I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to affirm the Naperville Public Library’s dedication to the principle 
of the confidentiality of library records, to recognize a patron’s expectation of privacy when 
using library materials or services, and to identify those limited circumstances under which 
information regarding a patron’s use of the Library will be released to third parties.

II. SCOPE

It is the policy of the Library Board that all records pertaining to the use of the Naperville Public 
Library including, but not limited to, patron registration, circulation, program signup, meeting 
room and Web site records, shall remain confidential. Except as provided herein, no employee, 
volunteer or trustee shall make information regarding the use of the Library’s materials, 
equipment or facilities available to any third party.

III. PROVISIONS

A. Library Records Confidentiality Act

1. The Library Records Confidentiality Act (75 ILCS 70) governs the release of 
circulation and patron registration information. The provisions of the Act are 
incorporated into this policy in their entirety.

Sec. 1. (a) The registration and circulation records of a library are confidential 
information. No person shall publish or make any information contained in such 
records available to the public unless:
         (1)  required to do so under a court order; or
         (2)  the information is requested by a sworn law enforcement officer who 
represents that it is impractical to secure a court order as a result of an 
emergency where the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that 
there is imminent danger of physical harm.  The information requested must be 
limited to identifying a suspect, witness, or victim of a crime.  The information 
requested without a court order may not include the disclosure of registration or 
circulation records that would indicate materials borrowed, resources reviewed, 
or services used at the library.  If requested to do so by the library, the 
requesting law enforcement officer must sign a form acknowledging the receipt 
of the information.  A library providing the information may seek subsequent 
judicial review to assess compliance with this Section.  This subsection shall not 
alter any right to challenge the use or dissemination of patron information that is 
otherwise permitted by law.
   (b) This Section does not prevent a library from publishing or making available to 
the public reasonable statistical reports regarding library registration and book 
circulation where those reports are presented so that no individual is identified 
therein.  
   (b-5)  Nothing in this Section shall be construed as a privacy violation or a 
breach of confidentiality if a library provided information to a law enforcement 
officer under item (2) of subsection (a).
    (c) For the purpose of this Section, 
a. "library" means any public library or library of an educational, historical 
or eleemosynary [charitable] institution, organization or society;   
b. "registration records" includes any information a library requires a 
person to provide in order for that person to become eligible to borrow 
books and other materials, and 
c. "circulation records" includes all information identifying the individual 
borrowing particular books or materials.
	       2. “Identifying” information includes: address, phone number, birth date and other 
	           personal information obtained by the Library in connection with issuance of a     
              Library card. 

B. Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to 
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (“USA Patriot Act”)

	Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, Access to Records Under Foreign Intelligence 
Security Act (FISA), allows an FBI agent to obtain a search warrant for “any tangible 
thing,” which can include books, records, papers, floppy disks, data tapes, and 
computers with hard drives; permits the FBI to compel production of library 
circulation records, Internet use records, and registration information stored in any 
medium; and provides that libraries or librarians served with a search warrant issued 
under FISA rules may not disclose to anyone except library counsel and any staff 
members necessary for the production of the requested records or items, under penalty 
of law, the existence of the warrant or the fact that records were produced as a result 
of the warrant. Staff shall adhere to the provisions of Section III-C of this policy when 
disclosing information to an FBI agent in response to a search warrant issued under the 
terms of the USA Patriot Act.

C. Disclosure of Confidential Information 

1. Except as provided for in this Section, no information regarding a patron’s use 
of the Library may be disclosed to anyone other than the patron.
2. In the case of registration and circulation records, “patron” shall be defined as 
the individual who has signed for the library card.
3. Naperville Public Library card holders are eligible to apply for reciprocal 
borrowing privileges at other public libraries in Illinois. When a patron applies 
for reciprocal borrowing privileges at another public library, the Naperville 
Public Library reserves the right to verify to that library that the patron holds a 
valid card.
4. The Naperville Public Library will honor a court order issued under the terms of 
the Library Records Confidentiality Act or the USA Patriot Act subject to the 
following procedures:
a. Any employee who receives a request for library records shall ask for the 
identification of the person making the request and then immediately 
refer the agent or officer to the library manager or, in the absence of the 
library manager, to the person-in-charge of the building.
b. The library manager or person-in-charge should attempt to contact 
library counsel and to have library counsel present. In the event that 
library counsel is not available, the library manager or person-in-charge 
should meet with the agent with another library staff member in 
attendance.
c. If the agent or officer does not have a court order compelling the 
production of records, the library manager or person-in-charge should 
explain the Library’s confidentiality policy and the state’s 
confidentiality law and inform the agent or officer that users’ records are 
not available except when a proper court order in good form has been 
presented.
d. If the officer is claiming to need information as a result of an 
emergency, believing there is imminent danger of physical harm, and it is 
impractical to secure a court order for the identification information, the 
library manager or person-in-charge may provide information that is 
limited to identifying (see Section 3.A.2) a suspect, witness, or victim of 
a crime.  In this case, the library manager or person-in-charge will need 
to fill out and get the officer’s signature on the Officer’s Request for 
Confidential Library Information form. 
e. If the court order is in the form of a subpoena, library counsel shall 
examine the subpoena for any legal defect, including the manner in 
which it was served on the Library, the breadth of its request, its form, 
or any insufficient showing of good cause made to a court before any 
records are produced.
e. If the court order is in the form of a search warrant, the agent or officer 
may legally begin the search of library records as soon as the library 
manager or person-in-charge is served with the court’s order. However, 
the library manager or person-in-charge should ask to have counsel 
present before the search begins in order to allow the Library’s counsel 
an opportunity to examine the search warrant and to assure that the 
search conforms to the terms of the search warrant. 
f. If the court order is a search warrant issued under the Foreign 
Intelligence Security Act, no information regarding the existence of the 
search warrant or of the records that have been produced pursuant to the 
warrant shall be disclosed to any other party, including the patron whose 
records are the subject of the search warrant, except library counsel and 
any staff members necessary for the production of the requested records 
or items. The library manager or person-in-charge does have the right to 
and shall seek legal advice concerning the warrant from the Library’s 
legal counsel and shall request that the Library’s legal counsel be present 
during the actual search and execution of the warrant.

	D. Web Site Privacy Statement

1. The Naperville Public Library shall not share or sell Web site information with 
any third party except as required pursuant to the provisions of a valid court 
order.
2. In order to improve the usefulness of the Naperville Public Library Web site for 
visitors, anonymous statistical information is collected from usage reports that 
concern network traffic flow and volume. The information collected consists of: 
a. the domain name and IP address of the visitor, enabling the Naperville 
Public Library to troubleshoot issues with the server and to compile 
statistical reports.
b. the browser being used so that staff may better design the Web site to 
take full advantage of browser capabilities.
c. the default language set on browsers.
d. usage patterns, allowing staff to see what options need to move closer 
to the top to enable users to get information as quickly as possible.
3. To use Naperville Public Library databases remotely (from outside the Library), 
users must provide their Naperville Public Library card number, ensuring that 
Naperville cardholders are the only ones benefiting from this information and 
service. Database vendors do not have access to any user records or 
information.

	E. Public Access Computers

The Naperville Public Library attempts to maintain strict security on public access 
computers to prevent any personal information from being retained after a workstation 
has been rebooted. However, patrons should be aware that the Library cannot 
guarantee that every task completed on a public access computer is private.



NAPERVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY	                                                    Policy No. 230

CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY POLICY
10

Approved:  10/16/02; Approved: 10/19/05; Approved: 12/19/07; Approved 11/18/09; 
Approved:  11/16/11
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