A. General Collection and Use
of Personal Identifying Information
We will only collect and use personal identifying information (such as a first
and last name, physical address including a street name, e-mail address, etc.)
when a user voluntarily provides it to us. In order to use some portions of our
web sites, or in order to undertake certain actions (such as setting up an
account to make a purchase of an article), a user must first complete a
registration form or provide an e-mail address that will require disclosure of
personal identifying information.
For example, the EBSCOhost
service available at the EBSCO Publishing web site employs a Personalization
feature that requires completion of a registration form before a user can use
that feature. The Personalization feature of EBSCOhost is a powerful tool that
provides users with the means to create and save histories of searches they
have conducted. We believe the Personalization feature is a useful tool that
will enhance the user's experience at the site, but it does require the user to
provide personal identifying information to us.
We will use the personal
identifying information we collect for limited internal purposes that may
include, but are not limited to, processing your transactions, establishing the
identity of account holders, customer service, development, content processing,
content classification, and providing you with information concerning our
services. We will retain this information. We also may use that personal
identifying information to improve and customize our content. In order to
contact us by e-mail, you must provide an e-mail address.
We reserve the right to disclose
your personal identifying information if we are required to do so by law, or in
the good faith belief that disclosure of the information is reasonably
necessary to comply with legal process, to respond to claims, or to protect or
advance the rights, property, safety, or well-being of our company, our
employees, customers, or the public.
B. Collection and Use of Information From Children
Some pages at our sites, particularly at the EBSCO Publishing site, are
designed to be used by children. With respect to those pages, we comply with
the provisions of the Children's On-Line Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA").
Accordingly, at those pages designed for use by children, we limit our
collection of information to non-personal identifying information. At those
pages, we do not collect personal identifying information (such as e-mail
addresses, first and last name). We only use the non-personal identifying
information we collect for internal uses, such as improving and customizing our
content. We will not share or distribute this information to any third party.
C. Collection of Non-Personal Identifying Information
We collect and use non-personal identifying information, including IP addresses
and web server log files to track trends, administer the web site, track user
movement, and gather demographic information. We use this non-personal
identifying information in the aggregate. We do not combine these types of
non-personal identifying information with personal identifying information. We
may also share aggregated demographic information with our business partners,
sponsors, advertisers, and companies that control, are controlled by, or are
under common control with EBSCO Information Services.
Cookies and Web Service Log File
Data
We may place a "cookie" or other tracking or information gathering device used
in the industry in the browser files of a user's computer. A cookie is a piece
of data stored on the user's hard drive containing information about the user.
Cookies enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the
experience on our web site. We are able to access only the cookies that our
sites set on your computer and we are only able to determine the type of
computer operating system and browser that you are using. We collect
information from cookies and other information gathering devices and log files
in the aggregate. We do not link the information collected through cookies or
other devices to personal information that users submit online while
participating in our activities. Users can set their browsers or third party
software to reject cookies. If a user rejects the cookie, the user may be
unable to use portions of our web site. Some of the web sites we provide links
to also may use cookies. As noted in the "Links to Third Party Sites" section
of the Legal/Trademark section of our site, we have no control over these
linked web sites or access to or control over cookies or other technology used
by linked web sites.
Information for Parents
Most of the EBSCO Information Services sites are not directed toward children
(as defined by COPPA) and these sites are not designed to collect personal
identifying information from children. A few pages at our sites, particularly
at the EBSCO Publishing site, contain publications that are designed to be used
by children. At those pages, we do not collect personal identifying
information. At the remaining EBSCO Information Services sites, children should
not provide information on these sites, and should ask a parent help them. We
urge parents to experience the World Wide Web with their children. If parents
have any suggestions or comments please e-mail or write us. Go to Contact Us.
Security
EBSCO Information Services has taken steps to ensure that personal identifying
information collected in the future is secure, and we have limited the number
of people who have access to the information, by electronic security systems
and password protections that guard against unauthorized access. EBSCO
Information Services provides links to web sites outside of EBSCO Information
Services. These web sites may not have the same privacy policies as EBSCO
Information Services. EBSCO Information Services takes reasonable care in
recommending these web sites but is not responsible for their content or
privacy policies. We urge users to read the privacy statement of an outside web
site when leaving our site and linking to an outside web site.