Privacy Policy

It is the policy of the University Library to respect the privacy of all users to the extent physically and logistically possible and permitted by law. The Library will not reveal the identities of individual users (names, addresses, telephone numbers, i.d. numbers) or reveal what information sources or services they consult (books checked out, websites visited), to anyone outside the library organization unless required to do so by law. This policy applies to all resources regardless of their format or means of delivery as well as to all services offered by the Library.

For examples of how this policy applies to specific library services, see below.

Circulation

The Library does not reveal the names of individual borrowers nor reveal what materials are charged to any individual, except as required by law. The Library does not keep a permanent ongoing record of borrowing for any individual: however, the Library catalog's back-up files may retain borrowing information for up to 2 months after an item is returned. When the catalog retains the checkout history of an item, that information remains confidential within the Library. Access to "My Library Account" is a secured login. For your protection, you will be asked to come to the Library in person and to present identification if there are problems with your Library PIN/Password.

Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan

Documentation of requests is retained as necessary for the Library to comply with auditing, copyright or other regulations. Because of the software the Library uses, this documentation will include names of borrowers. Personal information provided in order to request ILL service might be forwarded on to other library lenders. In some cases, information about requests may be shared with other library staff for collection development and fine collection purposes; however, it remains confidential within the library.

Library Surveys/Assessment Projects

Information and data obtained by the Library through surveys or other means, whose intended use it to provide assessment of services, collections, facilities, etc., are considered confidential and will not be shared except in aggregations, to protect the privacy of individual participants.

Online Access

Information collected from the Library Web site is not made available to any other entity outside the Library except as required by law. There are different types of information that the Library may collect during your visit to our web site and associated web sites, including the following:

Web Visit Logs: The Library will use web server log information to create internal summary reports about web site use. These web server logs are archived indefinitely. The Library's web server logs will identify the host name and/or the IP address of the computer that you use, record date and time information, as well as pages viewed. We do not attempt to identify individual visitors from this information. The Library creates summary reports of these transactions for internal analysis. Any personally identifiable information is not released to external parties, unless required by law.
Cookies: The Library servers use cookies to provide access to restricted databases. A cookie is a small piece of data that is sent to your browser from our web site's server and stored on your computer's hard drive. These cookies may remain on your computer's disk. The cookies are used only to allow you to access licensed databases when you are not using a campus computer. You may delete cookies from your computer, but they must be allowed by your security settings to allow access to our databases remotely. The Library does not gather and store personal information using cookies.
Information Voluntarily Provided by You: The Library may use personal information provided in email requests (such as "Comments," "Ask A Librarian," and "Suggestion for Purchase"), web forms, authentication sessions with library servers, and other electronic transactions to contact you, to provide the requested service and to analyze the effectiveness of services provided. Personally identifiable information from these activities is not released to external parties unless required by law.
The Library web site contains links to web sites maintained outside of the University Library. The Library is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these external web sites. Some web sites require you to provide private information in order to gain complete access to their services. These web sites are covered by their own privacy policies.

Public Workstations

While the Library will endeavor to protect the privacy of patron use of Library computers, patrons should be aware, when using Library computers, that the Library cannot and does not guarantee privacy. Patrons should not have an expectation of total security in a networked system of shared public-access computers. Since the computers are located in public areas, other users or Library Staff members may observe what is on the computer screen. Patrons who enter private information while using a Library computer should logoff and close browser programs when they are finished with their transactions.

See Council of Library Deans Resolution on Student Data Privacy

Also see https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/500-8025.pdf for the CSUN campus data privacy policy.