document: title: privacy statement, opens a new window
text: Last updated: Mar 06, 2019

Boston Public Library has entered into an agreement with BiblioCommons to provide an online service that will make it easier to track your holds and renewals and find the titles you are looking for. In addition, you may also choose to use this service to share ratings and commentary about the titles you find at Boston Public Library, and to connect with other library users. When you use the pages in Boston Public Library's catalog that say “Powered by BiblioCommons” in the lower left-hand corner of the screen, you are using what is referred to in this document as the “BiblioCommons Service,” and any information that is collected or shared here will be governed by this Privacy Statement.

BiblioCommons believes that effective privacy controls are the cornerstone of open and engaged communities. We have implemented the standards described on this page to protect the privacy of all users, at the same time providing the opportunity to share information about books, movies and music for those who are interested. By using the BiblioCommons Service, you agree to the terms of this BiblioCommons Privacy Statement and the BiblioCommons Terms of Use. The BiblioCommons Privacy Statement and BiblioCommons Terms of Use can be accessed anytime through the links at the bottom of each page that is powered by BiblioCommons; together they are the only documents that govern your relationship with BiblioCommons.

### Is this the only policy governing the use of my information on services offered by the library?

No. Information you provide on the BiblioCommons Service may be transmitted to your library and its designated service partners, where it will be handled according to the policies your library has implemented in those environments. Please check the library's website to view these documents, or speak to a librarian.

The Boston Public Library may have additional policies that govern other aspects of the services we offer. Please see Policies and Procedures on our web site. 

### What types of information are collected on this service?

Several types of information may be collected and stored on the BiblioCommons service:

  * Personal information 
  * Borrowing information
  * Shared content
  * Feedback and Suggestions
  * Non-Identifying information.



You will find a description of how this information is handled in the sections that follow.

## Personal Information

### What personal information is gathered?

BiblioCommons gathers personal information that you provide or choose to import from Boston Public Library. If you register for the BiblioCommons Service, your library barcode, PIN and borrower ID, name, birth month and year, and email address are automatically loaded into your on-line account from your library record. If some of this information is not available in your record you may be asked to provide it. 

If you participate in some optional services, for example youth and literacy programs, BiblioCommons may also ask for additional information, such as your ZIP/postal code, education level and gender, in order to support program evaluation.

### How is my personal information used?

We use your personal information to create an online account in your name, provide the services that you have requested, monitor and improve the service, keep your library record up to date, and customize content. We may store some of this information in a secure third-party data repository. We do not share your information or activity with ad networks or other entities that are not directly involved in the services you choose to use. 

If you choose to share information or opinions about books, movies, music, and other topics, participate in online conversations, or create selections using Lists or My Shelves (“Shared Content”), information such as the username or name you have chosen to display, your library affiliation(s) and age group may accompany your Shared Content and appear on a profile page that summarizes your Shared Content. If you would like to change your username or modify the information that is made publicly available in connection with these features, please visit your Settings.

BiblioCommons may disclose your personal information and any content associated with your account if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request, or (b) enforce the Terms of Use, including investigation of potential violations hereof.

### Is my personal information protected?

Information in your BiblioCommons account that personally identifies you is encrypted and stored in a secured facility. This information will be used by BiblioCommons and Boston Public Library to deliver the services you request in accordance with this Privacy Statement. BiblioCommons will not share, gift, sell, rent or trade your personal information (e.g., your email address or month and year of birth). But we may display Shared Content (defined below) in the BiblioCommons Service, or make other commercial uses of Shared Content.

#### Law Enforcement Requests

BiblioCommons does not share information in response to law enforcement requests unless it is presented with a warrant or other legal compulsion. 

### Can I change or delete my personal information?

You may alter or delete any of the personal information in your BiblioCommons account except for your name, birth information and your library card number(s); please contact your library staff to make changes to these. If your personal information is updated either through the BiblioCommons Service or directly on your Boston Public Library account with the help of library staff, we will synchronize the new information in both locations.

At any time, you may delete your BiblioCommons account without deleting your Boston Public Library account. To delete your BiblioCommons account, please contact the BiblioCommons Privacy Officer. Note that while your BiblioCommons account information will not be available after deletion, some of that information may persist on memory discs.

### Do I have to provide contact information?

No, you do not need to provide contact information to use the BiblioCommons Service. However you may choose to do so in order to receive notices related to your use of the library through the BiblioCommons Service. Your contact information will not be used by BiblioCommons for any other purpose without your consent, or shared with any party other than Boston Public Library without your direction to do so. We encourage you to check Boston Public Library's policies to understand the other ways in which your contact information may be used by Boston Public Library.

BiblioCommons may send email or display messages on the service that provide you with the choice to take advantage of new features and functionality based on your past activity and stated preferences. To change your preferences for system messaging, please go to My Settings.

### What measures are in place to protect children?

Parts of the BiblioCommons Service are open to children under the age of thirteen. However additional measures have been taken to protect their privacy and safety. Patrons under the age of thirteen (13) years (“minors”) will be restricted from using the BiblioCommons Service to enter free text; however provision may be made for a more permissive service for minors with parental consent. While the Terms of Use prohibits the use of the BiblioCommons Service to arrange meetings with minors, children should be advised never to arrange meetings with strangers over the Internet.

Community-created content may not be appropriate for children. The BiblioCommons Service contains functionality that will enable you to collapse community-created content that has been flagged by Users who feel the content may be offensive to some users. Enabling this functionality will help decrease the likelihood of children encountering objectionable material when using the BiblioCommons Service.

### Where can I learn more about internet safety for users under the age of 18?

We recommend that parents and guardians discuss internet privacy and safety with their children. When using the internet, children should be advised:

  * never to give out personal information such as their real name, phone number, email address, or school without first consulting their parents or guardians, and
  * never to arrange a meeting with someone they met online.



