Why Patron Privacy Matters -- and How You Can Protect It

Librarians, working through the American Library Association, have developed a Code of Ethics and a Library Bill of Rights to guide our practice.

Be familiar with these important documents, consider adopting them as policy for your library, and post them for all to see.

Code of Ethics (item 3)

Library Bill of Rights (item VII)

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom has many resources available to help you. Visit this website:  https://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacy

The following resources may be especially helpful:

Privacy--An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
This document provides more detail about the principle stated in the Library Bill of Rights

Privacy and Confidentiality Q&A
This web page provides detailed information and how to protect privacy, including the privacy of minors.