Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy (FOIP)
Answer
The Board and Library personnel are subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP) and should be familiar with the FOIP Act’s privacy provisions including the collection, use, disclosure, accuracy, linkage and disposition of personal information.
Guidelines and Procedures
- All patron records will be kept confidential but may be shared with resource sharing libraries for collecting fines and retrieving borrowed materials.
- By signing up for a library membership, borrowers acknowledge that their contact information may be available to other libraries for these purposes.
- Board Members, staff and volunteers will hold all personal information of staff and patrons (including patrons of any other libraries) in confidence.
- No records are kept of the frequency or content of visits to the library by specific patrons unless agreed upon by patron. Maintain reading list in Polaris will default to “no”, unless specified by patron on TRAC application form.
- Staff and volunteers are not to discuss the reading habits of individual patrons.
- No personal information will be provided to anyone for any reason except when a written court order is provided or where required by law (in written format).