Nashville Public Library (NPL) has a legal and ethical duty to protect the confidentiality of patrons’ personal information and library records. This includes patrons’ checkout history, services used, visual image and personally identifiable information. Personally identifiable information is any "information which can be used to distinguish or trace the identity of an individual (e.g., name, social security number, biometric records, etc.) alone, or when combined with other personal or identifying information which is linkable to a specific individual (e.g., date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name, etc.)." ¹

NPL will not share this information without patrons’ written consent except when required to deliver services or when required by law. For example, NPL will not share patrons’ checkout history without a search warrant from law enforcement or federal authorities, but staff need limited access to patrons’ checkout history to provide service.

NPL shares patron data with select third party vendors to provide essential and non-essential services. Contracts with these vendors are vetted by library staff and the Metro procurement process to assure these vendors meet legal, technical, and ethical requirements before sharing patron data with them.

NPL partners with several third-party vendors to provide non-essential services. Third party vendors of non-essential services may have their own privacy policies or terms of service. NPL encourages patrons to review these policies before using any service.

Updated June 22, 2023.