Privacy Law in the Public

Library

Libraries

Are

Unique

UNLIKE

EVERYWHERE

ELSE IN THE

WORLD…

Unlike everywhere else in the world

We are committed

to protecting the

privacy of our

patrons!

Many Layers

Established Practice

Constitution of the United States

American Library Association (ALA)

New Hampshire Library Association

(NHLA)

New Hampshire RSA

First Amendment

CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW

RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT

OF RELIGION, OR PROHIBITING THE

FREE EXERCISE THEREOF; OR

ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF

SPEECH, OR OF THE PRESS; OR THE

RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY

TO ASSEMBLE, AND TO PETITION

THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS

OF GRIEVANCES.

Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in

their persons, houses, papers, and

effects, against unreasonable

searches and seizures, shall not be

violated, and no warrants shall issue,

but upon probable cause, supported

by oath or affirmation, and particularly

describing the place to be searched,

and the persons or things to be

seized.

American Library Association

The Library Bill of Rights affirms the ethical imperative to provide unrestricted access to information and to guard against impediments to open inquiry. Article IV states: “Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgement of free expression and free access to ideas.” When users recognize or fear that their privacy or confidentiality is compromised, true freedom of inquiry no longer exists.

NHLA Intellectual Freedom

Manual Freedom of expression is an inalienable

human right and the foundation for self-government. Freedom of expression encompasses the freedom of speech and the corollary right to receive information. These rights extend to minors as well as adults. Libraries and librarians exist to facilitate the exercise of these rights by selecting, producing, providing access to, identifying, retrieving, organizing, providing instruction in the use of, and preserving recorded expression regardless of the format or technology.

New Hampshire RSA

Library records which contain the names or other personal identifying information regarding the users of public or other than public libraries shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed

Such records include, but are not limited to, library, information system, and archival records related to the circulation and use of library materials or services, including records of materials that have been viewed or stored in electronic form.

What Does This All Mean?

How Do We Ensure Privacy?

Right to Privacy in the Public

Library

“All users have a right to be free from

any unreasonable intrusion into or

surveillance of their lawful library use”

(ALA, An Interpretation of the Library

Bill of Rights)

So We Provide…

Privacy

◦ Right to open inquiry

◦ Free from scrutiny or examination

Confidentiality

◦ No “data-mining”

◦ Not sharing PII

What is PII?

Personally Identifiable

Information

Credit card

Library card

Websites visited (cookies)

Can build up a picture of who you are

(tastes, interests, etc.)

◦ Inaccurate

◦ Dangerous (to individual and freedom of

expression/open inquiry)

Polaris

Our ILS, comes with

built-in safeguards

◦ Library card authentication

◦ Reading history must be turned on by patron, through patron account at home

◦ PIN chosen by patron, unseen by staff

◦ Each staff member has unique logon to prevent tampering of records

Envisionware

• Time management software

• Requires library barcode authentication

• Does not keep a record of who logged on

• Staff has no access to past logons

• After 10 minutes of inactivity, reboots

• Print jobs also are deleted at the end of the night

PUBLIC

COMPUTE

R

TERMINAL

S

Smartshield• By Centurion Guard

• License required per computer

• Locks down the computer so

that it reboots in between

users to a preset state

• Wipes the computer clean

between patrons, so no

browsing or download history

remains – nothing is saved

(personal info or Word

documents, etc)

Clean Slate

By Fortres

Licenses reasonably priced

Let’s you boot to a particular site only

Used for our catalog machines

Protects patron searches

BEST PRACTICES

Staff Interactions

• Patron must have card in hand or photo

ID

• Holds are kept behind desk

• Information is not given out by phone

• Reference will not do business for

patrons

• Discretion!

• Less convenient for

patron but necessary

Reference Services

Do not open patron records at public desk

Do not ask specific questions as to why they need the material

Do not discuss among other staff members what a patron is asking, looking for, researching, etc.

Do not make value judgments on material being viewed with public access computers, or about the patrons’ beliefs

Do not use patron checkout history for collection development; only item history

Circulation/Children’s

Do not give out information to a patron about another patron’s account (reading history, books due, address, telephone number, etc.)

Do not talk about a patron’s checkout history with coworkers, or about them at all.

Do not share any information about a patron, (the patron’s PII); even with authorities. ◦ A search warrant/court order is required for

release of ANY information.

What Do I Do If…

Authorities walk in and demand

records, information, computers, etc.

• Don’t Panic

• Under no obligation to provide without a

warrant

• RSA 201-D:11: “Library records which contain the

names or other personal identifying information

regarding the users of … public libraries shall be

confidential and shall not be disclosed except … [that

records] shall be disclosed upon request by or

consent of the user or pursuant to subpoena, court

order, or where otherwise required by statute.” This

includes electronic information, like browsing history.

The Library Receives a Search

Warrant

Can be executed immediately

Will be signed by a judge and the date

will be current

Will be specific

Do not provide additional information

Other Possibilities

The Library

Receives a

Subpoena

◦ Will be seeking

records

◦ Is not immediate

◦ Can be handled by

director

The Library

Receives an NSL

from the FBI

◦ Usually comes with

a gag order

◦ Also not immediate

◦ Can be handled by

director