Privacy FAQs

  • General Questions

    We store your name, an email or phone number, date of birth, and address. We also keep your state ID number or other ID number so we can identify you if you lose your card.

    Your checkout history is not kept on your personal account. If an item is overdue, a record of the title will remain on your account. OPL staff will not release check-out history unless presented with a warrant or subpoena by law enforcement.
     
    OPL protects library user account information by placing it on a secure server. OPL keeps very limited records of your borrowing activities. Returned items stay on the item’s record for the rare occasions that we may need to contact you about the item.
     
    As a patron, you may choose to enable the “Borrowing History” option on your account. By selecting this option, you choose to give explicit consent to storing your check-out history from the opt-in date. Library staff DO NOT have access to the Borrowing History. You can opt out of this service and delete your Borrowing History at any time.

    Change your PIN often.
     
    Never write your PIN on your library card!
     
    More of our branches now have holds accessible for you to retrieve on your own. OPL offers an alias field option for patrons who want to be anonymous on their holds slips. This will print instead of your name. Ask library staff to create an alias for you.

    For children ages 0-7:
     
    The parents or legal guardians listed on the account can access and update the account. They also have access to the child's information.
     
    For more information, read our circulation policy.
     
    For children ages 8 and up:
     
    We cannot tell you what your child has checked out without your child there, unless a fee is due.

    Registration is important for patrons, the library and the service provider, BiblioCommons. For the patron:

    • Registration allows you create an easy-to-remember username you can use to log in, so you don’t have to type your barcode every time you want to check your account. However, if you've memorized your barcode and want that to be your username it can be!
    • Registration also allows you to get personalized recommendations and contribute ratings and reviews.

    For your library and for BiblioCommons:

    • It is good practice (and often a legal responsibility) to communicate what information is collected and how that information will be used. By registering, a patron signals that she or he understands these policies and grants permission to store and use personal information as noted.
    • Registration also gives the library and BiblioCommons an opportunity to clearly address some key questions about how the service works, such as the responsibilities of the user, licensing arrangements for user content and other content on the site, safety issues, and the use of the site by children.

    MyPC is the third-party software we use to manage computer reservations and sessions. MyPC removes past reservation and session history overnight. After you log out, the next user has no way of accessing your information.

    For more details about our wireless network, please review the Wireless Internet Policy.

    No. Data entered on PayPal's payment page is encrypted by PayPal. The Library does not store it.
     
    To learn more about your privacy rights regarding how PayPal collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information, go to PayPal's Privacy Policy page.

    For more information about our website and databases, please review the Website Disclaimer.
     
    Some databases and e-content on our website need you to enter the barcode number from your Oakland Public Library card. We also use third-party services for eBook Help Reservations with SetMore and Online Summer Reading. None of these vendors have access to our records.
     

    We care about your privacy when you use an OPL Hotspot. 

    Because the OPL Hotspot program is an “opt-in” service, we want you to understand what information about internet usage is tracked or used:

    • We do not have access to or collect your internet usage data. We do not provide information to the ISP.
    • We do not allow the ISP to use ad-targeting programs (“supercookies”) to identify you or track your internet usage.
    • Data is never kept on the OPL Hotspot.

    RFID stands for radio-frequency identification. OPL puts RFID tags on materials so they can be read by checkout machines. It's how we check out your books!
     
    The only pieces of information stored on the RFID tag are:
    • the item barcode
    • a security bit that indicates if the item is in or out of the library.

    Our library cards do not use RFID technology or smart chips. We do not plan to use RFID for library cards.

    OPL does not share your personal information with anyone unless presented with a warrant or subpoena by law enforcement.

    OPL offers two email based services: eAnswers for reference questions and Book Me for personalized reading recommendations.

    We need your email address to respond, as well as any relevant information necessary to give you a response. We do not share your identity or email address.

    We do collect usage statistics for these services.

    All Oakland city employee email correspondence is governed by local laws.

    Library printers keep your print job data for 24 hours, after which it deletes the print job data.

    Staff can re-print for you; this is for your convenience only, and only when requested by you.