Privacy Policy
Revision Control
- Approved by the Board September 21, 2020
I. Purpose
The purpose of the Lincolnwood Public Library District’s (LPLD) Privacy Policy is to disclose the specific privacy practices.
II. Right to Privacy
The Library is committed to protecting personally identifiable information. The confidentiality of library records is a core part of library ethics and the Lincolnwood Public Library follows the Code of Ethics of the American Library Association. Under the Illinois General Assembly Library Records Confidentiality Act, ILCS Chapter 75, Section 70 “The registration and circulation records of a library are confidential information. No person shall publish or make any information contained in such records available to the public…” Lincolnwood Public Library will not collect or maintain personal information without consent. The information gathered is used only to provide or improve library service. Library users have the right to access their own borrowing information on the Library’s website or in person. In both instances, a library user will be required to provide proof of identity.
III. Confidentiality
Illinois state law mandates the confidentiality of all records containing personally identifiable information relating to an individual’s use of the library and its resources, facilities, and services. Confidentiality includes, but is not limited to, circulation of library books, periodicals, and other materials, electronic resource searches, interlibrary loan transactions, reference requests, and use of audio‐visual materials. The Library will not sell, lease, or disclose confidential information to outside parties unless required to do so by law.
Library records containing personally identifiable information will not be made available to any agency of state, federal, or local government unless a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other investigatory document is issued by a court of competent jurisdiction that shows good cause and is in proper form. The Board of Trustees has authorized only the Library Director or designee to receive or comply with requests from law enforcement officers. The Library will confer with legal counsel before determining the proper response.
IV. Information We Collect
The types of personal information collected:
- Name
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Library barcode card number
- Date of birth
- Materials currently checked out or requested
- Unpaid fees for lost or damaged materials (until paid)
V. How We Safeguard Personal Information
In order to protect personal information the Library will:
- Avoid keeping unnecessary records.
- Remove the correlation between personal information and materials borrowed once these items are returned.
- Purge and shred outdated records.
- Have security procedures that protect against loss, destruction, and unauthorized access to information.
- Ensure that contracts and agreements with providers of electronic resources reflect our policies and legal obligation.
- Remove from computers daily: cookies, search histories, cached files, and other records of Internet use.
- Not collect personal information from individuals using public access computers in the Library.
- Not collect personal information from individuals visiting the Library website from home.
VI. Links to Other Sites
The Library website contains links to sites not maintained by the Library. The Library is not responsible for the privacy practices of any other sites. The Library encourages individuals to become familiar with these privacy practices and be mindful when asked to disclose personal information.
VII. Cookies
The Library uses cookies to facilitate access to our catalog and electronic resources. These cookies do not collect, store, or maintain a library user’s personally identifiable information. Library users do not have to accept these cookies to visit or use the Library’s website and resources. Cookies may be refused or deleted from a computer’s hard drive.
In order to access the library catalog and electronic resources from home, the barcode number on the library card is required for authentication purposes. Providers of licensed electronic resources do not have access to records containing personal information. Any information collected is discarded upon logging off.
