Monday Minutes: Keeping Patron Data Safe

by Kelly McElligott on Jun 20, 2022

In this week's Monday Minutes, Evelyn, part of the ByWater Solutions System team, joins Kelly and Jessie to talk about keeping patron data safe.

Patron Data

At ByWater Solutions we are often asked about best practices in different aspects of libraries and Koha workflows. Today we wanted to talk briefly about patron data - and how we should think about the data we store in Koha.

Evelyn brought up the patron data that could be stored in Koha known as, PII, Personally identifiable information, is any data that could potentially identify a specific individual. Any information that can be used to distinguish one person from another and can be used to deanonymize previously anonymous data is considered PII.

When deciding what to store in Koha, it is best to think about what they should do to keep patron's data safe. If the information is necessary to the library but could be seen as too much data to be stored in Koha, this information could be stored outside of software and maybe in paper format and locked away.

ByWater Solutions's Commitment

ByWater Solutions's commitment to our partners and their libraries:

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Our commitment to patron data:

Data that can identify the patron includes username, password, and contact information such as an address, phone number, and email address. In these cases, data is transmitted using SSL encryption and stored on disks that are encrypted both at rest and within the database.

For more about our Privacy Policy here at ByWater Solutions:

Read here.