Policies

Review your library's policy for reference service. In this policy, or elsewhere, does your library indicate support for:

• Statement of Professional Ethics
• Library Bill of Rights
• Free Access to Libraries by Minors
• Serving All People Equally and Objectively
• Privacy of Patrons and Confidentiality of Library Records
• Freedom to Read

Confidentiality

1. Find out what your library is doing about the Ohio Confidentiality Law.

Confidentiality Law (Section [149.43.2] 149.432  of the Ohio Revised Code), passed in 2000, provides that "library records and patron information are confidential except if the parent, guardian, or custodian of a minor child requests a library record or patron information pertaining to that child and in certain other situations."

Library, library record, Internet, situations, and patron information are all defined and available on the Internet site of the 123rd Ohio General Assembly (H.B.389), and as 149.432 in the Ohio Revised Code; Title 1 (State Government); Chapter 149 (Documents, Reports, and Records); Section 43.2 "Releasing library record or patron information" at http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/149.432

2. Do you know what records are kept of reference transactions and the confidentiality policies regarding the records? Look at the following confidentiality questions about library records situations. What similar situations might arise for records kept for reference transactions, with in-house or remote services?

• A member of the library board wants to see the patron record for her high school son. He's 19. May the board member view these records?
• You have to leave a message on an answering machine for a patron that an Interlibrary Loan book is in. Do you include the name of the book in the message?
• When you send postcards to notify patrons that requested materials are in at the library, the titles of the materials can be seen by anybody. Is that okay?
• A police officer wants to see library records for a patron arrested for child molestation. The officer doesn't have a warrant. Are you required to provide the record?
• The library mails newsletters to all patrons. The local Chamber of Commerce would like to use the list of patron addresses for their own newsletter. Do you do that?
• A father requests the library records of his son. You know that the parents are divorced and that the mother has sole custody of the child. Do you release the records to the father?

ORE on the Web, Ohio Library Council, 2008.
See Copyright-Credits at http://www.olc.org/ore/supervisor.htm#credits for information regarding design, source of materials, and for use of the site.