Privacy Policy Regarding Web and E-mail Communications

The Monroe County Public Library is committed to protecting the privacy of the people who use the library, and who communicate with us electronically via e-mail or the Web. Except when compelled by a court order, we do not share personal information about our users with any other outside organizations. Any personal information we may collect about library users is viewed only by staff members for the library's internal use only.

This policy explains the types of information the library collects when people visit the library's web site or send us e-mail and what we do with that information. For more information on how we protect the privacy of people using the library, please see our Resolution on Access to Public Records Held by the Monroe County Public Library.

What kind of information do we collect from you via the Web and why?

Whenever you visit the library's web site, even if you do nothing but read pages, the library's computers automatically gather and store certain information about your visit. This information does not identify you personally. Only the following information is collected:

We use the information we collect to count the number and type of visitors to the different pages on our site, and to help us make our site more useful to visitors like you. Information we have about your individual library account is not connected to your use of the Web. In other words, we can't look up your library card number and see where you have been on the Web.

What is an Internet Cookie and Does MCPL use Internet Cookies?

An Internet cookie is a computer function that enables a Web server computer to send a message to your Web browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.). The message is stored as a file on your computer so that the information is quickly and readily available to submit back to the Web server. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized Web pages for them.

Cookies can be programmed to expire after a certain time. As a cookie expires, it is discarded from memory and it is no longer saved to your computer.

We use cookies with our Web-based catalog to keep track of what scope of the catalog you have chosen to search, or to remember the list of items you may have selected to export. The cookie our Web server sends to your browser doesn't store any personal information about you and it expires after 24 hours.

For more information about Internet cookies, see:

What happens when you communicate with us electronically via e-mail or the Web?

Please be aware that, in general, e-mail is not a secure method of communication.

As part of the information we request when you apply for a library card, MCPL asks that you share an e-mail address with us so that we may inform you more quickly and conveniently when a library item you requested is waiting for you, or when an item you have checked out is overdue. However, we can continue to contact you by postal mail, if you prefer.

If you choose to send us a question or comment via e-mail, we may save your message and any personal information it contains in files stored on our e-mail server in order to respond to your question or comment. The recipient of your e-mail message may forward your e-mail to other MCPL employees who may be better able to help you.

Much of our correspondence is saved indefinitely in library employees' sent-mail files. However, your e-mail is shared with staff members only. We do not share or sell the e-mail addresses of our users with any outside agencies.

If you have any questions about the practices of the different service areas that encourage library users to communicate with us via e-mail or a web-based form, please contact that particular service area. For example:

For more information about how the library preserves your privacy and keeps your use of the library confidential, please see the related documents:

For more information about protecting your online privacy in general, please see:

Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Monroe County Public Library, February 21, 2002.