The University of Arizona Libraries values and respects the privacy of library users in all of their interactions with the Libraries.
We endorse the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights which stresses that all people possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. We understand the importance of protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of data generated through your library use including through browsing our websites, borrowing or accessing our materials, consulting with library staff, or using our spaces. We strive to limit the amount of time we keep your data as much as possible and to use it in a de-identified and aggregated manner to inform development and improvement of our services.
The Libraries follow the University of Arizona Electronic Privacy Policy which outlines what data may be gathered when you use online resources at the UA and what use may be made of it.
Library technology privacy
Computer stations (Main Libraries and Weaver Library)
Computers are available for UA students, faculty, and staff in computer study areas in the Main and Weaver Science-Engineering Libraries. Computers for UA-affiliates are located on the 1st floor of the Main Library and on the 2nd floor of the Weaver Science-Engineering Library. Public computers are available on the 1st floor of the Main Library only.
In order to collect usage statistics, the UA Libraries use a cookie to collect anonymous website traffic data for these computers. We do not use this cookie to collect any personally identifiable information. We do not use the cookie to serve advertising and we do not provide any cookie data to third parties.
The Libraries’ PC reservation software does not monitor your activities (that is, it does not track application usage); its purpose is to authenticate initial access and regulate sessions.
Data on who used which computer, including expired reservations, are removed automatically each day.
At the end of every session, each computer will automatically reboot. All information and files left on the computer will be deleted except for files saved in the documents folder. Those files will be temporarily stored in a hidden shared folder until they are cleared once per year. This hidden shared folder is necessary for the continued maintenance of the machine and files stored in this folder will not be checked before being discarded.
Computer stations (Health Sciences Library)
There are two public computers available on the second floor of HSL available for walk-in users. All other HSL computer stations are reserved for UA affiliates and require a NetID for authentication. All HSL computers are managed by COM-IT (College of Medicine Information Technology Services) and use BlueCat or similar software for protection and management.
Loanable equipment
To whatever degree possible the Libraries delete all data stored on any loaned technology items (such as laptops, iPads, or cameras) immediately following the user’s return of the item(s).
Information we collect and how it is used
The Libraries collects and retains the minimum amount of personally identifiable information necessary to provide our services. Identifiable information may be retained, in some cases indefinitely, when doing so serves an institutional purpose. While we may disclose information about Library use in aggregate, we will not disclose to unaffiliated parties any information that could be used to identify individuals or their use of Library resources, except as required by University policies or by law.
The Libraries automatically receive personally identifiable information about UA-affiliates (including students, faculty, Designated Campus Colleagues, and staff) to create and update your library account from campus systems. If you are a non-UA affiliate, the Libraries must obtain certain information from you in order to provide you with access to the Libraries and its services.
This information may include:
- Personal data that carry over from campus systems. This data can include name, email address, NetID, degree, major, University role or affiliation, and primary campus.
- Personal data that are provided by you as a patron of this Library: These data may include: name, university ID, email address, telephone number, physical address, research topic of interest, and University department.
- Aggregated usage data from Web analytics: This data provides an overall picture of traffic on our website, such as network location, web pages requested, referring web page, how long users stay on the site, browser used, screen resolution, date, and time.
If you are in the European Union, please also review the University of Arizona’s Supplemental Privacy Provisions for Persons in the European Union. These EU Supplemental Privacy Provisions provide additional information regarding the University’s processing of personal data you submit or disclose to UA while you are in the European Union.
Personal information submitted by users
If you choose to submit personally identifiable information to the Libraries (e.g., through web forms, email messages, virtual chat, or other communication), that information will be used only for the purpose for which you submitted it, with the exception that the Libraries may make aggregated reports that do not identify particular individuals. The UA Libraries comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard to ensure that any credit card information submitted by users is kept secure.
Library records
Records of the borrowing and use of library materials and equipment are confidential, as are the records of patron transactions of any type including service interactions and financial transactions regarding fees and fines. This covers all records related to the circulation of loanable equipment, books, periodicals, and other formats of printed or electronic materials available from the Libraries. Reference or other service transactions, whether conducted in person, in writing, by telephone, via email or online interaction, are also considered confidential.
Safeguards for library records
Arizona State law protects your library records from disclosure to a member of the public or the media. Library records include any written or electronic record used to identify a user. This includes but is not limited to your personal information, such as name, email address, or use of library materials. Note that any part of your library record is subject to any judicial process (e.g., the USA Patriot Act).
To safeguard your privacy and the confidentiality of your library records, we delete your usage history every two years. In addition, analysis conducted for continuous improvement uses data that has been aggregated and anonymized.
