Privacy Policy

Our Commitment to Privacy

The Lewis & Clark Library Board of Trustees is committed to protecting individual privacy. The Privacy Policy is meant to cover our web site www.lclibrary.org and any other web service hosted by the Library. This policy does not cover any service or site that is linked from any library resource or not
connected to any library web service.

The Information We Collect

The Library will collect no personal information about you when you visit our website, unless you choose to provide that information to us. Any information you choose to provide will only be used to provide or improve library services or used for statistical purposes.

This policy applies to all information collected or submitted on the Lewis & Clark Library web site. On some pages you can make requests, make comments, register for programs or participate in electronic resources. We collect personal information such as:

Voluntary personal information provided by you (to view your library account, or to participate in an electronic library program):

  • Name
  • Address
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Patron barcode

Information we collect and store automatically

During your visit as you browse through the web site, read pages, or download information, certain information will be automatically gathered and stored about your visit but not about you. This information does not identify you personally. The Library automatically collects and stores only the following information about the visit:

  • The Internet domain and IP address from which access to our web site is gained;
  • The type of browser and operating system used to access the Library’s site;
  • The date and time of access to the Library’s site;
  • The pages visited and for how long; and
  • The address of the web site from which the initial visit to www.lclibrary.org launched, if any.

The Library uses this information to improve our web services to our patrons and to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use. The data that is collected is not connected to your personal information or identity.

Confidentiality of Library Records

Any information given to us or accessed via the Internet regarding an individual’s library account falls under the Library’s Confidentiality of Library Records Policy. This policy is available on the Library web site at www.lclibrary.org or is available at the information desk.

The Way We Use This Information

We do not share personal information collected on our web site with outside parties. We use technical information to better design our web services by generating statistics such as number of users accessing our site each month, and we use browser specific information to assist in the design of our website.

E-mails and Web Forms

Personally identifying information that you provide by e-mails or web forms will be used only for such purposes as are described at the point of collection, for example, to send information or provide library services to you, update your membership record, or to respond to your questions or comments.

If you provide contact information, the Library may contact you to clarify your comment or question, or to learn about your level of customer satisfaction with library services.

We use return e-mail addresses to answer the e-mail we receive and to confirm online program registrations.

Finally, we never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to prohibit such unrelated uses.

Outside Links to Other Web Sites

The Lewis & Clark Library cannot control the privacy policies of the web sites to which we have links. Once you leave our site, our Privacy Policy no longer applies. Some of these sites are commercial in nature and may collect and sell data provided to them.

The Library also provides access to subscription databases on our web site. When you access these sites, they may log information regarding the date and time you accessed that resource. This information may be provided to us so we may evaluate the usefulness of these databases.

Our Commitment to Data Security

We have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online to prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information.

Data Retention

Any information we collect will be stored in such a way as to prevent the unauthorized access of it. We will make every reasonable attempt to encrypt the data we store, and to not transmit it in any form that is not encrypted. We dispose of any information we store when the purpose for which it was collected has passed, or a reasonable period of time after. All other information we store is kept for a period of time as deemed necessary by the Library.

Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies, you may contact us using the following information:

Lewis & Clark Library
120 South Last Chance Gulch
Helena, MT 59601
(406) 447-6699
jfinn@lclibrary.org

Reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees June 19, 2018
Reviewed and amended by the Board of Trustees, May 19, 2015
Reviewed and amended by the Board of Trustees April 21, 2015
Reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees September 18, 2012
Approved by the Board of Trustees August 18, 2009
Approved by the County Attorney October 2003
Reviewed and approved by the Board March 25, 2003