Something really strange happened last week. I had bought a jar of Hannaford-brand anti-wrinkle cream while grocery shopping (one of their clearance bin treasures), and that evening, while I was surfing Facebook before bed, an ad for the Oil of Olay version of that same wrinkle cream popped up on my newsfeed.

Did Facebook know what I had just purchased? Did MasterCard or Hannaford report my shopping habits to a data or advertising company, who then used that information to program the ads I see online?

Or, a bit less innocuously, was it just a guess on the advertiser’s part, informed by my age or even (gasp!) a computer program’s ability to detect crow’s feet in my tagged photos?

 I think it can be argued that censorship today looks like this; targeted advertising from companies preying on our demographic profiles and internet browsing histories, or news companies whose algorithms show us articles that are similar to ones we’ve clicked on before.

It’s a subtle shift from what censorship looked like in the past. When I think of Victorian-era censorship, I imagine a handful of folks concerned with banning literature addressing behaviors and thoughts they considered illicit and immoral. Or I picture authoritarian governments giving false reports to their people. I think of erasing information and truth.

Today, I think censorship looks more like choosing to promote product A or subject B over a different product or subject because A and B are more likely to lead to clicks and purchases. But the end result is the same; someone behind a curtain somewhere is intentionally manipulating what I see to their own ends.

The Library is one of the last places where you can be free from prying eyes. We don’t track what you check out.

Our computers, too, are anonymous (until you log into your online accounts. I’m not totally clear on who can see what, but my understanding is that if you log into your Google account, they can follow your browsing history from that point on).

Privacy in an integral part of freedom, and here at the Library, we are big believers and promoters of both.

We’ve already planned up a bunch of programming during banned books week in September, but privacy and freedom matter every day. So we’re kicking off our Summer Reading Program with a family read-in on the Library lawn.

Join us from noon until 2 p.m. on Friday, June 30. Bring a blanket and your favorite book (don’t worry, we have plenty for you!), and settle in for an hour. Read to show your love of literature, your love of freedom, to model good habits for the next generation, or just for the pleasure of it.

After the read-in, we’ll sign kids up for our Summer Reading Program. Parents will be invited to take our parent pledge too. We’re hoping you’ll sign on to model good reading habits, support your child’s reading, and set your own reading goals. We’ll even give you a free book if you take the pledge!

I’m going to use the pledge as motivation to do more of my reading in print and less online. They say it’s good for your kids to see you read on paper, because they assume you’re just playing games if when they see you looking at your phone. And the last thing I need is to start getting ads for hearing aids and compression socks just because I happen to enjoy reading articles about knitting and the Golden Girls. Or because the computers can see how rapidly my hair is graying.

Upcoming events

• Artist of the Month RoseAnne Holladay: photography on display in June in the upstairs Community Room.
• Literary Lunch: Friday, June 9, 11:30 a.m. Susan Poulin, “The Sweet Life.” Call or stop by to register.
• Windjammers for Wee Mateys: Tuesday, June 27, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Crafts and a splash pool on the lawn. The Maine State Aquarium will be there with their traveling touch tank too!
• Books in Boothbay Book Fair: Saturday, July 8, 9 a.m.–1 p.m., Boothbay Railway Village.
• Story Hour: Fridays, 10:15 a.m. Hear a story with Miss Desiree, make a craft, and sing a song!