The State Law Library (SLL) adopts the State Website Linking and Privacy Policy. Below we further describe our third-party linking policy and provide more information regarding what information we collect from visitors to the site and how that information is used.

Please see our open records policy for details about public information requests. If you have questions or comments about SLL's linking and privacy policy, please contact us.

Web Forms

The SLL receives user-submitted information from web forms for the following purposes:

• to collect survey results
• to register for database trainings
• to allow the public to ask reference questions
• to allow the public to subscribe to our mailing list
• to allow Texas residents to register for or renew a library account

Personally identifiable information collected from web forms has a specified use, and the SLL uses the information only for that purpose.

Reference Questions

When a member of the public submits a reference question to the SLL via our online submission form, their submission may contain information such as their name, e-mail address, and phone number. Any personally identifying information is not used by SLL for any purposes beyond responding to the question. In addition, personally identifying information is confidential pursuant to Section 552.124 of the Government Code. For further safeguarding, the SLL attempts to delete all personally identifiable information associated with a submission within approximately 90 days of providing a response. However, the SLL cannot ensure that all copies of this information have been deleted from our servers. If you have privacy concerns with the online submission form, please instead contact the SLL by phone or in person.

Mailing List Newsletters

When a member of the public requests to be added to the SLL's mailing list, the library does not collect any personally identifiable information other than that submitted by the person. E-mail addresses are stored by a third party, Constant Contact. Constant Contact does not buy, sell, or rent contact information. They do not use these e-mail addresses for purposes other than providing services specified by SLL. SLL only uses this information to send newsletters to our subscribers. Upon a patron's request, we will remove their e-mail address from the mailing list. Patrons can also cancel their subscription at any time by unsubscribing from a newsletter e-mail directly. Please see the Constant Contact privacy policy for information about the data they collect and how they use it.

Account Services

When a member of the public attempts to register for or renew a library account on the SLL's website, the HTML5 Geolocation API is used to determine an approximation of the patron's physical location. If the geolocation request is successful, the SLL receives a latitude/longitude coordinate associated with the person. The SLL then uses the Google Maps API "reverse geocoding" feature to convert the latitude/longitude coordinate to a physical address. Please consult the Google privacy policy for details on what information Google collects. If at any point in the geolocation process there are any errors, the SLL receives a diagnostic e-mail with a description of the error, if available, and the current state of the user form in order to help keep the library aware of any technical issues or potential misuse and to analyze trends. Location information is sent to SLL only if the person grants their web browser permission to do so. The public can deny this permission at their discretion. We use geolocation information solely for the purposes of determining Texas residency. The personal information submitted by the patron during the registration or renewal process is stored in our library system as it is needed in order to maintain a library account. This information is requested and collected only when a person registers and subsequently renews their account.

Survey Responses

When a member of the public submits a response to our patron satisfaction survey or registers for a database training, the library does not collect any personally identifiable information other than that submitted by the person. The library collects anonymous survey responses. The survey responses are used to assess how we're doing. Survey responses and database training registrations are hosted by a third-party, SurveyMonkey. Please see the SurveyMonkey privacy policy for information about the data they collect and how they use it.

Each web form designed and used by the SLL contains a link to this privacy policy.

E-mail

The Public Information Act prohibits governmental agencies from disclosing the e-mail addresses of members of the public without their affirmative consent. Exemptions to this confidentiality may be reviewed at Section 552.137 of the Public Information Act. Personally identifiable information contained in a question or comment sent to the SLL in an e-mail or submitted in an online form is only used by the SLL to respond to the request and to analyze trends. The SLL may redirect the message to another government agency or government employee who is in a better position to answer the question.

Chat

The SLL may provide legal reference services on our website using LibraryH3lp chat software. The transcript of a chat may be stored for up to 30 days, but this transcript will be deleted by the 30th day after the chat. An IP address is stored alongside a chat transcript in order to help us prevent abuse of the chat system. IP addresses are also deleted within 30 days of a chat. Only statistical information about a chat (date, time) will be stored after 30 days.

Cookies

The SLL website may use cookies to provide interactive pages, such as web forms, web applications, and surveys. These cookies serve to provide a better user experience to the public. We do not obtain any personally identifiable information other than that which was submitted by members of the public via our web forms.

Site Use Analysis

The SLL uses Google Analytics to track statistical information about website visitors. No personally identifiable information is collected through Google Analytics. The statistical information obtained through Google Analytics helps us monitor and analyze usage trends so that we can better design our public website. We do not use the usage statistics obtained through Google Analytics for any other purpose. For more information, see the data sharing and privacy policies of the Google Analytics tool.

Server Logs

The SLL uses multiple web servers to delivery library services. Our servers are maintained by the Office of Court Administration and other third parties. OCA site policies govern the information collected by their servers.

The SLL collects patron information in order to facilitate remote access to our electronic databases using EZProxy. The EZProxy server log is the only server log directly accessible by the SLL.

Any information we collect via server logs is used to improve site management, track site usage, and to monitor network security. The SLL does not use server logs for any other purposes. We may use log analysis tools to create summary statistics about website and electronic database usage. The statistics are used for purposes such as assessing what information is of most interest to users, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. The SLL does not disclose any information in any manner that would reveal personally identifiable information unless required to do so by law.

The SLL and OCA monitor network traffic for site security purposes and to ensure that the site remains available to all users. Unauthorized attempts to upload information, change information on this site, or otherwise cause damage are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Texas Penal Code (e.g., chapter 33 on Computer Crimes, chapter 33A on Telecommunications Crimes).

Third-Party Linking

The SLL may provide links to websites owned and operated by third parties. The presence of a third-party link is not to be construed as an endorsement by the SLL. We provide third-party links to help further the legal research of our library patrons. We have no control over the content of a third-party site, and as such, we strongly recommend that the public assess the information of a third-party site on their own or with the help of an attorney. Many third-party sites contain information that could be construed as legal advice, so we strongly recommend you speak to an attorney for help with your specific situation.

We welcome suggestions on how we may improve our services by linking to a third-party site, but the SLL reserves the right to deny a third-party link on our public website.