This policy explains the types of information Monroe County Public Library collects when people visit its website or send email to the Library and what the Library does with that information.

The Library is committed to protecting the privacy of the people who use the Library and who communicate with the Library electronically via email or the website. Except when compelled by a court order, the Library does not share personal information about patrons with any other outside organizations. Any personal information the Library may collect about patrons is viewed by staff members for the Library's internal and confidential use only.

The following is the only information collected when a patron visits the Library's website:

  • The IP address and domain name associated with the patron's computer.
  • The browser software and operating system used to access the Library website.
  • The address of the website that referred the patron to the Library website.
  • The date and time of the visit to the Library website.
  • The pages visited on the Library website.
  • The search terms used that led the patron to the Library website.

The Library uses the information collected to count the number and type of visitors to the pages on the website. Information in individual Library accounts is not associated with a patron's use of the web.

The library uses cookies[1] with its web-based catalog to keep track of what scope of the catalog a patron has chosen to search or to remember the list of items a patron has exported. Cookies saved on the Library's web server do not store any personal information and expire after 24 hours.

The Library acknowledges that, in general, email is not a secure method of communication, and patrons assume sole responsibility for all electronic communications.

The Library asks patrons to share an email address in order that the Library may send notices and reminders quickly and conveniently.

If patrons send a question or comment via email, the Library may save the message and any personal information it contains in files stored on its email server. The recipient of the email message may forward it to other Library employees. The Library does not give or sell the email addresses of its patrons to any outside agencies.

For more information about how the Library preserves patrons' privacy, please see the related documents:


 

[1] "Cookies," also known as HTTP cookies, web cookies, or browser cookies, are used for an origin website to send state information to a user's browser and for the browser to return the state information to the origin site.  The state information can be used for authentication, identification of a user session, user's preferences, shopping cart contents, or anything else that can be accomplished through storing text data on the user's computer.  Cookies cannot be programmed, cannot carry viruses, and cannot install malware on the host computer.

Approved by the Library Board of Trustees July 17, 2019