Library Confidentiality Bill Introduced in VT Senate

We are delighted to announce that Senator Claire Ayer of Addison County has introduced S. 220, “An Act Relating to the Confidentiality of Library Patron Records,” in response to VLA’s request for a stronger and clearer law protecting the confidentiality of our library patrons. The bill as introduced is very similar to a draft proposed by VLA (and to laws in many other states), but we intend to recommend a few amendments, most notably one to include school libraries. In December, the Vermont School Library Association decided to join our effort.

For more information about the provisions of the bill and why we need a confidentiality statute, click Why we need a library confidentiality statute. To access a handout on confidentiality that you can photocopy and give to your library patrons, click Your privacy is important to us (patron handout). For a model confidentiality policy that you can adapt for your library, click model policy. To track the progress of the bill, visit the Vermont Legislative Bill Tracking System at http://www.leg.state.vt.us/database/status/status.cfm.

Please urge your representatives and senators to support this bill. If you have questions, please contact Trina Magi at trina.magi@uvm.edu or any other member of the VLA Intellectual Freedom Committee.