The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech with the corresponding right to hear what is spoken and read what is written without fear of government intrusion, intimidation, or reprisal.  Confidentiality is the primary means of providing First Amendment protection for public library users.

Oregon state law recognizes Fern Ridge Library District as a public body subject to Oregon Public Records Law.  However, the Oregon Public Records Law also supports the First Amendment and confidentiality by allowing libraries to exempt the following records from disclosure:

-Circulation records, showing use of specific library material by a named person;

-The name of a library patron together with the address or telephone number of the patron; and

 -The electronic mail address of a patron.

In accordance with this law, the following District records are exempt from disclosure:

-Records showing the use of specific library material, whether analog or electronic, consulted, borrowed, acquired, or transmitted, by a named person; or

-Records showing the name of a patron together with the person’s address, email address, telephone number, or other personally-identifiable information.

The District is committed to protecting every patron’s library records.  However, upon issuance of a court order, the District may be required to disclose borrower records to law enforcement agencies.  Depending on the court order, the District may or may not be allowed to disclose to the patron or anyone else, with the exception of legal counsel, that the records were released.

These records include, but are not limited to:

-Circulation records;

-Borrower registration records; and

-Records created to facilitate access to and/or use of library information, material, and service.

To protect patrons, if a court order is received, the District will not make library records available to any agency of state, federal, or local government without first consulting its legal counsel and unless a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other investigatory document is issued by a court or competent jurisdiction, showing good cause and in proper form.  All such request must be made through the Library Director.

To further protect library record privacy the District shall electronically purge or manually shred the following records when they are no longer needed for regular library business:

Records with personally identifiable information including but not limited to a name together with an address, email, telephone number, or name of a library material used or accessed.

Records showing information on use of the District’s computer networks that can be specifically identified with a particular user or device.

The district reserves the right to use library records for administrative purposes, such as recovering overdue material, payment for lost items, customer surveys, or other administrative communications.  The district does not allow use of library records for fundraising or political purposes.

Nothing in this statement prevents the District from exercising its right to enforce its Code of Conduct, protect its facilities, network, and equipment from harm, or prevent the use of library facilities and equipment for illegal purposes.