Whereas the preservation of confidentiality of library records is essential to maintaining public libraries as institutions in which the individual is encouraged to exercise his/her freedom to read and seek information without fear of public scrutiny, the Board of Trustees of the Indianola Public Library adopts the following policy:
1. The Board of Trustees of the Indianola Public Library affirms that all library circulation records, individual reference requests, and reading interests of patrons are confidential. Information may be released only under the provisions of the Code of Iowa, Section 22.7(13).
2. Said records shall not be available to any agency of state, federal, or local government except pursuant to legal process, with proper showing of good cause in a court of competent jurisdiction.
3. The Library Director shall be the “lawful custodian of the records.”
4. Upon receipt of such process, order, or subpoena, the Library Director will consult with legal counsel, if necessary, to determine if such process, order, or subpoena is in proper form and if there is a showing or good cause for its issuance. The Library Board of Trustees will be notified of any subpoenas received.
5. This Library will retain patron use records only for the period of time needed for retrieval of overdue materials, payment of outstanding, fees, and compilation of statistics. Such records that are no longer needed for these purposes shall be destroyed.
Adopted 2/8/00
Revised 9/10/02
Reviewed 10/07