Right Terms, Privacy, and Other Information about using POWER Library
Thank you for visiting and using POWER Library. POWER Library (Pennsylvania’s Online World of Electronic Resources) is a service of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Commonwealth Libraries. It is hosted by HSLC, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is authorized to provide technical support. POWER Library includes POWERLibrary.org and other sites branded as the POWER Library. Hereafter, “POWER Library” refers to all sites branded as POWER Library including but not limited to: ‘Find books, movies, and more’; ‘Chat with a Librarian’; ‘Find e-resources’; and ‘PA photos and documents’.
Use of POWER Library signifies your agreement to all policies and statements.
While all attempts are made to provide accurate, current and reliable information we recognize the possibility of human and/or mechanical error. POWER Library expressly denies any warranty of the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Any person who relies upon such information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk. POWER Library’s “e-resources” provide access to reference resources from multiple vendors that can be accessed from anywhere by those registered for a POWER Library eCard or a participating public library card. The vendors of some of these e-resources collect statistics such the names of the resources used, how often they are used, and whether they are used at the library or by remote access. These vendors provide POWER Library usage statistics to HSLC and participating libraries. E-resource vendors used by POWER Library do not track personal information or link specific search requests to specific users.
On the POWER Library website, a link to an exterior site, usually denoted by 
, does not constitute an endorsement of content, viewpoint, policies, products, or services of that website. Once you follow a link to another website, you are subject to the terms and conditions of that website, including but not limited to its privacy policy.
Summary statistics are collected about visits to POWER Library to determine what is of most and least interest to users. Information collected may include your domain, IP address, browser and operating system, referring URL, pages visited, and length of visit. This information is not made available for commercial purposes. Please see “Information Collected” under the “Privacy” section for more information about statistics.
No personally identifiable information about users is collected or subject to examination and inspection unless you have:
Examples of personally identifiable information may include an e-mail address or information you submit to complete an application or form.
Cookies stored by your web browser do not contain personally identifiable information and do not compromise privacy. Cookies may be deleted from web browser at any time by clearing the browser’s cache.
You may decline participation in any activity, such as a survey, that requests information. Declining to participate has no effect on your ability to use POWER Library.
In certain instances, you may receive or create a password to access or submit personal information. POWER Library will never ask for a password in an unsolicited phone call or e-mail.
This policy addresses the collection, security, and access to information that may be obtained through the use of POWER Library sites. This policy covers the following topics:
Information Collected
POWER Library collects statistics using two methods:
In general, please note the information collected, whether or not personally identifiable, is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video and other graphic formats you send us. Information is retained in accordance with existing laws and other POWER Library policies.
Information collected is for statistical analysis. The statistics are used to determine what information is of most and least interest to all visitors and to identify system performance or problem areas. This information is not collected for commercial marketing purposes and POWER Library does not sell or provide information collected for commercial marketing purposes.
Access
Any personally identifiable information entered by a user in a user profile will be open and accessible to you for review and modification. If you have any questions or comments about the information presented in this statement, you may contact, HSLC, the POWER Library hosting company, as follows:
Unsubscribe/Opt-out
All recipients of e-mail transmitted from POWER Library are given the opportunity to unsubscribe (opt-out) at any time by clicking on a link at the bottom of the e-mail or following instructions provided. Please note that participation in certain Office of Commonwealth of Libraries supported programs may require recipients to agree to receive e-mail from specified mailing lists, and such agreement may be required prior to acceptance into the program.
Cookies
To better serve you, cookies are occasionally used to customize your browsing experience. Cookies are simple text files stored by your web browser and they provide a method of distinguishing among visitors to websites.
If you have further questions about cookies, the Computer Incident Advisory Capacity Unit that monitors computer problems for the U.S. Department of Energy issued a study on March 12, 1998, regarding the risks to users of cookies, titled , “Information Bulletin 1-034: Internet Cookies.”
Security
POWER Library has taken steps to safeguard the submission of information by implementing detailed technology and security policies. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day operations of the entire operating environment as part of its continuing commitment to the security of electronic content and electronic transmission of information.
In certain instances, you will have the opportunity to receive or create a password to access or submit personal information. You should not divulge your password to anyone and POWER Library will never ask you for your password in an unsolicited phone call or e-mail. When you are finished with those applications that are password protected, you should exit the page.
Users of the “Books, movies and more in a PA Library” service who create accounts may have personal information stored but the platform used for the service (SHAREit) is running under secure sockets layer (SSL). SSL is standard security technology used to establish an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browser remains private.
Information Disclaimers
Information provided on POWER Library web sites is intended to allow the public immediate access to information. While all attempts are made to provide accurate, current, and reliable information we recognize the possibility of human and/or mechanical error. Therefore, HSLC, its employees and officers, as well as the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, expressly deny any warranty of the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Any person who relies upon such information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
Historical and Offensive Content Notification – Please note that POWER Library provides digital access to a wide range of historical documents, articles, and other resources, some of which may be considered offensive. The institutions noted in the Terms section of this “Terms & Privacy” statement do not endorse views expressed in these resources, but present these resources to aid in scholarly research and for other informational purposes.
A POWER Library eCard enables Pennsylvania residents to access the e-resources provided by POWER Library. The e-resources are licensed and/or purchased by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Commonwealth Libraries and are only for use by Pennsylvania residents. To obtain a POWER Library eCard, residents must register by providing their name, e-mail, zip code, city, and respond to a few informational questions. The information collected during the registration process is kept secure and is not made available to any commercial entities for the purposes of solicitation or promotional activities.
There are two events during the eCard registration process in which your personally identifiable information (e-mail), with your approval, might be used:
For more information about the eCard, to recover an eCard number, or to obtain an eCard, please see POWER Library eCard.
POWER Library News e-Newsletter
POWER Library News is an e-newsletter periodically published and distributed via e-mail to subscribers. Subscribers may subscribe from various locations on the POWER Library website, when registering for a POWER Library eCard, or from other locations. POWER Library utilizes the e-mail provided to distribute POWER Library News. E-mails provided for subscription to POWER Library News are not provided to others for the purposes of solicitation or promotion. View previous issues of POWER Library News or subscribe to POWER Library News.
This project is made possible in part by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and
through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Library Access funds administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Commonwealth Libraries.
The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services or the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
