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SCKLS Privacy and Confidentiality of User Records

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Policy summary

This privacy policy explains your privacy and confidentiality rights and responsibilities.  It describes the steps the South Central Kansas Library System (SCKLS) takes to respect and protect your privacy when you use SCKLS resources and how we handle personally identifiable information we collect from our users. SCKLS has measures in place to protect patron privacy and confidentiality. In setting these policies, SCKLS tries to find a balance between your privacy and your convenience. Third party services provided through SCKLS have other terms and policies that affect the privacy of your personally identifiable information. Users must understand when accessing remote or third party vendor sites that there are limits to the privacy protection SCKLS library can provide. Links to the terms and policies of many of the SCKLS third-party vendors are provided below.

Please ask the SCKLS Director paul@sckls.info if you have questions about this policy.

Introduction

SCKLS protects the privacy and confidentiality of SCKLS users. Our commitment to your privacy and confidentiality has basis in law but also in the ethics and practices of librarianship. In accordance with the American Library Association's Code of Ethics: "We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired, or transmitted." SCKLS privacy and confidentiality policies are in compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

State law protects your user records from disclosure if a member of the public or the media requests them. Library records include your use records, your name together with any address or telephone number, and your email address. Library records may be subject to disclosure to law enforcement officials under provisions of state law, the USA PATRIOT Act or in a civil lawsuit. SCKLS may be restricted from reporting to you that your records have been requested or obtained under provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Privacy and confidentiality policy

SCKLS posts publicly its privacy and information-gathering policies. SCKLS avoids creating unnecessary records and avoids retaining records not needed for SCKLS business purposes, and we do not engage in practices that might place personally identifiable information on public view without your consent.

Information SCKLS may gather and retain about you includes the following:

  • Directory information including name, work or home address, telephone number, email address for you or your library to be eligible for SCKLS grants and services.
  • Records of registration and participation in SCKLS training
  • Records of electronic access information that allow your or your library to access and receive SCKLS grants and services
  • Requests for interlibrary loan or consulting services
  • Records of grants and services provided to your library in SalesForce

SCKLS will not collect or retain your private and personally identifiable information without your consent. Member librarians must submit their names, email addresses, postal addresses or telephone numbers in order to receive SCKLS grants and services. If you provide SCKLS with personally identifiable information, we will keep it confidential and will not sell, license or disclose it to any third party, except those working under contract with SCKLS, or except as required by law. For information about the ways third parties may use or disclose your information see the Third Party Vendor Services section below.

SCKLS does not use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to prohibit such unrelated uses, unless we are required by law to do so.

Access to accounts and users responsibility

Protecting Your Membership Information with SCKLS

It is your responsibility to notify SCKLS immediately if you believe someone is using your personally identifiable information without your permission. For your privacy and security, SCKLS encourages you to protect your personally identifiable information.

Keeping SCKLS Information Up-To-Date

You are responsible for keeping directory and any other information SCKLS has about yourself and your library accurate and up-to-date. Please ask SCKLS Training Specialist Katherine Hughes katherineh@sckls.info if you have questions about the process for accessing or updating your information.

Data security

SCKLS makes reasonable efforts to assure data security. SCKLS protects personally identifiable information by electronically deleting or manually shredding it once it is no longer needed for SCKLS business purposes. SCKLS has invested in appropriate technology and staff training to protect the security of personally identifiable information while it is in SCKLS custody. SCKLS removes personally identifiable information from aggregate, summary data, regularly removes cookies, browsing history, cached files or other computer and Internet use records that are placed on SCKLS computers or networks.

Security measures

Our policies and procedures limit access to data and ensure that those individuals with access do not use the data for unauthorized purposes. SCKLS limits access through the use of strong passwords that are changed regularly and storage of data on secure servers or computers.

Staff may access personally identifiable information stored in the SCKLS computer systems only for the purpose of performing their assigned library duties. Staff will not disclose any personally identifiable information to any other party except where required by law or to fulfill your service request.

Cookies 

A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes a unique identifier that is sent to your computer or mobile phone or device browser from a website's computer and is stored on your device's hard drive. SCKLS sends its own cookie to your browser if the browser preferences you have set allow it. SCKLS uses cookies for its website to verify authorized users, allow access to licensed resources, customize Web pages, make the site more useful and learn about the number users and kinds of technology used.

