Online Privacy and Access to Information Statement

Collection and Disclosure of Personal Information

The System only collects the amount of personal information needed to conduct library services and programs. Personally identifiable information contained in the patron record includes:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number(s)
• Email address

Patron records with charges below the defined threshold are purged after they have been expired for two years.

The System does not collect personal information for commercial marketing or distribution to private organizations. The System will only disclose personal information:

a. to law enforcement in response to a court order, such as a warrant, subpoena, or other legal compulsion.

b. in partnership with other Alberta libraries and library systems for the purposes of sharing materials under conditions defined in existing resource sharing agreements and programs (e.g. interlibrary loan agreements, TAL Card, ME Libraries), collecting fees or fines, and retrieving borrowed materials.

c. for the purpose of contacting next of kin or emergency response personnel in the case of an
emergency.

Tracking and Security

Cookies – When you visit a website it may deposit a piece of data, called a web cookie, with the temporary web browser files on your computer. If you wish, you can change the settings on your web browser to deny cookies, or to warn you when a site is about to deposit cookies on your hard drive.

Encryption – The System’s website links patrons to their My Account on TRACpac and Relais for borrowing purposes. These consortia use encryption during the login process/transmission of a patron’s library card, username, and PIN.

eResources – The System subscribes to various databases found under the eResources tab of the System’s and our libraries’ websites. The administrative software of the databases may identify individual patron barcodes with specific titles read, however the System only uses the information anonymously to aggregate usage by patron’s registered library. The System does not analyze individual patron usage. Users may read the databases’ privacy policies on their home pages.

External Links – The System’s website links to other websites and eResources that may collect personal information. Users should review the privacy policies of these sites before providing them with personal data.

Reading History – Patrons can save their reading histories on TRACpac. These lists are private unless the patron chooses to share them, and the System will not share these lists, except when in response to a law enforcement court order, such as a warrant, subpoena, or other legal compulsion.

SimplyReports – The System utilizes SimplyReports software to pull data from the ILS in order to create custom reports and to assist with identifying recent borrowers of a lost or damaged library item. This information can only be drawn for the last five borrowers of an item and is only used for the stated purpose of retrieving missing pieces, missing items, and to invoice for damage or loss.

Usage Statistics – The System uses Google Analytics to discover usage of the System’s and our libraries’ websites. Google Analytics uses cookies. Users may read Google Analytics’ policies.

Programs and Events

Online Forms and Electronic Communication with System Staff – The System may provide online forms for facilitating services or resource acquisition suggestions. These forms will require some user personal information. The System will gather only the personal information necessary to facilitate the registration or request, and the personal information will not be used for any other purpose. Personal information provided to System staff through any other electronic communications, such as email, text, etc. will be used only to facilitate the request submitted.=