Record Confidentiality Policy

The Prairie Skies Public Library District abides by the Illinois Library Records Confidentiality Act: The Library Records Confidentiality Act [75 ILCS 70/1] provides that registration and circulation records of a library are to be confidential and cannot be published or made available to the public except by a court order, or the rare example of someone’s personal health and safety requiring that a sworn law enforcement officer be given the information of an individual's name and address based on a sworn statement by the officer of such need. Statistical reports of circulation and registration may be published if the reports do not identify particular individuals. [75 ILCS 70/1 (b)]. 

 

The Illinois Library Records Confidentiality Act requires a court order before a library may publicly release information contained in library registration or circulation records. Public Act 95-0040 created an exception to the requirement for a court order if ALL of the following conditions are met: 

 

1. The information is requested by a sworn law enforcement officer who states that it is impractical to get a court order as a result of an emergency situation: 

 

2. The law enforcement officer states that there is probable cause to believe that there is imminent danger that someone will be physically harmed: 

 

3. The information requested is limited to only identifying a suspect, witness, or victim of a crime: and 

 

4. The information does not include any registration or circulation records that would indicate materials borrowed, resources reviewed, or services used at the library: 

 

Public Act 95-0040 also provides that “If requested to do so by the library, the requesting law enforcement officer must sign a form acknowledging the receipt of the information. A library providing the information may seek subsequent judicial review to assess compliance with this Section.”