Website Compliance & Privacy

Privacy

Texas A&M University Libraries ("the Libraries", "we", "us", "our") respect your privacy. We use this privacy statement to inform you what information we collect, how we use, protect and release it, and how you are entitled to access it. This privacy statement applies to the web sites we administer and the email you send us. This site contains links to other websites. The Libraries are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites.

When you visit our web sites to read or download information, we do not collect personal information about you. In particular, we do not use "cookies" to collect or store personal information. We do use personal information that you supply in online forms, email, and other requests for information and services to respond to your requests. This may involve redirecting your inquiry or comment to another person or department better suited to meeting your needs.

We may also require personal authentication before allowing individuals to conduct transactions such as renewals through the Libraries online catalogs or use electronic resources licensed by the Libraries.

Some of our websites send general information about your visit to Google Analytics. We do not send personal information to Google Analytics.

We do collect and store technical information about your visit in server logs. This information can help us analyze use of the library website, diagnose server problems, and administer the website. This information may include the following:

  • user/client hostname or IP address
  • HTTP header, "user agent" information (browser, its version, and operating system)
  • HTTP header, "referrer" information (the page that directed the client to the current page)
  • system date (date and time of request)
  • full request (exact request made)
  • status (status code returned in response to the request)
  • content length (in bytes, of the file sent in response to the request)
  • method (request method used)
  • Universal Resource Identifier (URI; location of a resource on the server)
  • query string of the URI (anything after the question mark in a URI)
  • protocol (transport protocol and version used)

We will only release information when legally required to help law enforcement investigations, legal proceedings, or internal investigations of Texas A&M University rule and regulation violations. These groups would use the information to track the electronic interactions back to the source. The library does not sell any personal information to third parties.

Except for education records governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), all information collected from our web sites, including server logs, and information collected from web forms, or email you send to us, may be subject to the Texas Public Information Act. This means that while we do not actively share information, in some cases we may be compelled by law to release this information.

Cookies

A cookie file contains unique information that a web site can use to store such things as passwords, or pages you have visited, or the date you last looked at a specific page. Cookies can also identify your server session at a particular website. We do not use cookies to collect or store personal information.

Sessions

A server session is like a cookie that is stored on a web server. It can store information such as what web pages you visited, when you visited a web page, or personal information that you supply or information the web page retrieves for you. Occasionally, we use server sessions to store information about your session. For example, we may require you to login to a website and store your username; distinguishing you from other people using the site.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics stores the following information on their website:

  • User/client hostname - The host-name or IP address of the user/client requesting access
  • HTTP header, "user agent" - The user-agent information includes the type of browser, its version, and the operating system on which it is running
  • Universal Resource Identifier (URI) - The location of a resource on the server including web pages, images, and other files
  • HTTP header, "referrer" - The referrer specifies the page from which the user/client accessed the current page
  • Screen colors - Color processing ability of the user/client screen
  • Screen resolution - The resolution or dimensions of the user/client screen
  • Service Provider - The Internet service provider of the user/client
  • Mobile device - If user/client is a mobile device, the manufacturer of the mobile device
  • Mobile carrier - If user/client is a mobile device, its Internet service provider
  • Bandwidth (Internet connection speed) - The speed of the user/client connection from their Internet service provider
  • Java support - If Java is enabled
  • Flash version - Which version of Adobe Flash is installed
  • Geographic data - Country, State, City, language preference of the user/client
  • Time on page - The time spent on a web page

Google Analytics shares information with Google. Please read Google's Privacy Policy for more information.

Information Security

We employ extensive security measures consistent with theTexas Administrative Code (TAC) "Information Security Standards"  and Texas A&M University Rules and Standard Administrative Procedures to protect against unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, or destruction of information under our control, as well as the loss, misuse, or alteration of our websites and/or associated electronic information resources. The information resources that support our websites undergo an annual information security risk assessment via the Department of Information Technology’s security services.

Information Access

The Texas Public Information Act, with a few exceptions, gives you the right to be informed about the information our websites collect about you. It also gives you the right to request a copy of that information, and to have the university correct any of that information. You may request to receive and review any of this information, or request corrections to it, by contacting the Texas A&M University Public Information Officer or the Texas A&M University Office of Open Records, 1181 TAMU, College Station, Texas, 77843-1181, at 979-862-7777.

Questions

If you have any questions about this privacy and security statement, the practices of our websites, or your use of our websites, please AskUs. You can also send postal mail to:

Web Services
Sterling C. Evans Library & Annex
5000 TAMU
College Station, TX 77840-5000

This statement is based on the web site privacy and security statements of Texas A&M University and the Office of the Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer.