Confidentiality
Confidentiality is a core value in any library. Please follow the link below and read section 1 (Basic Concepts.) This information is from the American Library Association, and will give you introductory information regarding the importance of patron confidentiality in library practices.
https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/privacyconfidentialityqa.
Privacy & Confidentiality in Libraries
Here at Foley Library, you will have access to patron PII (personally identifiable information). This confidential information includes phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, and ID numbers. You will also have access to their private information regarding their checkout history. Never EVER give out any of this information to anyone, including law enforcement. If law enforcement approach you with a question about a patron’s private or confidential information, flag down a supervisor. For more information on how the Patriot Act has affected libraries, read this link: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/patriot-act.
You may also get questions from parents or professors about a patron’s checkout history. Parents may call and want to know whether their students have any overdue books. Do not give out any information to parents.
The most common way a professor may ask for information is “Someone has my personal reserve item checked out, and I need to know who it is.” Even in this case, you CANNOT give out information about who might have the item checked out.
Library faculty, staff, and student employee schedule confidentiality
Schedule information for library faculty, staff, and student employees is confidential information. Never share that information with anyone. Any printed schedules that have information about faculty, staff, and student employee personal information or scheduling information should be treated as confidential, and we shred all schedule information at the end of the day.
Additionally, as a student employee of Foley Library, you must abide by the Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA). Please read and watch the information at this link: https://www.gonzaga.edu/academics/academic-resources/registrars-office/family-education-rights-and-privacy-act.
Here is our official policy surrounding confidentiality:
Registration and circulation records of the Gonzaga University Library are considered confidential. Registration records include any information the library requires the patron to provide in order to become eligible to borrow materials. Circulation records include all information that identifies a patron as borrowing particular materials. Except in accordance with a proper judicial order, e.g., a subpoena, no library employee shall make known in any manner information contained in such records. If a subpoena or other judicial order is brought to or served on a library employee, he or she should refer it to the Library Dean.