Privacy policy

Our Commitment to Our Patrons

The Westfield Washington Public Library (“the Library”) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of patron records. The Library collects personal information only for the purpose of delivering requested services and operating the Library’s website. The Library will not sell, share or trade our patrons’ names, personal identifiable information, or library account information with any other entity except those working under contract or as required by law. We will not send mailings to our patrons on behalf of other organizations not directly affiliated with the Westfield Washington Public Library. The Library provides our website as a public service to our patrons and respects the privacy of each individual who visits it.

The Library’s Collection of Personal Information

Personal information is any personally identifiable information about a patron, for example: name, street or email address, or telephone number.

Information Collected

No collection of any personally identifiable information is done without the consent of visitors to the Library’s website. In order to receive services such as purchase suggestions, event registration, and email notifications, individuals may choose to submit personally identifiable information.

The Library strives to collect the least amount of personally identifiable information from patrons. We keep your information as long as required by Indiana State Law. The Library does not engage in practices that might place personally identifiable information on public view without patron consent.

It is standard library practice to collect the following information:

  • Information required to register for a library card such as name, address, telephone number, email address, and birthdate
  • Library barcode number or guest pass number used to log on to public computers
  • Records of items currently checked out, requested, interlibrary loans, fees owed, and payments made
  • Sign-up information for library programs

The Library uses Google Analytics to collect data about the use of our website to make improvements to the website and track trends. Data collected includes:

  • Browser type
  • Device type
  • Engagement information (sessions, session duration, page views)
  • Geography (internet service provider location, language)
  • Network service provider
  • Operating system
  • Referrals (web address patron coming from)

Any personally identifiable information given to the Library in email messages, web forms, in- person or telephone or chat reference, or other communications is used only for the purpose for which it was originally collected.

Access to Patron Information

All patron records are confidential and may only be disclosed to:

  • Library staff performing job duties
  • Cardholders upon proof of identity
  • Parents or guardians of minor children (limited access)
  • Under court order or subpoena

If the library cardholder is under the age of 18, the parents or legal guardians may only be given information associated with materials that have accrued fees.

Library patrons may access their personally identifiable information and are responsible for keeping it accurate and up-to-date. This can be done online or in person. Proof of identity is required to update information in person and a password is required to update information online.

The Westfield Washington Public Library may use a patron’s information and library usage history to:

  • Develop reports based on aggregate data
    • Send patrons information about upcoming events and programs based on borrowinghistory and past event/program attendance
    • Send patrons information on new additions to our collection, based on personal interest categories that they chooseApproved and adopted by the Westfield Washington Public Library Board of Trustees 7/13/2022

Items placed on hold for library patrons may be shelved by a pre-determined system for pick-up in the public areas of the Library.

Website and Public Computers

The Library’s website is encrypted with Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) which is used widely for secure communication between a computer network and the internet.

The Library uses software programs that monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information intended to cause damage. No other attempts are made to identify individual patrons or their usage habits.

The Library uses restoration software to remove personal data and browsing history each time a patron ends their session on a public computer. Library card numbers and Guest Passes are used to reserve public computers.

At times, the Library offers the opportunity for patrons to contribute to the content of its website and social media applications. Submission of any such content for publication would be entirely voluntary on a patron’s part. However, any information submitted by patrons will not be subject to the protections of this privacy policy, unless a patron specifically requests that personally identifiable information be withheld from the publication or be removed from social media applications.

Personal Information of Children

The Library has no intention of collecting any personally identifiable information from individuals under 13 years of age. The Library will specifically instruct children, where appropriate, to not provide such information on its website. If it is discovered that a child has given the Library personally identifiable information, and the parent or guardian of the child would like this information deleted from the Library’s records, they should contact the Library Director. Reasonable efforts will be made to delete the child’s information from the Library’s existing files.

Third-Party Vendors

The Library enters into agreements with third-party vendors to provide online services, digital collections, streaming media content and more. Because third-party vendors have their own privacy policies and confidentiality practices, patrons’ interaction with their systems will be governed by their individual privacy policies.

Surveillance

The Library uses digital video surveillance inside and outside of our Library location. Digital video may be stored for up to 60 days. Video is only available to view by authorized library staff or law enforcement authorities.

Statistical Information

The Library collects and uses statistical information for the purpose of managing and improving service operations and to report statistics regarding the use of the Library’s website. Servers and software programs automatically log website access information. Individual visitors are not identified by name through the gathering of this information. Persistent cookies (discussed below) may be used to gather further statistical information about website usage.

Non-Persistent Cookies

The Library may store some information on patrons’ computer when you view our website. This information will be in the form of a “cookie” or similar file and helps the Library in a number of ways. Most Internet browsers allow users to block all cookies, erase cookies from users’ computer, or receive a warning before a cookie is stored. Users should refer to a help screen or the instructions for the computer’s browser to learn more about these functions. Non-persistent cookies may be used on the Library’s website to manage a user’s session. They are only necessary to maintain session information, are temporary, and become invalid after the web browser has been closed.

Users will still be able to use the Library’s website if cookies are disabled while using the Library’s website; however, cookie-dependent features will not be able to be used.

Persistent Cookies

In order to improve our users’ online experiences, the Library may use persistent cookies to gather statistics regarding its website usage. No personal identification information is captured through the use of persistent cookies.

Use of Email Addresses

The Library reserves the right to use email communication for the purpose of catalog notices, information about Library services, bill collecting, and on behalf of other organizations directly affiliated with the Westfield Washington Public Library.

Use of Credit Cards

The Library does not currently accept credit card payments through its website. Library bills may be paid by adults age 18 and older using a credit card via the Evergreen Indiana website, which has no interaction with the Westfield Washington Public Library’s website.

Linking to Other Web Sites

The Library’s website contains links to other websites. The content or privacy policies of other sites are not the responsibility of the Library. Users are subject to the privacy policy of other sites once they link to them.

Patrons have the following rights:

  • to update any inaccurate personal data that the Library may collect
  • to request at any time the deletion of personal data
  • to restrict the processing of data in some case
  • to receive and transfer the data to another organization
  • to object to the processing of their personal data unless the Library demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds for it

Enforcement

Library patrons who have questions, concerns or complaints regarding the Library’s handling of their privacy and confidentiality rights should request to speak to a library manager. The Library will respond in a timely manner and may conduct an investigation or review of practices and procedures.

Library records are not made available to any agency of state, federal or local government without a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other legal document requiring the Library to do so. All staff have been trained to refer any law enforcement requests to library administrators.

The Library takes seriously its obligation to protect the privacy of every patron. Any appearance of inconvenience to patrons to protect patrons’ privacy is unintentional, but the Library believes it is a small cost for the assurance that an individual’s reading preferences and use of the Library will remain exclusively a person’s business.

Approved and adopted by the Westfield Washington Public Library Board of Trustees 7/13/2022