For information on the use of cookies please see the Terms of Use and Privacy Policies for the third party vendor services listed below. You may set the preferences in your web browser to refuse cookies or to tell you when a cookie is being sent. This may result in an inability to access some third party services.

Third party vendor services

SCKLS enters into agreements with third parties to provide online services, digital collections, file storage, streaming media content and to improve our website. In addition third parties also may provide SCKLS members with additional online web services for member library websites and digitization services. When using some of these services, you may also connect with social networks and other users of these services.

Third party services may gather and disclose your information, including,

  • Personally identifiable information you knowingly provide, including when you register for the site, provide feedback and suggestions, request information or create shared content,
  • Other information that could be used to identify you such as your IP address, search history, location based data and device ID,
  • Non-personally identifiable information, such as your ad views, analytics, browser information (type and language), cookie data, date/time of your request, demographic data, hardware/software type, interaction data, serving domains, page views and the web page you have visited immediately prior to visiting the site, and
  • Other data that third party services may collect as described in the vendor’s privacy policy and terms of use.

For more information on these services and the specific types of data that may be gathered and disclosed by each service please refer to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policies for the services you use. Links to our major vendors’ policies are provided here. You may choose to not use these third party services if you do not accept their Terms of Use and Privacy Policies.  Please read the third party terms of use and privacy policies carefully.

Policies for SCKLS discovery software for the online catalog:

Policies for SCKLS e-mail, file storage and finance programs:

SCKLS makes reasonable efforts to ensure that your library's contracts, licenses, and off site computer service arrangements reflect our policies and legal obligations concerning user privacy and confidentiality. SCKLS agreements address appropriate restrictions on the use, aggregation, dissemination, and sale of information as well as information about minors. When connecting to licensed databases and content providers outside of SCKLS, SCKLS only releases information that authenticates users as registered SCKLS member librarians or libraries.

SCKLS expects vendors to

  • abide by privacy related components of SCKLS/vendor contract and licensing agreements,
  • conform to SCKLS privacy policies regarding the retention and release of information to third parties,
  • provide a product which complies with the provisions of Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and
  • refrain from collecting or disclosing additional information about user activity or identifiers other than is needed for administration of the service provided.

Nevertheless, users must understand when accessing remote or third party vendor sites that there are limits to the privacy protection that SCKLS can provide.

Other services

This privacy and confidentiality policy does not apply to external applications or websites that you may access from SCKLS computers, devices or equipment (such as Internet computers, Chromebooks or tablets).

Some users may choose to take advantage of RSS feeds from the SCKLS website and similar services that send personally identifiable information related to SCKLS via public communication networks. Users should be aware that SCKLS has limited ability to protect the privacy of this information once it is outside our control.

Illegal activity prohibited and not protected

Member librarians and libraries must conduct only legal activity while using SCKLS resources and services. Nothing in this policy prevents the member librarian or library from exercising its right to enforce its own Rules of Use, protect its facilities, network and equipment from harm, or prevent the use of its library facilities and equipment for illegal purposes. The member librarian or library can electronically log activity to monitor its public computers and external access to its network and reserve the right to review such logs when a violation of law or its library policy is suspected. SCKLS is authorized to take immediate action to protect the security of its users, staff, facilities, computers and network. This includes contacting law enforcement authorities and providing information that may identify the individual(s) suspected of a violation.

Enforcement and redress

If you have a question, concern, or complaint about our handling of your personally identifiable information or this policy you may file written comments with the SCKLS Director paul@sckls.info. SCKLS will respond in a timely manner and may conduct an investigation or review of practices and procedures. SCKLS conducts such reviews regularly to ensure compliance with the principles outlined in this policy.

The SCKLS Director paul@sckls.info is the sole authorized employee to acknowledge or comply with public records requests or inquiries from law enforcement officers. The Director may confer with the SCKLS Attorney before determining the proper response to any request for records. SCKLS will make SCKLS records available in accordance with policy and in appropriate instances not without a subpoena, warrant, court order or other investigatory document is issued by a court of competent jurisdiction and showing good cause and in proper form. SCKLS Staff must refer any law enforcement inquiries to the SCKLS Director.