Digital Privacy at ICPL

Libraries are traditionally strong supporters of intellectual freedom.  From our official confidentiality policy:

Confidentiality of library records is central to intellectual freedom and directly related to the ability of citizens to use library materials and pursue information without fear of intimidation.

I would like to highlight some of the policies we have in an effort to support digital privacy of our patrons.

Public Internet Computers

At one level we have installed privacy screens on the public Internet computers.  These screens are simply meant to limit what others around you can see on the your screen.

In addition, all browsing history and file downloads are cleared after you log out.  It is important to remember to log out of the public Internet computers and Express Internet computers when you are finished

Catalog Searches

When doing searches in our public catalog in the building, your browsing and searching history can be removed by hitting the logout/reset button.  If you walk away, this will happen automatically after a short period of inactivity.

Checkout History

Your checkout history in our catalog is disabled by default.  Even if we were served with a subpoena we can't disclose this information if we aren't storing it.

 Note: However, sometimes it is nice to have that list.  You can opt to turn on history by logging into your account and clicking on "Reading History" in the left corner.

Let us know if you have questions regarding our confidentiality policies.