Auraria Library (the “Library”) is committed to supporting student success for all three institutions on the Auraria campus while also remaining deeply committed to the privacy of the students, faculty, staff, and visitors we serve. This Privacy Statement may be modified or updated at any time by the Library. The information provided in this Privacy Statement should not be construed as giving business, legal or other advice, or as guaranteeing the security of information provided through the Library’s website.

The American Library Association Code of Ethics guides our position on privacy which states, “we protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.” Both it and the Colorado Library Law (C.R.S. 24-90-1) support our professional and ethical commitment to patron privacy and prevent us from reporting on individual’s use of our services or collections. This includes not tracking who visits the library or what they do in the building or when they use our online library resources. We also do not report to faculty or instructors when their students make use of library services nor do we voluntarily release information to law enforcement. 

Users do generate data when they use our services, systems, and facilities and we make every reasonable effort to de-identify and protect these data. We analyze the data in the aggregate to better understand user trends, perform technical troubleshooting, and improve collections and services. Outlined below are some of the types of data generated by users when they use our services, systems, and facilities and how this data is used. 

We encourage you to review the sections below as well as University of Colorado Denver’s Privacy Policy, Metropolitan University of Denver’s Privacy Statement, and Community College of Denver’s Privacy & Electronic Communications Policies for more information. 

Sharing and Disclosing Your Information

The Library may, for example, provide your personal information to third parties in the following instances: (i) to the extent necessary to comply with applicable law and our legal obligations, such as to comply with a subpoena or similar legal process; (ii) when the Library in good faith believes that disclosure is necessary to protect its rights, your safety or the safety of others; (iii) with third party vendors, consultants and other service providers who work for us and need access to your information to do that work; (iv) to investigate fraud, or respond to a government request; (v) to comply with an appropriate request under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) (C.R.S. § 24-72-201 et. seq.); or (vi) if you request that someone from the Library share your information.

​As a public institution of the state of Colorado, the Library must comply with CORA. Information we handle, including your personal information, may be available for request under CORA if it is not protected under any other law or specifically exempt from disclosure under CORA. We will not disclose information protected by law in response to a public records request.

Borrowing materials 

In order to manage and provide the borrowing service to library users some personal data are stored in the library management system. Only library staff have access to these.  

While items are checked out, we may collect the following data: 

• name, address, phone, email and ID number 
• items that are currently checked out 

Upon return of materials these data are deleted.  

If you borrow materials from other institutions through Interlibrary Loan, records of these transactions are stored in a separate, secure system that the Library does not control, and these data are not automatically de-identified. Your name and the item you request may be transmitted to the lending library. Please contact Interlibrary Loan if you would like to know more. 

Facilities 

We collect data regarding the number of people entering and exiting the building and the way Library visitors use Library space during open hours. These data are anonymized and used to improve the design of physical spaces within the building. 

Security cameras are located throughout the Library for safety and security purposes and are managed by the Auraria Police Department. The library staff do not have access to these cameras.  

The Office of Information Technology at CU Denver has wireless access points throughout the building. Mobile devices, tablets, and laptops often automatically "ping" wireless access points and exchange data for available Wi-Fi networks. The secured campus Wi-Fi networks will require your campus login credentials to authenticate.  

Please see your institution’s IT policies regarding privacy and contact them if you have questions.  

Asking Questions and Making Appointments

We often collect names and contact information when scheduling appointments or during other visits to the Library, but we only use this information to confirm or reschedule appointments as necessary. We do not, and will not, report to outside entities about what any individuals or groups have done in the Library, what questions they’ve asked, or what services they use. Patron privacy is a vital component of academic freedom, and our users should know that we are here to support them as they research any topic of their choosing. 

We also collect anonymized information about the types of questions we receive and the institutions we serve. We use this data to inform staffing decisions, professional development, and future outreach opportunities, but at no time is an individual’s name or other identifier attached to our analysis. 

Website and Online Scholarly Materials 

When you visit the Auraria Library website (www.library.auraria.edu) there is some non-personally identifiable, technical information that is being collected automatically through tracking technology such as Google Analytics. This information helps us to assess the website usability in order to continuously improve its features and user experience. Collected information can include web visit information such as pages visited, date and time of visit, referral websites, length of visit, browser type, operating system, or clicks on the homepage. Upon collection, this information about your visit is aggregated and is not individually identifiable to the Library. Google Analytics uses browser cookies to track this information. The Library does not use Google Advertising Features, and this ensures that no personal demographics data is being provided to the Library via Google Analytics. 

We do not share any information with third parties, nor do we sell or use your data for marketing purposes. For more information about how Google Analytics collects, uses, and stores non-personally identifiable information, please see the Google Analytics and Google Privacy Policy. 

When you visit online scholarly materials from off campus, you must use your campus login credentials to authenticate through a software called EZProxy. EZProxy is hosted by OCLC, a non-profit library cooperative. EZProxy logs data including a randomized sessionID, a timestamp, username, and the resource accessed. Library staff use these logs to stop security breaches such as excessive downloading that violate our vendor licenses. We may also de-identify and analyze these logs in order to assess our collections and their use. For more information about EZProxy, please see OCLC's hosted services page.

The Library does link to and license services and content from third party vendors that have their own privacy policies and confidentiality practices. When you leave the Library website your interaction with these systems will be governed by their privacy policies. While we make every reasonable effort to hold all of our licensed services to the same standards, some of these vendors require specific information from you for authentication, troubleshooting, or customized services. Make sure you visit their privacy statements to understand what they are collecting from you and how they are using it. 

The Library may include information on the site including social media features. These social media features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the social media feature to function properly. Social media features may be hosted by a third party or hosted directly on the Library website. Your interactions with these social media features are governed by the privacy statement of the company providing them.

Any child under the age of 13 should not register to use any portion of the Library website, or provide any personal information. It is not the Library’s desire or intent through its website to collect and store any personal information from any person the Library actually knows to be under the age of 13.

What You are Consenting To

By using the Library, you are consenting to the use and processing of your information as set forth in this Privacy Statement, and these activities will take place in the United States. If you reside outside the U.S., your information will be transferred to the U.S., and processed and stored there under U.S. privacy standards. By using the Library and Library website and providing information to us, you consent to such transfer to, and processing in, the U.S. If the Library collects information based on your written consent in a separate document, the Library will conform to the processes outlined in any applicable consent form. If you provide information based on consent, you may generally withdraw your consent at any time. However, withdrawal will not affect the processing based on such consent prior to withdrawal.

COVID-19 Contract Tracing 

Because the Library does not keep data on who enters the building, we are not involved in any contact tracing processes. Each institution on the Auraria campus has their own protocol for this activity.  

My Rights Regarding My Personal Information

The rights you have regarding the use and disclosure of your personal information depend on the nature of your relationship to the Library, applicable law, and the type of the information the Library holds about you. Please be aware that personal information rights under international, United States, and Colorado information and privacy laws may differ. Depending on the applicable law(s), you may have the right to request:

• A list of the types of the personal information the Library has about you;
• That the Library correct inaccurate information about you (For example, updates to your name, contact information, etc.);
• That the Library delete information about you. (Depending on your role at the Library, the information the Library stores about you, applicable law, and the University of Colorado’s record retention requirements, the Library may not delete your information); and/or
• To have the Library stop processing your information. ​

You should direct all requests to exercise these rights to: aurcirc@auraria.edu