UM Libraries Privacy Information
Introduction
The UM Libraries respects the privacy of library users in accordance with the American Library Association's document Privacy: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
"Users have the right to be informed what policies and procedures govern the amount and retention of personally identifiable information, why that information is necessary for the library, and what the user can do to maintain his or her privacy."
Although the University of Maryland Libraries makes every effort to protect the privacy of user circulation records (including books and Internet searches), the Libraries may be obligated to release such information to law enforcement agents in response to a search warrant or subpoena, such as those issued in accordance with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, 50 U.S.C. 1861, as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56). That law prohibits library staff from informing you that it received such a request.
Information We Collect and How it is Used
The user information collected by the Libraries is necessary to provide the requested library services (e.g. book or article delivery), to transfer a reference query to a third party, to comply with license agreements to limit certain electronic resources to the UMD community, and to evaluate and assess our chat and email reference services. Individual server use is not made public.
The following services may require the patron to voluntarily submit personal information: Aleph - online catalog; e-mail / web forms (e.g., Ask a Librarian ); off-campus access to restricted resources (e.g., licensed databases accessed through Research Port ; interlibrary loan Three categories of personal information are collected:
- Data that is automatically collected due to Information Technology systems includes your browser type, and the domain and Internet Protocol (IP) address from which you are connecting; the date and time of your visit to the site; the pages you accessed and documents downloaded.
- Data that is collected at the user's request to customize library services includes personalized settings, such as search preferences on the catalog or in Research Port , marked items, and saved searches.
- Data that is collected in the course of the day-to-day business of circulating materials and providing online reference services includes your UMD ID number, address, phone number, e-mail address, circulation record, and service requests (e.g., interlibrary loan, reference question).
Cookies
Cookies are small pieces of data sent by a Web server and stored by the Web browser. Cookies are used to remember information about preferences and pages visited. For example, if a user's name and password were stored as a cookie, it would save that person from entering the same information when accessing the same service subsequent times during the same browser session. One can refuse to accept or disable cookies by adjusting the browser's settings.
Security
UM Libraries is committed to keeping personally identifiable information that is required to provide services for the shortest amount of time necessary to complete and manage library transactions. Access to personal information is limited to library staff, who need it to provide library services.
Our Web site contains links to external Web sites and licensed databases. The Library is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, or the content of these external Web sites. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the privacy and security information for any site you visit. While we do whatever we can to protect your privacy, please be aware that information or files transferred via the Internet or stored on Internet-accessible computers may be vulnerable to unscrupulous users. Just as in the investing world, you must protect yourself, please be careful and responsible whenever you are online.
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Web Resources
You can find relevant, additional information at the following Web sites:
Questions?
If you have questions or comments about the UM Libraries privacy policies and procedures, please contact:
Public Services Division Office, McKeldin Library, Room 4119, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. Telephone: 301-405-9251. Fax: 301-405-9191
Text adapted with permission of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries.
