Privacy Policy

How we use your information

We will collect personal information about people if you:

  • register as a library member
  • sign up to receive our email newsletters
  • book a place at a library event or workshop
  • provide feedback or request information about our services where you require a response
  • apply to work for Libraries Unlimited, including volunteer roles

Library membership

We will collect your name, address and date of birth if you register as a library member, and we keep a record of your transactions such as your loans and requests. We shall also ask if you are happy to provide a telephone or mobile number and email address as this helps us provides a quicker and more efficient service to you, and an email address will be required to use some of our digital services. We shall also ask if you are happy for us to record your gender and ethnic origin which we would only use for statistical purposes.

We use the information we collect to administer your library membership account, for example:

  • keeping a record of which items you have on loan at any one time;
  • letting you know when an item you have requested is available for collection;
  • letting you know if the items you have on loan are overdue for return; and
  • applying any relevant membership concessions or entitlements.

Email newsletters

You can choose to receive news and information about our services and forthcoming events by email. We will collect your name and email address.

We may provide separate email newsletters for different services, but you will be able to choose which newsletters you would like to receive, and you can choose to unsubscribe from any or all of our mailings at any time.

Events and workshops

If you book online to attend one of our events and workshops we shall ask for your name, email address and postcode. The postcode is only used for statistical purposes. If you make a booking in a library we may ask for a contact telephone number rather than an email address. If you book online and there is a charge for an event, we shall also ask for your payment details.

We use this information to send you confirmation of your booking and any further details about the event, or to let you know if it has been cancelled. We may also ask you if you would like to receive information by email about our forthcoming events.

Feedback

If you send us feedback or requests for information, it is up to you to decide how much personal information you wish to disclose, but if you require a response then we would need your name and a means of getting in touch with you such as postal address, email address or telephone number.

Job applicants

We ask for details such as name, address, telephone or mobile number and email address so we can contact applicants about their application. We also ask for details of employment history, training and qualifications to assess applications.
Once a person has taken up employment with Libraries Unlimited, we would create an employment file. The information in the file will be kept securely and will only be used for purposes directly relevant to that person’s employment.

Surveys and evaluation forms

From time to time we may carry out surveys to help us understand how our services are currently being used, and how we might improve services in the future; and we also invite participants at our events to provide feedback using an evaluation form.

If you choose to complete a survey or evaluation form, we only collect anonymous information about your preferences, interests and experiences, but we may ask for demographic information such as your age and ethnic origin which we would use for statistical purposes only. We only collect this data anonymously, so survey and evaluation responses are not linked to any personal information we may hold about you.

Visitors to our website

We use cookies and analytics tools on our website. For more information, please visit our Cookies page.

Sharing your information

We don’t share personal information, including your email address, with any third parties unless we are required to do so by law. We may occasionally share anonymous usage information with partner organisations to help with data analysis.

We may also provide anonymous data to organisations that have provided us with grant funding to run additional services; for example, we may receive grant funding to run a programme of events. It is usually a condition of receiving the grant that we report back to the funding body on the take up of services, including statistics about the different range of people who participate. This is why we sometimes ask for information such as gender, age, ethnic origin or postcode on survey, evaluation or booking forms.

Access to your personal information

Under Data Protection law you are entitled to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. You can make a request in writing to Data Protection, Libraries Unlimited South West, Exeter Library, Castle Street, Exeter EX4 3PQ. You may be asked to provide proof of your identity and proof of your address as part of this process.

For more information please click here.