Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has a strong commitment to protect the privacy of customers who use our services. To provide services, the Library collects and maintains personally identifiable information about customers. The personal information the Library collects includes:

• • Name
  • Address
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Drivers license number or alternative state identification number
  • Name of parent or guardian for minors 17 and under
  • Approved individuals designated to pick up reserves and/or pay late fees
  • Library card number (used for materials request form and access to the library account)
  • Materials on reserve or currently checked out to the customer
  • Date of birth (used for library card application and program registration)

• School grade (used for program registration only)
• Name of school (used for Summer Reading registration only).

In providing services the Library protects the privacy of customers. The Library adheres to the following policies:

• The Library does not provide, even at the request of an individual, documentation for an agency or institution to show that a specific individual visited the Library.
• The Library does not share information collected with other Library departments or outside parties except for possible uses related to the recovery of materials, fines and fees.
• Library records are kept confidential and only shared with the cardholder and/or as a result of appropriate legal orders.
• The Library uses email addresses to respond to the emails we receive, to confirm program registrations and occasionally to alert customers to new services they may want to use. The Library also sends notices to customers who have given us their email addresses for that purpose or have opted-in to a mailing list. Emails are used for Donor Plus card holders who subscribe to Donor Plus Picks. Mailing addresses may be used to send program registration confirmation letters and to send information about Library programs, services and for fundraising. Names and addresses are not shared with outside parties.
• The Library uses non-identifying and aggregate information to better design our website. For example, we may let it be known publicly that a specific number of individuals visited a certain area on our website, but we would not disclose anything that could be used to identify those individuals.
• The Library never discloses a child’s personal information such as full name, address, photograph, etc. (“information that would facilitate or enable the physical or online locating and contacting of a specific individual”) without written approval from a parent or legal guardian. In accordance with Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) we will only display a child’s first name, neighborhood, and age on our website to announce contest winners or display customer-submitted comments.
• The Library never uses or shares the personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above, without also providing customers an opportunity to prohibit such unrelated uses. If law enforcement agents in the course of an investigation request Library records, the Library may be required by law to release records pertaining to a customer’s activities at the Library.
• Customers who wish to be removed from general Library mailing lists or email lists may contact the originating department.
• Customers who wish to be removed from the Library donor mailing lists may contact Development.

USE OF NAMES OR PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES:

To protect the privacy of customers and staff, generally the Library does not permit photos to be taken in its facilities, and does not use the names or images of customers or staff. When names or images are used by the Library for publicity or other Library-related uses, the Library obtains customer permission or allows customers to “opt out” of the image.

DATA SECURITY:

The Library and the eiNetwork have put in place appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online to prevent unauthorized access, to maintain data accuracy and to ensure the correct use of information.

Any personal information requested on the Library’s website is sent directly to an internal database accessible only by Library staff or sent directly to a pertinent staff member’s email account. Information collected by the Library is not shared with any other agency or organization.

EMAILS:

If you choose to provide your email address to Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, you will receive occasional emails with events, news and updates. You can unsubscribe from these emails at any time. These emails are in no way connected to your Library Account, and notifications about materials and borrowing are managed in a separate system.