Privacy and Cookies Policy

Approved by Westerly Library and Wilcox Park Board of Trustees September 20, 2022.

At Westerly Library and Wilcox Park (collectively, Westerly Library and Wilcox park, “we” “our”, and “us”), the protection of the information we collect about you is important to us. This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) applies to any websites that we own and control, such as https://www.westerlylibrary.org/ and any related services, including any associated interactive features, widgets, plug-ins, applications, content, downloads and other services we may offer to you that posts a link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Website”), regardless of how you access or use them, whether via personal computer, browser, laptop, tablet, mobile phone or other device (each a “Device”). This Privacy Policy covers how Westerly Library and Wilcox Park collects, uses, shares, and processes personal and other ‎information and data of users of our Website. To the extent that we provide you with notice through our Website of different or additional privacy policies or practices (e.g., at the point of collection), those additional privacy policies shall govern such data collection and use.  

By using or accessing our Website or by submitting information to Westerly Library and Wilcox Park, you consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

In addition to reading this Privacy Policy, please review our Terms of Use, which governs your use of our Website. If you do not agree to our Terms of Use and the collection, use and sharing of your information as detailed in this Privacy Policy, please do not access or otherwise use our Website or any information or content accessible on our Website.

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time, and we will post a notice or inform you of any such ‎changes on our Website. Your use of our Website following the posting of an updated Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of such updated Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to apply the amended terms to the information that we have already collected, subject to any legal constraints. We will not use your previously collected Personal Information in a manner materially different than represented at the time of collection. To the extent, any provision of this Privacy Policy is found by a competent tribunal to be invalid or unenforceable; such provision shall be severed to the extent necessary for the remainder to be valid and enforceable.

Please note that this Privacy Policy applies only to our information-gathering, use, and ‎dissemination practices in connection with our Website. This Privacy Policy does not apply to ‎any of our information practices conducted separately by Westerly Library and Wilcox Park outside of our Website.‎

This Privacy Policy is written in the English language. We do not guarantee the accuracy of any ‎translated versions of this Privacy Policy. To the extent any translated versions of this Privacy ‎Policy conflict with the English language version, the English language version of this Privacy ‎Policy shall control.‎

1. Information Collection

• Information You Provide.

We collect information from you in several ways, including when you choose to share information with us through use of library computers, use of all electronic and print resources the library offers, use of all items printed on 3D printers, and use of other items related to library programs and services through one of the library’s electronic resources. This information may include information that identifies you personally, such as your first and last name, e-mail address, payment information, mailing and billing addresses, credit card information, date of birth, and telephone number.

• Donor Information

To the extent any donations ‎are processed through a third-party service provider, our donors’ information (name, address, payment card information, and amount and timing of donations) will ‎only be used ‎for purposes necessary to process the donation, and by us for our donor communication and cultivation purposes.‎

• Automated Information Collection

In addition to any information that you choose to submit to us via our Website, we and our third-party service providers may use a variety of technologies that automatically (or passively) store or collect certain information whenever you visit or interact with our Website (“Usage Information”). This Usage Information may be stored or accessed using a variety of technologies that may be downloaded to your Device whenever you visit or interact with our Website. To the extent we associate Usage Information with your Personal Information we collect directly from you through our Website, we will treat it as Personal Information.

This Usage Information may include: 

• your IP address, UDID or other unique identifier (“Device Identifier”). A Device Identifier is a number that is automatically assigned to your Device used to access our Website, and our computers identify your Device by its Device Identifier;
• your Device functionality (including browser, operating system, hardware, mobile network information);
• the URL that referred you to our Website;
• the areas within our Website that you visit and your activities there, including remembering you and your preferences;
• your Device location;
• your Device characteristics; and
• certain other Device data, including the time of day, among other information.

Tracking Technologies. We may use various methods and technologies to store or collect Usage Information (“Tracking Technologies”). Tracking Technologies may set, change, alter or modify settings or configurations on your Device. A few of the Tracking Technologies include, without limitation, the following (and subsequent technology and methods later developed):

• Cookies. A cookie is a data file placed on a Device when it is used to visit our website. HTML5 cookies can be programmed through HTML5 local storage.
• Web Beacons. Small graphic images or other web programming code called web beacons (also known as “1×1 GIFs” or “clear GIFs”) may be included in our Website’s pages and messages. Web beacons may be invisible to you, but any electronic image or other web programming code inserted into a page or e-mail can act as a web beacon. Web beacons or similar technologies may be used for a number of purposes, including, without limitation, to count visitors to our Website, to monitor how users navigate our Website, to count how many e-mails that were sent were actually opened or to count how many particular articles or links were actually viewed.
• Embedded Scripts. An embedded script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with our Website, such as the links you click on. The code is temporarily downloaded onto your Device from our web server or a third-party service provider, is active only while you are connected to our Website and is deactivated or deleted thereafter.
• Browser Fingerprinting. Collection and analysis of information from your Device, such as, without limitation, your operating system, plug-ins, system fonts and other data, for purposes of identification.
• ETag, or Entity Tag. A feature of the cache in browsers. It is an opaque identifier assigned by a web server to a specific version of a resource found at a URL. If the resource content at that URL ever changes, a new and different ETag is assigned. Used in this manner ETags are a form of Device Identifier. ETag tracking may generate unique tracking values even where the consumer blocks HTTP, and/or HTML5 cookies.
• Recognition Technologies. Technologies, including application of statistical probability to data sets, which attempt to recognize or make assumptions about users and devices (e.g., that a user of multiple devices in the same user).
• Tracking Technologies Usage. We may use Tracking Technologies for a variety of purposes, including:
• Strictly Necessary. We may use cookies or other Tracking Technologies that we consider are strictly necessary to allow you to use and access our Website, including cookies required to prevent fraudulent activity and improve security.
• Performance‑Related. We may use cookies or other Tracking Technologies that are useful in order to assess the performance of our Website, including as part of our analytic practices or otherwise to improve the content, products or services offered through our Website.
• Functionality‑Related. We may use cookies or other Tracking Technologies that are required to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing our Website, including identifying you when you sign‑in to our Website or keeping track of our specified preferences, including in terms of the presentation of content on our Website.
• Targeting‑Related. We may use Tracking Technologies to deliver content relevant to your interests on our Website and third party sites based on how you interact with our content. This includes using Tracking Technologies to understand the usefulness of the content delivered to you.

