Confidentiality of Library Records

Every person has a basic right to privacy. Each person has a right to protection from the misuse and unwarranted use of personal information and to decide with whom and to what extent such information may be shared. The New Zealand Library Association recognises and endorses this right. It has adopted the following three principles as a basis for its policies on privacy:

1. Personal information held by a library for borrower, loan or information record purposes should not be used for any other purposes or be made available to any third party without the freely expressed permission of the person concerned.
   
2. A person should have the right to review the details of all personal information recorded about her/himself by a library and be able to have invalid information corrected or deleted.
   
3. All library records relating to individuals shall be confidential and shall not be revealed to any person except in accordance with the above; or in accordance with the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982 where the library holding that information is subject to that Act; or in any other case where the information is required pursuant to a subpoena or other order of a court of competent jurisdiction.