Library service privacy notice

Waltham Forest Council works in partnership with the London Libraries Consortium to provide a library service. The partnership collects and stores data in a shared database to enable you to use libraries across London.

We will only collect the minimum personal data required to deliver the service, which includes name, address, date of birth, telephone number and email address. We are collecting this data because the data is necessary to carry out the agreement you have entered into i.e. becoming a library member. It may also include personal information relating to gender, ethnicity, language and disability.

Waltham Forest Council is legally required to provide a library service under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 and in order to provide the service efficiently and carry out this public task, we need to hold and process your data. If you do not provide this we will be unable to provide a library service to you. We will also use data for audit and quality control and to enable the handling of enquiries and complaints.

In accordance with the data protection act 2018, we need a "lawful basis" for collecting and using information about you. There are a variety of different lawful bases for processing personal data which are set out in the data protection act.

The lawful basis on which we rely in order to use the information which we collect about you for the purposes set out in this notice will be: 

• Consent
• Public Task

The data you provide may also be accessible to the suppliers of our library management systems. These suppliers have committed to handling data in accordance with the principles in the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the New Data Protection Act (2018), and will only do so to the extent that it is required to maintain the library management systems. Your data may also be shared with the councils’ service delivery partners. We will only share your data with these partners where we have a data sharing agreement in place and only for the purpose of delivering more effective public services to you. Your data will not be transferred abroad.

The Councils are required by law to uphold the law and protect the public funds they administer. They may share information provided to them with other bodies responsible for crime prevention, auditing, administering public funds, or where undertaking a public function, in order to prevent and detect crime including fraud.

For more information about how Waltham Forest Council processes your personal information visit our Corporate privacy notice webpage. 

We will hold this data for up to two years after your last transaction with us to meet audit requirements. However, if you have unreturned items or outstanding debt your data may be retained further. After this, your information will be deleted or archived. If you wish to view your details at any time online or ask a member of the library staff.

Our Data Protection Officer

Our Data Protection Officer is Mark Hynes, you contact him by email at data.protectionofficer@walthamforest.gov.uk

Protecting your information

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Your information choice and rights

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Complaints and contact details

These are included in the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Information Commissioner’s Office

If we’re unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)