Patron Privacy Policy

Your right to privacy 

The mission of the Portland City Archives is to ensure transparent and accountable government by preserving the City’s historic records and making them available to the public. Safeguarding intellectual freedom and privacy of City Archives users is integral to ensuring equitable accessibility to all. 

The City Archives functions as a library for City staff and members of the public, as it “provides a collection of resources in a variety of formats that is organized by information professionals who provide convenient physical, digital, bibliographic, and intellectual access to its collections.”  The City Archives also “offers targeted services and programs with the mission of educating, informing, or entertaining a variety of audiences while stimulating individual learning and advancing society.”  

As such, the Portland City Archives & Records Management division of the Office of the Auditor (Archives & Records) adheres to the Code of Ethics of the American Library Association, 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.” Furthermore, as outlined in Article VII of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, “all people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use.” Lastly, privacy is identified as one of the core principles of the Code of Ethics of Archivists, as outlined by the Society of American Archivists: “Archivists respect all users’ rights to privacy by maintaining the confidentiality of their research and protecting any personal information collected about the users in accordance with their institutions’ policies.”

Our privacy and confidentiality policies comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Oregon Revised Statute 192.355(23)  exempts from disclosure under open records law the records of a library, including: 

• 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
• The electronic mail address of a patron. 

Nonetheless, there are times when we may be required by law to provide this information. Portland City records may be subject to disclosure to law enforcement officials under state or federal law, or in a civil lawsuit. In such instance, Archives & Records staff may be forbidden from reporting to you that your records have been requested or obtained.

The City of Portland takes your privacy seriously. To learn more about what information the City collects when you use Portland.gov more broadly, please click here to view the Privacy Policy for the City of Portland. 

Please email parc@portlandoregon.gov if you have questions about this policy and/or your rights to privacy in the City Archives. We are here to help.

What information do we collect?

The Archives & Records division avoids retaining records not needed for the fulfillment of the mission and operations of the Portland City Archives. We also do not engage in practices that might place your personal information in public view. Information that Archives & Records may gather and retain about users of the City Archives, along with the relevant retention schedule for those records, includes the following:

• Correspondence with Archives & Records staff. Records which document general requests or complaints concerning City Archives services, research inquiries, and/or service feedback. Retained for 2 years after last action (ADM-0640).
• Calendars and Scheduling Records. This includes records documenting and facilitating the scheduling of research appointments to the City Archives for research (name, materials requested, date/time of appointment). These records are destroyed after one year (ADM-0010, ADM-0030).
• Visitor log information (name, visit purpose, date, and zip code) provided voluntarily upon arrival at the City Archives. Summarizing information without personally identifiable information may be retained while the individual logs will be destroyed after 1 year (ADM-0770).  
• Information anonymously collected through our optional Reference Feedback Survey . Survey responses are retained until summary report is created or 3 years, whichever is sooner (ADM-0730).
• Information required to request digitized copies of historical materials (e.g. name, email address, lists of records to be scanned). This information is retained for 1 year after completion (ADM-0890).
• Information collected via our Permissions/Use form for Public Display of Historical Materials (name, record of requested materials, and intended use). This information is retained for 2 years after last action. Information collected in the form will only be released after consultation with the General Counsel’s Office (ADM-0640).
• Information about trends in research topics and patron demographics. This summarizing data does not contain any personally identifiable information. Data used to compile statistics is destroyed once annual report is created. Retain annual reports for 10 years (ADM-0940). 

The retention period for the different kinds of records listed above is guided by public records law. Records will be retained and destroyed following the appropriate retention schedule except when the records are subject to a legal hold due to ongoing legal proceedings or the subject of a pending public records request. Click here to learn more about retention schedules for different types of City records. 

Customer Pull Slips

Pull slips are generated by City Archives staff in efforts to track the location and use of historical materials requested by researchers. Information collected includes requested historical records along with name, zip code, and optional contact information. Pull slips, either handwritten or generated electronically, will be retained for 1 year after the last research interaction. After 1 year, pull slips will be confidentially destroyed and/or electronically purged (ADM-0660).  

Customer Holds

We can place historical material on hold for patrons who need to return to the Archives to continue their research. Items placed on hold for Archives patrons are shelved in our Archives stacks, which is a secure location accessible only by Archives & Records staff. Material is organized under the patron’s last name and the date (MM/DD) placed on hold. Patrons who do not want their holds organized by last name may contact the Reference Archivist for alternative options. 

We can only hold material for two weeks after a patron’s last scheduled appointment. After two weeks, material will be reshelved. 

How do we keep your data secure? 

We will not disclose any personal data we collect from you during reference interviews, instruction sessions, or other means to any other party except where required by law or to fulfill your service request. We protect personally identifiable information by electronically purging or manually destroying it once it is no longer needed for City business purposes, whenever possible. We take steps to remove personally identifiable information from aggregate, summary data. We regularly remove cookies, browsing history, cached files, or other computer and Internet use records that are placed on our computers or networks.

Our policies and procedures are aimed at ensuring that those individuals with access to your information do not use the data for unauthorized purposes. We limit access through strong passwords that are changed regularly and storage of data on secure servers or computers. Staff may access personally identifiable information stored in City computer systems only for the purpose of performing their assigned staff duties. 

Security Cameras

The Academic and Student Recreation Center, the building where the Portland Archives & Records Center (PARC) is located, has security cameras located inside and outside of the building for safety, security, and facility purposes. The security cameras are limited to common areas where patrons and staff do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. The presence of security cameras does not mean they will be actively always monitored or functioning properly.

Authorized staff, which includes certain staff in management, facilities, and security may access the security cameras for safety, security, and facility purposes. Video footage may also be accessed and may be disclosed as part of an investigation, litigation, or as otherwise required by law. Video footage is kept for 30 days in accordance with the City’s records retention schedule (FCO-0020), unless a longer retention period is required as part of an ongoing investigation or litigation.

Enforcement and Redress

We will not share data on patrons with third parties unless required by law. The City Archivist oversees the Portland City Archives & Records Management division of the Office of the Auditor and is authorized to receive or comply with public records requests or inquiries from law enforcement officers. The City Archivist confers with the General Counsel to the Office of the Auditor before determining the proper response to any request for patron records. We will not make patron records available to any agency of state, federal, or local government unless required by law, which will generally require a subpoena, warrant, court order or other investigatory document issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, showing good cause and in proper form. We have trained all Archives & Records Management staff to refer any law enforcement inquiries to the City Archivist.

If you have a question, concern, or complaint about our handling of your personally identifiable information or this policy you may file written comments with the City Archivist or email parc@portlandoregon.gov. We will respond in a timely manner and may investigate or review of practices and procedures. We conduct such reviews regularly to ensure compliance with the principles outlined in this policy.

Sources

American Library Association (2022, June 27). Definition of a Library: General Definition. ALA American Library Association. https://libguides.ala.org/libra….

American Library Association (2021, June 21). ALA Code of Ethics. ALA American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/tools/ethics

American Library Association (n.d.). Library Bill of Rights. ALA American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/in…

Oregon State Legislature (n.d.). Chapter 192 — Records; Public Reports and Meetings. https://www.oregonlegislature.g…

Portland City Auditor (2024, June 1). Reference Feedback Survey. Archives & Records Management Division of the Office of the Auditor. https://www.research.net/r/8HCL…

Society of American Archivists (2020, August 1). SAA Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics. SAA Society of American Archivists. https://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-core-values-statement-and-code-of-ethics