The Nantucket Atheneum (or the “library”) respects your privacy and has instituted this Privacy Policy intended to ensure that your personal information is handled in a safe and responsible manner.  As the island’s public library resource, the Nantucket Atheneum adheres to the principles in effect for public libraries in Massachusetts, aiming to protect the “identity and intellectual pursuits” of library patrons.

Personal Information

Personal information is any information that could reasonably be used to identify an individual, including, but not limited to, a person’s name, address, e-mail address, social security number, birth date, financial account information or credit card number.  Individuals may visit the Nantucket Atheneum’s website without identifying themselves or revealing any personal information.

As a general rule, the Nantucket Atheneum does not sell, swap, rent, trade, or otherwise disclose personal information to any third party for commercial purposes.  Personal information will be used only for the purpose for which it has been requested.  If you have supplied us with your e-mail address, postal address or telephone number online, you may receive periodic e-mails, mailings and telephone calls about promotions and upcoming events.  If you do not want to receive such information from us in the future, please contact us.

The library may disclose personal information when accessing or assisting patrons to access the Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing (CLAMS) system.  The library may use information technology and/or other third party service providers for website maintenance or to assist with other operations, who may have access to personal information when performing such services.  The library has a written information security program in place to limit the exposure to and use of any personal information by third party service providers.

The library keeps the minimum number of records necessary for maintaining operations.  When a patron logs off a library computer, information about that user session is automatically deleted.  When you return materials to the library, information about what was checked out is automatically deleted at the end of the day, unless a patron has fines due.

The Nantucket Atheneum reserves the right to disclose personal information (including circulation records) as required by law or court order, in order to comply with the USA Patriot Act, as amended by the USA Freedom Act of 2015.  If disclosures of personal information and circulation records are made under these circumstances, the library is prohibited by law from informing you of such disclosures.

Donor Privacy

We will not sell, share or trade our donors’ names or personal information with any other entity, nor send mailings to our donors on behalf of other organizations.

This policy applies to all information received by the Nantucket Atheneum, both online and offline, on any Platform (“Platform”, includes the Nantucket Atheneum website and mobile applications), as well as any electronic, written, or oral communications.

Children’s Privacy

Children age 12 and older are permitted to obtain their own library card and use library services and resources in accordance with library polices.  Parents and guardians are encouraged to educate children of all ages with respect to privacy concerns, including advising children not to provide any personal information when using online (or offline) resources.

Credit Card Information

This website uses SSLA Secured processing to encrypt credit card information provided as part of any online donation or purchase.  This process eliminates the risk of the decoding of that information by anyone other than the Nantucket Atheneum for the purposes of processing your order.  To check the security of your connection, look at the bottom of your browser window after accessing the server.  If you see an unbroken key or a closed lock (depending upon your browser), then the secured processing is active.  You can also verify secured processing by looking at the URL line of your browser.  When accessing a secure server, the first characters of the site address will change from “http” to “https.”

Cookies

“Cookies” may be used in connection with this site. A cookie is a small amount of identifier data that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive. By using cookies, information is potentially collected without your express knowledge. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies but permit you to change the setting to refuse cookies or to be alerted when cookies are being sent. While refusal to accept cookies will not prevent the use of some portions of this site, other portions of this site may not function properly without cookies.

Log Files

The library may collect other information about its users that is not connected with any specific personal identity, such as data about usage and service operation.  Our web server may record the numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer being used to access the Nantucket Atheneum’s website, geographic location of visitors, information about a user’s browser and operating system, internet service provider, date and time of access, and the internet address and page which linked a user to our site.  This information is anonymous, and, unless required by law, the library does not link such information to individual users.  The Nantucket Atheneum may use such information to help diagnose problems with our server, to administer and improve our website, and to generate aggregate statistical reports that analyze general user information and demographics.

Links

This site contains links to other independently run websites, social media platforms, services and “downloadables” that are not controlled by the Nantucket Atheneum and are not covered by this Privacy Policy.  The Nantucket Atheneum privacy practices may differ from these other sites or platforms.  The Nantucket Atheneum is not responsible for the privacy policy, practices, security or content of any website linked to from this site.  This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by the library’s website.

Security Precautions

This site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under the Nantucket Atheneum’s control.  Nevertheless, due to the nature of internet communications, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.  While the library remains committed to protecting the privacy of our users, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information transmitted to us, and users assume the risk of interacting with the library’s website.

Patron Expectations

The library expects patrons to be civil and respectful and to refrain from posting discriminatory or obscene materials when using any on-line services accessed through the library website, or when posting on the library’s social media platforms.  In the case of chat, text or e-mail services, if you use abusive or inappropriate language, the library may terminate the session and/or take other appropriate action. The Nantucket Atheneum respects the privacy of your identity; however, persons making threats or using harassing language may be reported to the appropriate authorities.

Questions?

This Privacy Policy may be updated as circumstances warrant, and we encourage you to check it from time to time.  If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or its implementation please contact us at info@nantucketatheneum.org