PASCO COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM

The Pasco County Library System recognizes the need to protect your right to privacy. Each individual borrower, regardless of age, is guaranteed confidentiality regarding library registration and borrowing records under Florida State Statute 257.261. Under the USA Patriot Act of 2001, the library must comply with court orders for library patron records. Records may include materials used and PC, electronic device, Internet and e-mail records. The law may prohibit staff from informing you of such a search. Please contact your federal legislators if you have questions about this law.

Privacy in the library:

• Library staff will not confirm your presence in the Library to anyone by phone or in person to any person except a parent or guardian. Library staff may announce a person’s name and request that they come to a service desk.

• Some groups holding meetings in the library’s meeting room may request registration information. No one can be barred from attending a meeting in the library meeting room because they do not want to supply such information. The library assumes no responsibility for information collected by non-library groups

Privacy on our website:

• In order to improve the usefulness of our Web site, we automatically collect and maintain statistical information from our site’s data logs. This is designed to assist the Library in compiling user statistics and in promotion of the Library and its programs and services. The information gathered cannot be attributed to a specific user.

• Some of the services available to you from our Web site will require the bar code number from your library card for verification purposes. Outside vendors do not have access to our records and the bar code number is not passed to an outside vendor’s server.

• A "cookie" is information that a web site puts on a computer's hard drive so that it can remember something about the user later.

• If you choose to use the “Remember Me” feature on the login screen a persistent cookie will be placed on your computer.

• Non-persistent cookies may be used in applications that keep track of a user's session. Non- persistent cookies are only necessary to maintain session information. Non-persistent cookies are temporary and are invalidated once a user's session has expired.

• When using computers inside the library you may utilize outside websites that collect personal information and place cookies on the computer’s hard drive. Such cookies may exist until the computer is re-booted, and could be accessed by others.

• The library's Web site includes links to outside sites. Those sites, and any other you may choose to go to, may have different privacy statements and the Library's Privacy Statement does not apply to such sites. The Pasco County Library System is not responsible for protecting personal information gathered by outside Web sites.

• Some areas of the library’s website ask you to submit personal information. Services that require you to submit personal information through a form are optional. Such information could remain on the computer until your session expires and could be accessed by others.

• The Pasco County Library System’s effort to protect your privacy does not apply to e-mail and other electronic communications that you send and receive via the Internet. On the Internet, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.

Privacy of personal information requested by the library:

• The Library has in place certain technological and procedural security functions in order to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. In addition, the Library will use reasonable efforts to remove your personal information when you request it or when it is no longer needed. The Pasco County Library System cannot, however, guarantee that loss, misuse, alteration, destruction or retention will never occur, and does not make representations to this effect.

• Patrons who have supplied their e-mail address as part of their registration record may receive notices by e-mail. The Library will use e-mail addresses within the patron’s record only for library business.

• Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact the library by phone or in writing. 

• Patron telephone numbers in registration records are utilized in contacting the patron regarding a library service they have requested or to receive automated hold and overdue notices. Mailing addresses are used to send letters regarding information directly related to library services and programs. Such addresses and numbers are not used for any other purpose and are not sold to outside parties.

• For further information see the Confidentiality Policy.