1. Registration and Personal Information

Personally identifiable information (PII) is information about you that can be used to identify you. We collect PII when registering you for a library card (automatically or manually), when you check out materials, and when you access your library card account. We may also ask for personal information as we try to find resources for you or answer your questions. In the latter case, providing personal information is voluntary.

2. Library Card Account Information

You will need a library card to check out books, DVDs, technology, or other materials, or to access online resources from off-campus. The PII we use to create and maintain your library card account is your chosen first and legal last name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and in the case of students, your student ID number. This information may be automatically ingested into the library’s systems through the college’s student registration system, or may be collected directly from you. We use the PII you provide to us to respond to questions from you and to give you information about the status of your account, including holds and bills. We will never sell your information or use the PII in your library card account for marketing purposes.

The library is a member of the C/W MARS network which provides the library’s catalog, circulation system, and some online resources. Because we’re part of a network, the contact information in your account is visible to staff at the more than 140 CW MARS member libraries. Circulation, library card accounts, and usage records are managed by C/W MARS and the Nahman-Watson Library and all member libraries are required to observe their privacy policy (see C/W MARS policies for details).

We do not reveal your library card account information to anyone but you, except in the following circumstances:

• You can authorize individuals to pick up your holds and/or to borrow materials on your behalf, at your written or in-person request. These individuals will need to have access to some of your information.
• If you fail to pay a library bill (payment for a lost tech item, for example), a hold may be put on your account in the college’s financial database. Other college staff will be able to see that you have a bill with the library, but will not be able to access other information about your library account.
• In the case of a valid subpoena or warrant, the library may be required to share your information with the relevant authorities. No confidential information on library patrons will be revealed without a valid subpoena or search warrant, and without consultation of legal counsel.

GCC Library Card Opt-Out

Students, faculty, and staff may choose not to have a library card created for them automatically. This impacts your ability to access GCC library resources, including some streaming film databases and the technology lending library. It does not impact any public library accounts you may have within C/W MARS. If you would like to opt out of a GCC library card, please email library@gcc.mass.edu with your name, student ID number, and the request to opt out.

3. Account Password

When you open a library card account, library staff will set a password for you, which you can reset. Your password is encrypted and is not visible to library staff. This means that we cannot look up your password for you, but we can reset it. Because we use a pattern for creating default passwords, if you do not reset your default password, staff and others may be able to guess what it is.

4. Library Account Records

Library records which may reveal your interests or research, including books checked out and holds placed, are protected by law and library policy. Your checkout history is purged from your account 7 days after you return items and your hold history after you pick up the item or the hold expires. Library staff at GCC and all C/W MARS locations are able to see the last patron who checked out a particular item, which means that your name will be linked to the record for a book or other library item until another patron checks out that same item.

5. Library Computers

The library keeps no record of which library desktops you visit, and the library does not track internet sites you visit, the online resources you use, or the searches you perform. No library computer requires individual credentials to login for use, with the sole exception of the TLL Chromebooks.

Note that usage of any GCC-owned computer, as well as all network traffic while on GCC internet, regardless of device used, may be monitored by GCC’s IT department, as outlined in the acceptable use policy.

The following outline how and when data is purged from library computers:

• PC desktop computers: All data is purged when the PC restarts. Machines automatically restart after a period of inactivity or can be manually restarted at any time.
• Mac desktop computers: All data is purged after logging out from the guest account. Library staff manually log out at the end of each day.
• Tech lending library PCs and Macs: When you return a checked out laptop, the computer is reimaged by GCC’s IT department, removing any data that may be saved to it.
• Tech lending library Chromebooks: When you return a checked out Chromebook, the computer is powerwashed by library staff, removing any data that may be saved to it.

6. Third-Party Services

The Nahman-Watson Library has contracts with many third-party vendors. These include the electronic article and streaming video databases that you access through the library website. In order to access these services from off-campus, you must sign in with your library card number and password. The Nahman-Watson Library and C/W MARS do not share your library account information with these vendors, but do verify that you have a student or staff account. Some vendors may ask you to provide additional information to set up a personal account. Please be aware that these third-party vendors have different privacy policies and may track your online activity in ways that the library does not.

7. Right to Privacy in Library Spaces

The Nahman-Watson library staff respects patrons’ rights to use our spaces anonymously and without being recorded. We do not have security cameras in any of our spaces. In Massachusetts it is illegal to surreptitiously record audio or video of other peoples’ communications or conversations without their consent (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272 § 99). In addition, the GCC Student Code of Conduct states that unauthorized recording or dissemination of recording is an honor code violation: “Use of electronic or other devices to create and/or disseminate an unauthorized audio or video recording of any person(s) without the person’s prior knowledge or without the person’s effective consent due to intoxication, drug use, mental impairment or other conditions that may impair a person’s ability to convey effective consent. This includes, but is not limited to, surreptitiously taking pictures of another person in a locker room or restroom, recording administrative activities without the person’s consent, or recording classroom lectures without a college-approved accommodation under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA).”