Blockchain: Recommendations for the Information Professions

1. Blockchain National Forum:
Overview and Preliminary Findings
Dr. Sandra Hirsh, Professor and Director
Dr. Susan Alman, Lecturer
SJSU School of Information
ALA Webinar: September 24, 2018

2. Blockchain Project:
SJSU School of Information
IMLS-funded Project Goal:
Gain a better understanding of
blockchain technology and imagine
its potential for small and large,
urban and rural libraries and their
communities.
The San José State University
School of Information was
awarded a grant by the Institute
of Museum and Library Services
– LG-98-17-0209-17 – to
investigate possible uses of
blockchain applications for the
information professions. The
Blockchain National Forum
brought experts together to
discuss the issues involved in
blockchain initiatives.

3. Blockchain Project Website and Blog
Website provides information
• Blockchain Explained
• Blockchain Applications in
Libraries
• Resources
• Blog Posts
• Executive Summaries
Blockchain Project
Website:
https://ischoolblogs.sjsu.
edu/blockchains/

4. Library 2.0 Virtual Conference – June 2018
“Blockchain Applied: Impact on the Information Profession”
Opening Keynote: Blockchain Explained
Blockchain Panel: Standards, Legal Issues,
Security Issues, Authentication and Preservation
8 Case Examples: Healthcare, Information
Professions, Recordkeeping, Public Library,
Credentialing, Community-Based Collections,
Fair Art Market, Blockchain
Education/Tools/Training
Closing Keynote: Pros & Concerns
View the Recording:
https://www.youtube.com
/c/Library20

5. Blockchain National Forum
August 6, 2018 - San Jose, California
Agenda:
• Overview: Possibilities and Issues
• Use Case Contexts: Public Libraries, Academic Libraries,
Partnerships, Additional Applications (e.g., Credentialing,
Community-Based Collections, etc.)
• Recommendations and Discussion
26 notable experts in the information professions,
business, government, and urban planning.

6. Blockchain National Forum Participants
Nader Afzalan, Urban Footprint
Sue Alman, SJSU Co-PI
Dan Blackaby, Cornell University
John Bracken, DPLA
Todd Carpenter, NISO
Frank Cervone, Univ. of Illinois@Chicago
May Chang, Univ. of Cincinnati
Caroline Coward, NASA JPL
Eli Edwards, Santa Clara Univ.
Miguel Figueroa, ALA Center for Future of Libraries
Toby Greenwalt, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Jason Griffey, Evenly Distributed
M Ryan Hess, Palo Alto City Library
Sandy Hirsh, SJSU Co-PI
Darra Hofman, Univ. of British Columbia
Amy Jiang, Univ. of La Verne
Bohyun Kim, LITA President
Alexandra Lederman, The New School
Chris Martin, King County Library System
Annie Norman, Delaware State Library
Andrew Pace, OCLC
MacKenzie Smith, UC Davis
Link Swanson, Univ. of Minnesota
Tim Thompson, Yale
Christinger Tomer, University of Pittsburgh
Alex Voto, ConsenSys
Yao Zhang, Kent State University

7. Blockchain National Forum Outcomes
Executive Summaries from
Participants
Recommendations for Path
Forward
Disclaimer: Investigators are
NOT Blockchain Experts:
Convened the Discussion
View the Recording:
https://ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu/bl
ockchains/national-forum/

8. Suggested Blockchain Issues & Applications for
Libraries
Issues
Legal
Security
Standards
Applications
Academic libraries
Public libraries
Archives/Records

9. Legal Issues
Ownership of a decentralized ledger?
• Data “sits” on several computers or servers and updates simultaneously
• Private blockchains vs. public blockchains
Privacy – GDPR European General Data Protection Regulation
• “…legal framework that sets guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information of
individuals within the European Union (EU). ... GDPR came into effect across the EU on May 25,
2018.”
• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr.asp
Is Blockchain content or provider?
• It can be data storage and a store of value (anything that retains purchasing power into the future.)
RECOMMENDED: Blockchain and the Law by Primavera De Felippi and
Aaron Wright (Harvard University Press, 2018)

10. Questions to Ask
What kinds of data and records must be stored and preserved
exactly the way they were created? (provenance records,
transcripts)
What kinds of information are at risk to be altered and
compromised by changing circumstances? (personally identifiable
data)
What types of interactions may need to take place between
data/records and their users? (physician/patient)
How much would be a reasonable cost for implementation?

