Effective Date: 04/24
POLICY
The Ela Area Public Library District uses a video surveillance system to provide a safe and secure environment for its patrons and staff. The purpose of this policy is to regulate the video surveillance system and recording on the Ela Area Public Library District premises.
Information obtained through video surveillance will be used exclusively to assist with the investigation of incident, including theft, vandalism, personal injury or property damage, and for security and law enforcement purposes, which must relate to the protection of Library patrons, staff and the public, or deterrence or detections of criminal activity. Video surveillance of the Library premises will be conducted in a professional, ethical and legal manner, in accordance with the following principles: a) video surveillance must be conducted in compliance with the laws of Illinois; b) video surveillance will be used by Library employees authorized by the Library Director; c) appropriate signs and notice of video surveillance must be posted in areas subject to video monitoring.
AUTHORITY & RESPONSIBILTY
The Library Director and IT Manager will provide input on the placement of cameras on the Ela Area Public Library District premises. The Library Director and IT Manager are responsible for the surveillance systems. The IT Manager is responsible for hardware and software specification, configuration, and maintenance. Staff will notify the IT Manager or Library Director of any equipment failures or other problems.
ACCESS
Access to surveillance footage is restricted to the Library Director and IT Manager. The Library Director may authorize access to surveillance footage to staff, to the extent required by their job responsibilities. Each user of the surveillance system logs in with unique credentials and access is logged for audit purposes.
Unauthorized access, exporting, or sharing live or recorded video surveillance footage by an employee may be grounds for disciplinary action, including termination of employment.
MONITORING
Video surveillance of the Ela Area Library District premises is conducted at all times when the Library is open during normal business hours and after hours.
Periodically, cameras may be monitored in real time by authorized staff. However, there is no expectation that footage is monitored in real time by library personnel for security or other purposes.
RESTRICTIONS & LIMITATIONS
All cameras shall have audio capture capabilities disabled. No audio may be recorded, streamed or transmitted at any time. Cameras shall not be installed or operated in areas where individual have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
STORAGE
Video surveillance systems will be designed with a targeted retention range of approximately 28- 45 days. However, retention times may vary widely since date storage usage depends on image quality settings, frame rates, scene traffic, and other variables. As video footage grows over time, the oldest recordings are automatically purged from the storage media to make space for newer recordings. Video surveillance will be destroyed in accordance with the Local Records Act.
SIGNAGE
Signs are located both outside and inside the Ela Area Public Library notifying patrons that the building and premises are under video surveillance.
NOTIFICATION TO EMPLOYEES
Current employees have been informed and new employees will be informed upon date of hires that the Ela Area Public Library District utilizes video surveillance.
REQUEST FOR COPIES
All request for copies of video surveillance are subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). According to FOIA, requests must be made in writing and are subject to state and federal laws as related to confidentiality and dissemination of information related to minors. Nothing in this provision preempts the dissemination of video surveillance to law enforcement. Ela Area Public Library District also complies with the Illinois Library Records Confidentiality Act, 75 ILCS 70 et seq.
EXPORTS & ARCHIVES PROCEDURE
The Library Director or his or her designee will be notified of all requests for exported video footage to be furnished to law enforcement or other outside agencies, or for archival beyond normal time periods. The same applies to requests from law enforcement for remote access to the Ela Area Library District’s surveillance systems when applicable.
When footage extraction or archival is requested, the Library Director will notify the IT Manager of specific dates and time blocks requested. These parameters must be as specific as possible and limited only to particular views and time window, because high resolution video footage uses very large amounts of storage space. The IT Manager will maintain a record of export requests, including dates, times, locations, requestor subject, and recipient of the footage.