You have the option of creating lists of Saved Records or Saved Searches inside your library account. This service is provided to users as a means of organizing resources for study or research. Information contained in these lists is, as is any part of your library record, subject to any judicial process (e.g., the USA Patriot Act). If you are concerned about someone else seeing a list of what you are reading or searching for, the safest step is to not choose this option of creating lists.
Additionally, the library catalog saves your search history on a per session basis. However, if you have signed into the system using your credentials (such as NetID) your search history will persist outside of a user’s current session. The system saves your last 100 search queries and only you can access these search queries; the search terms are not stored, aggregated, or shared. No UAL personnel can access these query terms at any time.
We permit only authorized Libraries staff to access user personal data stored in the Libraries’ computer systems for the purpose of performing library work.
Use of library electronic resources
We work with third-party vendors to provide online resources, digital collections, streaming media content, analytics, and more. These third-party vendors include providers like Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, Springshare, and Kanopy. When possible, we negotiate with vendors on licensing agreements for online resources in order to secure strong privacy protections for our users.
When you leave the library website, your interaction with these third party websites will be governed by their individual privacy policies. Some of these vendors may collect and share information you provide to them or require you to create a personal account in order to use their services. We urge users to check the vendor’s privacy statement and terms of service to learn more about how your data is tracked, stored, and used by them.
EZproxy is one tool we use to authenticate your access to a vendor's platform. EZproxy logs retained by the Libraries include the Session ID generated by EZproxy and the user’s NetID.
Please note: Systematic or programmatic copying or downloading from subscribed databases is not allowed by our contracts with vendors. If we did permit this, access to the database might be blocked. We may log user's personally identifiable information in order to monitor this type of abuse.
Use of web analytics
The Libraries use Google Analytics and Siteimprove to collect and assess information about the use of the Libraries’ websites. Activity collected include network location, Hostname, web pages requested, referring web page, browser used, screen resolution, date, and time.
You can learn about Google’s practices by going to www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, and opt out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
You can learn about Siteimprove’s practices, including the usage of cookies on websites and privacy policy. Opt-out: Find out more about managing cookies through your browser.
Newsletters and mailing lists
You may receive messages from us because you are subscribed to one of the Libraries’ mailing lists. Library mailing lists will always include a link that allows you to unsubscribe from the list.
Circulation
The Libraries respect the privacy of all borrowers of library materials. We will not reveal the names of individual borrowers nor reveal what books are, or have been, charged to any individual except as required by law. Only staff members who have a functional need to view circulation data can view who has borrowed a book.
The Libraries seek to protect user privacy by purging borrowing records as soon as possible. In general, the link connecting a patron with a borrowed item is broken once the item is returned. The exception is when a bill for the item is generated. In that case, the information on who borrowed the item is retained in campus systems as long as the bill is outstanding.
Records of who requested access to physical items from Special Collections are retained for a period of ten years in accordance with accepted archival practice regarding the security of Special Collections materials. Personal data retained about on-site users of Special Collections materials include name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, status, and items they viewed. This information is considered confidential and will not be made available to any entity outside the Libraries except as required by law.
Interlibrary loan
The Libraries contract with Application Service Providers (ASPs) to provide services such as Interlibrary Loan. We require these service providers to respect the confidentiality of the information placed on hosted servers.
Our Interlibrary Loan Department strictly adheres to the Interlibrary Loan Code prepared by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the ALA. Personal information is only retained for the purposes of locating or recalling library materials received from other institutions. Once an ILL item is returned, no personal data relating to the loan is retained.
Security cameras
Main Library, Special Collections, Weaver Science-Engineering Library, and the Health Sciences Library participate in a system of campus security cameras for the general protection of users and personnel. These cameras, and the services associated with them, are provided by a third party vendor. Camera feeds and recordings are only accessible to authorized UAL staff and other security related university affiliates. Authorized library personnel with access to security camera feeds cannot access historical data or make/share recordings.
Use of physical library facilities
Users provide personal information to us when reserving study rooms throughout the Libraries’ locations, technology loans, and spaces/equipment in CATalyst Studios. These records are kept confidential and any personally identifying information provided by you will only be used for verifying reservations and communicating with you regarding damage/condition issues after the space or equipment is used.
Library procedure for handling requests for patron information
All requests for confidential user records are referred to the Dean of Libraries and the Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration. The Library Dean or their delegate will refer the request to the UA Office of General Counsel for review. Confidential user information will only be released with a valid court order. The Library Dean or their delegate will refer all requests under applicable "open records" laws to the Office of General Counsel and will consult with General Counsel regarding the proper response.
How to contact the Libraries with privacy concerns
If you would like to contact us for any reason regarding our privacy practices, please use the following address: library@arizona.edu.