2. Use of Collected Information

Confidentiality extends to all records with identifying information about patrons, including their borrowing records, requests for information, materials, and their loan transactions. The library will keep patron records confidential and will not disclose this information except as necessary to library staff and vendors for the proper operation of the library, upon consent of the user, pursuant to a subpoena or court order, or as otherwise required by law.

The only exception to this policy is for borrowers under the age of 13. Parents or legal guardians of children under age 13 may have access to information on their child's library card. Parents or legal guardians of 13-17 year olds may have access to their child’s library record to settle their child’s financial obligations. In accordance with the Child Online Privacy Protection Act, in the event that we learn that we ‎have collected personal information from a child under age thirteen (13) without verification of ‎parental consent; we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we ‎might have any personal information from or about a minor, please contact us at administration@westerlylibrary.org Please see below for further information concerning the collection of children’s information.

3. Information Sharing

We may share the information that we collect from you, including Personal Information, with third parties for a variety of purposes, but we will not sell any Personal Information collected or ‎submitted to us through the Website. For example, we may share information with employees of ‎ Westerly Library and Wilcox Park or service providers who assist us in our operations. We may also share ‎information where required by law or to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, subpoena, ‎government request, or other legal process. We may also share information with third parties, ‎including law enforcement, to protect this Website and to enforce our Terms of Use (click here ‎[insert link to] for Westerly Library and Wilcox Park’s Terms).‎

• Links to Third-Party Websites

Our website may include links to third-party websites or other online services. We are not responsible for these other sites and services, and they may collect and use information about you. You should review the privacy policies for such third parties before using their sites or services to understand how they collect and use information.

• Third-Party Tracking and Do Not Track

Third parties may use tracking technologies in connection with our Website, which may include ‎the collection of information about your online activities over time and across third-party ‎websites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to these third-party technologies because we may ‎not control them and we are not responsible for them. Do Not Track is a technology that enables ‎users to opt out of tracking by websites they do not visit. Currently, we do not monitor or take ‎any action with respect to Do Not Track technology.  ‎

• Analytic Services and Targeted Ads 

We use third-party analytics services, like Google Analytics, to collect, monitor and analyze data we collect through our Website to better understand how our Website is used and to improve its functionality. These services may track details about your online activities over time and across different websites. These services may also allow us and others to provide you with targeted advertisements or other content that you may be interested in based on your online activities.

The Google Analytics service tracks and reports website traffic and provides us insight into behavior information relating to visitor age, gender and interests.  Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting give us insight into behavior to help us understand browsing behavior and give you a better experience when you visit our website. You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize Google Display Network ads using the Ads Settings.

These third-party services have their own privacy policies addressing how they use such information. We recommend you review their privacy policies. If you want to prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics, you may wish to take advantage of Google Analytics' currently available opt-outs for the web. 

If you would like to learn more about targeted ads that may be based on your online activities, and the choices that you may exercise for certain sites and advertisers, you may wish to visit the Network Advertising Initiative or the Digital Advertising Alliance.

4. Information Protection

We use reasonable and standard security technologies and safeguards to protect the information ‎that we collect and use.  We do not currently encrypt emails sent to Westerly Library and Wilcox Park.  As a result, ‎please do not send email to us containing information you consider sensitive.‎

5. Changing Information and Communication Preferences

You are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of the information you submit to us, such as personal information provided for use of items related to library services.

If you do not wish to receive any material or contact from Westerly Library and Wilcox Park, please contact administration@westerlylibrary.org. Once we receive your request, we will remove your information from future communications.

6. Users Outside of the United States

If you are from a non-U.S. country, please be aware that the personal information you submit, including information provided through our Website, is being sent to a location in the United States. The data protection laws in the United States are likely different from those of the country in which you are located, and your personal information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in the United States according to laws of the United States. By providing such personal information through the Website, you are consenting to (and represent that you have authority to consent to), the transfer of such information to the United States for the uses and purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Without limiting the above, for the avoidance of doubt we do not have an establishment or target ‎people in the EEA or UK.

7. Children’s Privacy

Our sites and applications are intended for general audiences, and we do not knowingly seek or collect personal information from children under the age of eighteen (18). In accordance with the Child Online Privacy Protection Act, in the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age thirteen (13) without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe, we might have any personal information from or about a minor, please contact us at administration@westerlylibrary.org

8. Contact Us

If you have any questions about our privacy policy or comments on our Website or become aware of misuse of our Website by any person, please contact us at: administration@westerlylibrary.org.