A. State Law
The Board of Trustees of the
Ipswich Public Library recognizes that Massachusetts law mandates that certain
records and information are confidential.
The Board has directed the Library
Director to periodically advise members of the staff of the content and
purpose of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 78, Section 7, which reads in
part:
“That
part of the records of a public library which reveals the identity and
intellectual pursuits of a person using such library shall not be a public
record…”
Members of the staff shall be
instructed to immediately refer any inquiry regarding the intellectual
pursuits, borrowings, use of electronic resources, or materials usage of
patrons to the library privacy contact, who shall explain to the party making
the inquiry the library’s confidentiality policy and the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts confidentiality law. Staff shall not disclose patron
information.
If an inquiry for patron
information comes from a law enforcement agent or officer, the library privacy
contact shall ask for a warrant or subpoena and inform the agent or officer
that users’ records are not available absent presentation of such documents.
The library privacy contact shall immediately refer any request involving
judicial action to Town Counsel. The library privacy contact is the Library
Director, or the Library Assistant Director in the absence of the Library
Director. All requests for confidential patron information, search warrants or
subpoenas must be referred to the library’s designated privacy contact.
B. Federal Law
Whereas a subpoena or a search
warrant under the USA Patriot Act (P.L.107-56) suspends state statutes,
confidential patron information will be turned over to federal law enforcement
officers if such documents are presented. Library staff shall not honor
requests from federal law enforcement officers unless a subpoena or search
warrant is presented pursuant thereto.
1.
Any staff member approached by a federal officer with a search warrant
shall immediately contact the library privacy contact, but in no way shall
staff interfere with the execution of the warrant.
2.
The library privacy contact shall ask to see positive identification
from the federal officer(s) and shall photocopy this identification.
3.
The library privacy contact shall contact Town Counsel immediately upon
receipt of a subpoena. Town Counsel has the right to review all subpoenas.
Furthermore, the library privacy contact will ask Counsel to be present during
the execution of a FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) search
warrant.
4.
The library privacy contact shall keep a record of all legal requests
and of the cost associated with compliance with such requests.
5.
The library privacy contact shall cooperate with law enforcement
personnel and shall be present during the execution of a search to ensure that
only records identified in the warrant or subpoena are viewed or scanned.
Attached: Retention
Policies for Ipswich Public Library Records
Approved by the Ipswich Public
Library Board of Trustees on May 19, 2003
