YOUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY

The Arcadia Public Library recognizes the need to protect your right to privacy about the questions you ask and the materials you read and borrow. The American Library Association Policy Concerning Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information About Library Users was adopted by the Library Board and is available in Section 7.

In order to guarantee privacy for each individual, California Law mandates confidentiality of your registration and borrowing records, and Arcadia Public Library policies and procedures carry out that intent.

CALIFORNIA LAW

The USA PATRIOT ACT overrides state library
confidentiality laws protecting library records.

Library patron registration and borrowing records are confidential under the Public Records Act, California Government Code Section 6267:

All registration and circulation records of any library which is in whole or in part supported by public funds shall remain confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person, local agency, or state agency except as follows:

(a) By a person acting within the scope of his or her duties within the administration of the library.

(b) By a person authorized, in writing, by the individual to whom the records pertain, to inspect the records.

(c) By order of the appropriate superior court.

As used in this section, the term “registration records” includes any information which a library requires a patron to provide in order to become eligible to borrow books and other materials, and the term ”circulation records” includes any information which identifies the patrons borrowing particular books and other material.

This section shall not apply to statistical reports of registration and circulation nor to records of fines collected by the library.

Library staff cannot give any information about a patron’s registration and circulation record to anyone other than the patron, regardless of age or relationship to the patron.  For example, a parent cannot be told what material a child has checked out on the child’s card without the child’s consent.

The Library recognizes that in many families library cards are shared among family members.  However, for purposes of compliance with the library policy and state law, only the person to whom the card belongs may have access to information about materials checked out on that card.

USA PATRIOT ACT

The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (“USA Patriot Act”) became law on October 26, 2001. The legislation originated with Attorney General John Ashcroft, who asked Congress for additional powers that he claimed were needed to fight terrorism in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001.

The Patriot Act amended over 15 federal statutes, including the laws governing criminal procedure, computer fraud and abuse, foreign intelligence, wiretapping, immigration, and the laws governing the privacy of student records. These amendments expanded the authority of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement to gain access to business records, medical records, educational records and library records, including stored electronic data and communications. It also expanded the laws governing wiretaps and “trap and trace” phone devices to Internet and electronic communications.