Reading History & Privacy in Aspen Discovery and Koha

by Morgan Daigneault on Feb 29, 2024

Libraries using Koha and Aspen Discovery will need to consider settings in both systems in order to make sure reading history is accessible according to your library's policies.

Enabling Reading History for Patrons in Aspen Discovery

By default, patrons will be able to record their reading/circulation history in Aspen independent of any settings in Koha. Reading history can be enabled/disabled from Aspen administration > Primary Configuration > ILS/Account Integration > Enable Reading History.

You can also control who has access to reading history by Patron Type (patron category). By default, all patron types have the option to opt in or out of reading history from their accounts. Should you want to disable this feature for specific patron categories, you can do so from Aspen administration > Primary Configuration > Patron Types. Edit the patron type you want to modify, then check/uncheck Enable Reading History. This setting does not automatically "opt in" or "opt out" all patrons of this category -- this preference merely displays the option for them to opt in or out.

Setting up Patron Privacy Preferences in Koha

First, you'll want to decide the default behavior for newly created patron accounts. You can find these preferences in Koha administration > Patrons and circulation > Patron categories.

The choices for default privacy preferences are:

Never

• Checkouts are anonymized on return.
• No history is kept in the user's account in Koha.
• Users will have to manually opt into recording their history in Aspen, and their history would be recorded from that point forward.

Forever

• Keeps a patron's checkout history indefinitely / until they decide to opt out.
• New users will be automatically opted in to recording their history in Aspen; they will need to opt out from Aspen if they want it to be stopped.

Default

• Keeps reading history until the cron batch_anonymise.pl deletes it.
• If the cron isn’t running, "Default" is functionally the same as “Forever."
• Users will automatically be opted in to reading history in Aspen; they will need to opt out from Aspen if they want it to be stopped.

The default preference is always Default.

If you do not want users reading history to be automatically recorded, you should change this preference to Never. This means patrons will need to opt in to recording their reading history in their Aspen accounts.

If you do want users' reading history to be automatically recorded, leave this preference at Default or switch it to Forever. This means patrons will automatically be opted in to reading history, and they will have to manually opt out from their Aspen accounts if they want to stop.

Note that while these settings allow you to change the default behavior for newly created patrons, staff cannot adjust a patron's reading history preferences for them in Koha. (See Bug 35766 - Allow staff to adjust privacy settings for patrons)

Related Privacy Settings in Aspen

There are two settings to consider here:

• Aspen administration > Primary Configuration > ILS/Account Integration > Opting in to Reading History Updates ILS Settings
• Aspen administration > Primary Configuration > ILS/Account Integration > Opting out of Reading History Updates ILS Settings

We recommend that both of these options are checked on so that the privacy settings on user accounts will be consistent across both systems. Keep in mind: if you have the Koha system preference intranetreadinghistory set to Don't Allow, staff will still not be able to see a patron's reading history even if they opt in from Aspen.

Koha System Preferences for Staff Access to Reading/Circulation History

intranetreadinghistory: Switch this to Allow if you would like staff to see checkout history in Koha for patrons who have opted in to recording their history. Otherwise, leave this preference on Don't Allow if you don't want staff to see patron reading history at all.

StoreLastBorrower: Switch this to Store if you want staff to see the last patron to borrow an item, even if reading history is anonymized.

AnonymousPatron: For newly migrating ByWater Partners, the Anonymous Patron has already been created and the system preference set up for you. Otherwise, you'll want to set up this system preference if you'd like to see the circulation history for items even when reading history is anonymized. This means that when an item is returned, the item's circulation history will show a checkout attributed to the Anonymous Patron. Before setting this preference, create a new patron to be used for all anonymous reading history items. Click here to see full instructions for setting up AnonymousPatron.

Note: This preference also states that it applies to submitting anonymous purchase suggestions. However, users can't submit anonymous purchase suggestions from Aspen at this time. Users must be signed in, and requests will be tied to their account.

Aspen Settings for Staff Access to Reading/Circulation History

Aspen administration > Primary Configuration > ILS/Account Integration > Masquerade Mode

By default, staff are not allowed to view patron reading history while using masquerade mode. However, you can change this by checking "Allow Display of Reading History in Masquerade Mode" in these settings. Click to learn more about Masquerade Mode in Aspen.

Migrating Existing Reading/Circulation History to Koha

If you are newly migrating to Koha and would like your patrons to keep their existing checkout history, you'll need to extract that data from your current ILS and send it to the data migration librarian working with you on your implementation.

When our data team migrates circulation history, they will flag the associated accounts who have already opted in to recording their history. The privacy preference on these accounts will be switched to "Forever" so their existing reading history will be kept and their history will continue to record. This preference will stay until the patron decides they no longer want to record their history.

Considerations for Migrated Reading History

When migrating existing circulation history from your legacy ILS, Aspen will not be able to load the following:

• Titles suppressed in Aspen (common examples would be suppression by status, location, item type, etc.)
• Titles that no longer exist or have been withdrawn

Aspen will also only count reading history entries at the title (grouped work) level, not at the record or item level. Here are some examples:

• Checkouts of the same title but from two different records with different publication dates would be counted once, not twice.
• Checkouts of multiple items/volumes from the same record. For example, every month I check out Vogue. Aspen will have one stored reading history entry for the Vogue grouped work and not at the item level for Vogue Feb, Vogue March, Vogue April, etc.
  
• Checkouts of multiple formats for the same title would be counted once, not twice. For example, checking out the audiobook and book would show up as a single entry.

Our Library is Already on Koha, and Now We're Adding Aspen Discovery

If you're currently using Koha, then you've already set up your default privacy preferences for Patron Categories based on how the Koha ILS works with the Koha OPAC. However, you may need to consider making adjustments as you transition to Aspen Discovery.

If any of your default privacy preferences are currently set to Default, new users of those categories who sign into Aspen will be automatically opted in to recording their circulation history. At any point they can decide to opt out if they no longer wish to record. Switching the default preference to Never will ensure that users must always opt in from Aspen if they want to begin recording their history.

When existing users who have already opted in to reading history from the Koha OPAC sign into Aspen for the first time, they will automatically be opted in to recording history in Aspen and their existing history will load in. However, if you are running the batch_anonymise.pl cron, the user will need to log into Aspen before that cron runs or else they will lose their existing history. Once a user logs into Aspen and pulls in their history, the batch_anonymise.pl cron will not clear out any history from their Aspen account. From the moment a user signs into Aspen, their history will exist in Aspen completely independent from any data stored or not stored in Koha.

User Experience in Aspen Discovery

Users can access reading history from the hamburger menu on the right-hand side > Your Account > Reading History. Users can also go directly to "Reading History" after clicking on their username and expanding the list of account pages.

When visiting Reading History for the first time, if a user has never opted in to reading history before, Aspen displays a message explaining what reading history is and possible implications for privacy. (This message can also be modified using Aspen's Translation Mode if you need to add more information specific to your library's policies.)

Once reading history is enabled, Aspen will pull in any current checkouts and continue to record reading history indefinitely until they decide to stop.

Users will be able to change the sorting, filter through their reading history, and delete individual titles or "Delete All" to wipe their slate clean and start fresh. Clicking "Stop Recording My Reading History" will stop recording and permanently delete their reading history irreversibly. This is because when a patron decides to stop recording their history, we take that decision seriously, and they can rest assured that their data is no longer stored in either system.

Click here to continue learning about reading history in Aspen Discovery.