Governments around the world propose to improve urban life by creating smart cities filled with sensors and other digital technologies that would collect large amounts of data about citizens and their activities. Ideally, smart cities would use the information they gather to enhance the urban environment and improve the quality of life of their…

In Fall 2011, staff at the University of Minnesota Libraries-Twin Cities undertook a project to measure how often, and in what ways, students used the Libraries' services. Partnering with the University's Office of Institutional Research, the team investigated ways to match library service usage to individual accounts while retaining patron…