In recent years there has a growing campaign to protect consumer privacy on the Internet. The cornerstone of this campaign is that each web site that gathers any information about its visitors must have a clearly posted privacy policy. Users of the Internet are advised to look for privacy policies on each site and to avoid sites that do not post a policy.
Unfortunately, few libraries post a privacy policy on their web sites. This is ironic because libraries do protect the privacy of their users and are the only place where people can access information with a guarantee of confidentiality. As Internet users become accustomed to checking the privacy policy of sites that they visit, they will expect to find them on library sites as well. Unless they find privacy policies on library sites, they may assume that there is no privacy protection provided by our institutions. A report on technology and privacy presented to ALA council at the July, 2000 annual meeting advises ALA to initiate a campaign to encourage libraries to post privacy policies and to educate users about the privacy risks of Internet use.
This web site provides University of California libraries with the information they need to create a library privacy policy for their online sites and serves.
To be effective, the privacy policy must be presented prominently on entry points to the library's online services. Depending on the design of your online sites, it may be feasible to include a link on secondary pages as well. The important point is that users entering your system should see that the library does have a posted privacy policy.