More information about children's safety online can be found on the following sites.

Safety tips for children:

  * http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/internet-safety.html
  * http://www.safesurfingkids.com/tips_for_kids.htm



Tips for parents:

  * http://www.google.com/familysafety/advice.html
  * http://www.internetsafety101.org/safety101.htm



### How can parents and guardians oversee the personal information of their children?

Guardians of children under the age of thirteen may make a request to review and alter the personal information collected from their children on this service, or to deactivate their child's BiblioCommons account. The first step in gaining access to your child's account is to make your request in person to staff at one of the library's locations. Be prepared to show proof of your identity and of your relationship with the child. Staff will then have the information retrieved and delivered to you by mail or held for pick-up. Note that guardians cannot be given access to a child's borrowing record.

Note that the BiblioCommons Service does not require children under the age of 13, as a condition of participation, to provide more information than is reasonably required. 

## Borrowing Information

### Is my borrowing record tracked?

No. Lists of your current loans, due dates, outstanding fees, etc. may be loaded from your library record during your sessions online, but this information is not stored on your BiblioCommons account, and it is never shared with other users. You may choose to create a record of your recently-borrowed titles if this service is supported by your library; information about recently borrowed items is never made available to the public unless you choose to enter specific titles on your shelves or in other Shared Content. If you do not choose to enable the recently-borrowed feature, no automatic record of your borrowing will be created.

## Shared Content

### What is Shared Content?

You may use the BiblioCommons Service to record information or opinions about books, movies, music, and other topics, participate in online conversations, or create selections using Lists or My Shelves; all of this content is called “Shared Content”. Shared Content may be useful for your own reference and can help other users find resources and information.

When you contribute content to an individual title, that title is automatically added to My Shelves, a collection that gathers all of the titles to which you have contributed content or chosen to add to your shelves. You may also create Shared Content by interacting with others through messaging, forums, or collaborative guides.

### Can Shared Content be viewed by the public?

Shared Content has been designed for sharing, and is usually public. However you may make portions of your Shared Content private by using your Privacy Settings. In addition, messages sent directly to other users through the service are not publicly viewable.

If you are uncomfortable with the idea of sharing content with others, you may decide not to use My Shelves or contribute ratings, comments, guides, or other types of Shared Content. You do not need to create Shared Content in order to use the BiblioCommons Service.

### Will my name be visible with my Shared Content?

Content and messages that you leave in public view or send to other users will be accompanied by the username that you create, or by whatever display name that you choose at a later date in your account settings. This display name is also linked to your profile page, which includes links to your Shelves, your shared Lists, and any other profile information you choose to display.

### Can I change my Shared Content?

Shared Content that is not interactive may be edited or deleted on this service at any time. Deleted content is removed from our data bases and inaccessible to other users, but may remain in our data back-up system and in third-party search indexes like Google. Shared Content that is not deleted may remain available on the BiblioCommons Service indefinitely, even if you have closed your library account.

Messages and chat cannot be deleted or edited once they have been sent. They are logged and archived indefinitely. In the event of complaints regarding violations of the BiblioCommons Terms of Use, this type of information may be used by BiblioCommons to investigate.

Interactive Shared Content that other users may respond or contribute to, such as discussions or collaborative guides, may be visible to others indefinitely in association with your display name, and may persist after your BiblioCommons account is terminated.

## Other Information

### Feedback and Suggestions

When you submit feedback or suggestions they will not be considered confidential and may be stored with your name and email address for analysis and follow-up.

### Non-Identifying Information

BiblioCommons also records anonymous information and activity in order to improve the quality and scope of the features and content you access through the BiblioCommons Service. For example:

  * Information such as your browser type or IP address may be used to help us understand how visitors use the service over time and how it might be improved.
  * Data from your account may also be aggregated in an anonymous way.
  * Anonymous search logs are analyzed to improve the search algorithms.
  * Activity such as borrowing and reading may be aggregated anonymously to guide the development of the library's collections or to allow publishers to understand how their titles are being used.
  * Non-identifying information may be stored in a secure online service such as Google Analytics for use by BiblioCommons or your library. You can opt out of recording your non-identifying site-activity data on Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (gtag.js, ga.js, analytics.js, and dc.js) that is running on websites from sharing information with Google Analytics about visit activity.



### Cookies

Cookies are small files used to enhance the functionality of websites.

BiblioCommons may set and access temporary session cookies on your computer in order to make our system easier for you to use. In addition, a more persistent cookie is used to store your user preferences. These files do not contain or transfer any personally-identifiable information.

You may also choose on the log-in page to save your username in a cookie by checking “remember me.”

If you wish to be notified when you receive a cookie, you may set your browser to do so.

### External Sites

The Internet is a big place: take care to guard your personally identifying information. This website may link to other websites that collect personal information. We recommend that you review the privacy policies of these sites before providing them with any personal data.

### Changes to this Privacy Statement

This privacy statement may change from time to time in response to new laws, or to an evolution in BiblioCommons policies or practices. We encourage you to check this privacy statement from time to time for changes. Your continued use of BiblioCommons after a change will signify your acceptance of the new terms.

### Change of Service

In the event that Boston Public Library discontinues its participation in the BiblioCommons Service, the Boston Public Library may transfer your information to a new service of a similar nature. In addition, Boston Public Library may agree to have your information transferred to a successor entity of BiblioCommons or to any entity which purchases substantially all of the assets related to BiblioCommons or a division of BiblioCommons.

Comments? Questions? Contact us. privacy@bibliocommons.com

Privacy Officer  
BiblioCommons  
119 Spadina Avenue, suite 1000  
Toronto, ON M5V 2L1, Canada   
tel. 1 (647) 436 6381