11. Security Issues
Blockchains store data using sophisticated algorithms
• Difficult, but not impossible to hack
Theoretically tamperproof
• Cryptographic fingerprint unique to each block
• Each node in the network agrees on a shared history
• 51% Rule – Blockchain can be hacked if attacked by a group of miners controlling
more than 50% of the network
RECOMMENDED: Blockchain – The Future is Here, MIT Technology
Review, May/June 2018 https://www.technologyreview.com/magazine/2018/05/

12. Standards Issues
Blockchain systems - Open ledger technology for managing
metadata
Baseline standards will impact future options
Areas of focus for standards development
• Process Management
• Data Retention
• Provenance of Information Stored in the Blockchain
• Authenticity of Information

13. Academic Libraries
Potential Use Cases
Archives and special collections where
provenance and authenticity are essential for
authoritative tracking
Digital preservation to track distributed digital
assets
Blockchain-based currencies for international
financial transactions between libraries and
publishers potentially eliminating exchange rate
problems
Potential to improve ownership and first sale
records management.
Credentialing: Personal & academic documents
Potential Problems
Could eliminate possibility of a “digital first sale”
by creating a verifiable transaction record
ensuring that limited rights are passed on with
designated restrictions of IP owner.
Information could be lost permanently if private
“key” is controlled by casual /unsophisticated
user.

14. Public Libraries
Potential Use Cases
Credentials for displaced or
stateless individuals
Community-based collections to
share objects, tools, services, and
“know-how”
Potential Problems
Flexibility of data frameworks to
allow for institutional variation
Storage capacity
Bandwidth capacity
Environmental impact with power
usage
Costs

15. Archives & Record Keeping
International Organization for
Standardization Technical
Committee 307
• Developing a new standard on
blockchain terminology.
Blockchain will improve trust in
organizations where information
records are transferred:
• e.g. credentials, transcripts,
currency exchange (ILL), deeds
transfer, health information
Use Cases:
• MIT transcript
• homeless services improvement
by replacing paper records which
are hard to manage
• vital records
• land registries proof of concept
• corporate records

16. Benefits for Recordkeeping
Immutable ledger (record) – Complete and unaltered
Used as legal evidence (reliability)
Multiple copies – LOCKSS (Lots of copies keeps stuff safe) Stanford
University
Multiple backups not necessary for loss or destruction of materials since
records reside in multiple locations on the blockchain.
Chain of Custody established to record the succession of offices or persons
who have held the materials from the time they were created (SAA Glossary)
Trust and immutability (blockchain) vs. confidentiality and performance
(database)

17. Blockchain Education for All
Librarians’ Roles:
• Need to understand blockchain
• Use blockchain in various applications
• Provide blockchain education to users

18. Recommendations from National Forum
Convene a coalition of
interested parties to secure
funding for blockchain to move
from awareness to activity or
proof-of-concept to full
implementation.
Educate the public and
information professionals about
blockchain technologies: how it
works and potential use cases.
Create opportunities for
people to experiment with
blockchain.
Work with other interested
parties to develop a library
pilot project for one or more
blockchain use cases.

19. Next Steps
Updates on Blockchain Project Website
• https://ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu/blockchains
Blockchain (Library Futures Series, Book 3) -
Alman & Hirsh, Expected Publication: Spring
2019
ASIS&T presentation in Vancouver, Nov. 2018
MOOC on Blockchain Basics

20. Thank you!
For more information:
sandy.hirsh@sjsu.edu
susan.alman@sjsu.edu
https://ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu/blockchains