The Ethical and Legal Issues to Use User’s Data for Data Mining in Egyptian Libraries: Analytical Study

Abstract

The research paper aims to deal with the ethical and legal issues of using the data of the users for data mining in the Egyptian libraries. And specifically that relate to the privacy of the users, where data mining is one of the stages of knowledge discovery from databases, in order to discover or extract previously unknown relationship, data mining is considered of the most important steps or processes to understand the behavior of users in various fields, particularly in libraries.
The study deals with two sides, as they are, the content analysis of the most important code of ethics in the field of libraries that relates to privacy, secrecy and protection of the user's data, and the studies that dealt with the subject from the side of specialty of libraries.
The study will follow the content analysis, to analyze, interpret how to use user's data for data mining and that by reviewing the previous data that dealt with this subject. That cleared that it was not covered by any of the Arab scientific studies.
In addition to using the content analysis method, it's one of the research methods that are used to qualify and objectively describe.
The apparent content of the communication media, and it will be done through the content analysis of the most important international code of ethics concerning the rules of the behaviors of the librarians and the information specialist by International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions [IFLA], American Library Association's [ALA], Arab federation for libraries and information, As these code of ethics provide for the values of secrecy, privacy , clarity and protection of users data.