Privacy Guidelines for Electronic Resources Vendors

INTRODUCTION



Libraries license electronic information on behalf of their patrons and customers.  Access to most of the electronic resources available to libraries is provided through the world-wide web by means of browser-based interfaces.  The rapid evolution of the world-wide web as a major information delivery mechanism has made the web a rich source of information for companies about the interests, behavior, and habits of web users.  It is sometimes the case that this type of information is gathered during the use of a web-based product without the knowledge or permission of the individual who is using the product.



A cardinal principle of librarianship is that the privacy of the library users with respect to their information seeking is to be protected, and the members of the ICOLC are committed to this principle.  Accordingly, the ICOLC issues these guidelines with respect to the privacy interests of our member libraries’ users in the interest of informing the companies with which we do business about what is acceptable in the products and services that we license.



The ICOLC recognizes the rapid evolution in web-based services and welcomes dialogue with web publishers on the development of policies and practices that protect the privacy of the users of web-based products.

 



GUIDELINES



1. Privacy of users

PUBLISHER respects the privacy of the users of its products.  Accordingly, PUBLISHER will not disclose information about any individual user of its products (hereinafter referred to as “personal information”), including information about the specific content of a user’s searches, to a third party without the permission of that individual user, except as required by law.



2. Authorized use protected

PUBLISHER will not deny an authorized user access to its product on account of that user’s election not to permit distribution of personal information to a third party.



3. Privacy Policy Statement

The PUBLISHER will post a privacy policy statement on its online site.  The privacy policy statement should be easy to find, easy to use and comprehensible.  An example of an acceptable statement is:

 



    <PUBLISHER'S name> is committed to protecting user privacy online.  We believe that strong electronic privacy is crucial for the ongoing success of the Internet.  We also believe it is critical for us to adhere to the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics.  We pledge to give you as much control as possible over your personal information.  We will not disclose individually-identifiable information about you to any third party without your consent.





4.   Responsibility

PUBLISHER will maintain full control over its site to prevent any violation of the privacy policy by a third party, such as an advertiser or ISP.



5. Monitoring

PUBLISHER will review regularly the functioning of its web site to insure that its privacy policy is enforced and effective.



6. Control of authorized use of products

Nothing in these guidelines is intended to interfere with a PUBLISHER’s right to enforce license terms concerning which users are authorized to use its products.  It is understood and accepted that owners of licensed web products may need to transmit information such as an ip address or a user id to a third party as part of the mechanism by which the owner limits use of its product to authorized users.  These guidelines do not prohibit such transmission.