upon archivists.

Pyatt, Tim. “Balancing Issues of Privacy and Confidentiality in College and University Archives.” In College and University Archives: Readings in Theory and Practice, edited by Christopher J. Prom and Ellen D. Swain. Chicago : Society of American Archivists, 2008.