The OCLN Website (or ocln.org) is the official website created by the Old Colony Library Network Inc. (“OCLN”), a 501(c)3 tax exempt, nonprofit corporation founded in 1984.
The following policy applies only to the use of the OCLN Websites (www.ocln.org, and catalog.ocln.org. ) In particular, please note that although some social media and electronic content services used by OCLN might appear to be part of this website or at a webpage under OCLN’s control, some of these sites are actually hosted by a third party provider. Thus when visiting these third party social media and electronic content sites, you are subject to different privacy policies and terms of service. Terms of Use and Privacy Policies for these services are located on our website.
Your privacy with respect to the OCLN Websites results from a partnership between OCLN and you, the user. The Old Colony Library Network endeavors to protect your privacy to the maximum extent possible. OCLN adheres to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 78, Section 7, which states that library records shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except that such records may be disclosed to the extent necessary for the proper operation of such library and shall be disclosed upon request or consent of the user or pursuant to subpoena, court order or where otherwise required by statute. OCLN considers all Personally Identifiable Information as well as items borrowed, requested or accessed electronically not to be part of the public record.
The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (P.L. 107- 56) supersedes state law and expands the federal government’s authority for access to library records and documents to protect against international terrorism and clandestine intelligence activities. It also expands federal law enforcements’ authorization to track telephone and electronic communication, including any dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information and the actual content of the communication.
The intellectual pursuits of individuals using library or Internet resources are considered confidential information regardless of the age of the borrower. Such records shall not be made available to any individual or agency except pursuant to such process, order, subpoena or warrant as may be authorized under the authority of, and pursuant to, federal, state, or local law relating to civil, criminal, or administrative discovery procedures or legislative investigative power.
Upon receipt of such process, order, or subpoena, the Executive Director will notify the OCLN President, except when prohibited by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, and consult with the Network attorney to determine if such process, order, or subpoena is in proper form and if there is evidence of good cause for its issuance. If the process, order, or subpoena is not in proper form or if good cause has not been shown, such defects must be corrected before the information is provided. The Network recognizes that a legal search warrant must be honored immediately, however the library or affected patron(s) may challenge the warrant after the fact.
Data We Collect
This policy informs you of the information we collect from you at this site, what we do with it, to whom it may be disseminated, and how you can access it. Based on this information, you can make an informed choice about the use of this site. You can maximize the benefits of your privacy partnership with the OCLN by making informed choices about whether to share personally identifiable information with us through this site.
Personally Identifiable Information. We use the term “personally identifiable information” to mean any information that could reasonably be used to identify you, including your name, address, e-mail address, phone number, birth date, or any combination of information that could be used to identify you.
Transaction Data. Information on a user’s borrowing activity is retained to provide identification and accountability for library materials. Personally Identifiable Information is purged from transaction files 60 days after the transaction has been completed.
Your communications with OCLN: Your use of library resources on this web site, including library reference requests, or requests for subject information sent to the Old Colony Library Network, will be treated with the same confidentiality as if the request had come to a public library.
Voluntary Data: OCLN, through the Online Catalog and other services, will provide you with optional or (Opt-In) services to extend the features available to you. These include: the ability to receive email and text messages about items you have on hold or have borrowed, the ability to retain your reading history, and the ability to pay library fines and fees on line.
Email notifications are “switched on” by default when you provide your email address during registration.
Please see Change Email & Text Notification Options for instructions on how to change your notification settings.
OCLN also offers you the ability to retain a historical record of items that you have borrowed. For more information, please see our Reading History Retention Policy.
OCLN uses a variety of 3rd party social media and electronic content services. Please see our Network Policies & Terms of Use for related policies.
Opt-in and social media services may be added or discontinued at any time without notice.
Information Automatically Collected and Stored by this Website That OCLN Gathers & How it is Used
The OCLN Websites may employ the use of cookies and other tracking technologies in order to collect and aggregate data regarding the site’s visitor activity, so that OCLN can continuously evaluate and update its website services. You may elect to disable cookies and other tracking technologies, but please be advised that doing so may affect your ability to view or interact with the website.
OCLN Websites collect and store indefinitely your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, (which does not identify you as an individual), as well as information about the date and time of your visit, whether a file you have requested exists, and how many “bytes” of information were transmitted to you over the Web from this site. We use your IP address to assess the frequency of visits to this site and the popularity of its various pages and functions. We will not attempt to match any personally identifiable information that you provide to us to your IP address, without your permission or pursuant to subpoena, court order or where otherwise required by statute or the U.S.A Patriot Act.
Dissemination of Your Personally Identifiable Information
We do not sell any personally identifiable information collected through the OCLN Websites. Information that you submit voluntarily through third party social media sites where such sites are associated with the OCLN and when such information is publicly available, including your name, city or town, and the substance of anything that you post may be disseminated further by being posted online at the OCLN Websites.
The information that you voluntarily submit through emails will be disclosed only to OCLN employees or officials with a “need to know” for purposes of fulfilling their job responsibilities. They will only use information to answer your questions, respond to any requests for assistance, and fulfill any legal obligations. Where appropriate, we may provide the information submitted by you via social media sites or email to the person or company that is the subject of your inquiry, or to a government agency responsible for the matters in your communication.
Security
You should not send information that you consider highly sensitive through this Website. We use standard security measures to ensure that personally identifiable information sent via the social media pages or email is not lost, misused, altered, or unintentionally destroyed. We also use software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, the OCLN makes no attempts to identify individual users of Old Colony Library Network Inc. email submission features or OCLN social media pages or their usage habits.
Google Analytics
OCLN uses a tool called Google Analytics to collect information about use of the OCLN websites. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit this site, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites they used prior to coming to this site. OCLN uses the information from Google Analytics only to improve the OCLN websites. OCLN uses IP Anonymization in Analytics as describred here: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/2763052?hl=en
OCLN does not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information, and personal information is not shared with Google. See: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout if you want to opt out of Google Analytics data collection.
Information on the Google Analytics privacy policy is available online at: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=en.
The Google privacy policy is available online at: http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/.
Changes
Changes to Old Colony Library Network Inc. Privacy Policy will be approved by the Executive Board of the Old Colony Library Network.
Changes in this privacy policy will only affect information that is gathered on or after the official date of the change. Privacy of older information will continue to be maintained under the guidelines in effect when the data was gathered.
Contact
If you have any questions or concerns about the Old Colony Library Network Inc. privacy policy, please send email to: [email protected].
DEFINITIONS:
“Cookies” are files that a website can place on your computer. A cookie file contains unique information that a website can use to track such things as your password, lists of Web pages you have visited, and the date when you last looked at a specific Web page, or to identify your session at a particular website. A file allows the website to recognize you as you click through pages on the site and when you later revisit the site. A website can use cookies to “remember” your preferences, and to record your browsing behavior on the Web. Although you can prevent websites from placing cookies on your computer by using your browser’s preference menu, disabling cookies may affect your ability to view or interact with some websites
“Electronic Content Providers” are third party services that provide streaming or downloadable content, such as eBooks, audio files and magazines.
An “Internet Protocol Address” or “IP Address” is a series of numbers that identifies each computer and machine connected to the Internet. An IP address enables a server on a computer network to send you the file that you have requested on the Internet. The IP address disclosed to us may identify the computer from which you are accessing the Internet, or a server owned by your Internet Service Provider. Because it is machine-specific, rather than person-specific, an IP address is not, in and of itself, personally identifiable information.
Adopted by the Old Colony Library Network Members Council 10/17/2013
Revised 1/12/2017