We love your privacy
We would like to alert our library patrons to an important change that is coming to your library account on March 28th.
As much as you love your local library, we love your privacy. Reading history, your email address, phone number, or home address are all things you want to keep private. Libraries have a long history of protecting the privacy of library lovers. Starting on March 28th, 2023 we are implementing passwords on the library catalog to help keep your information private. Each library patron will have a default password to get started, and will be prompted to reset the default password to a password of your choosing. Your default password will be the first three letters of your last name and the last four digits of the barcode. For example, Doe, John with a library card number of 4110001234567 will be doe4567.
You will be prompted to change your password from the default password when logging into your library account. Your password must be at least 6 characters. However we recommend strong passwords of mixed characters. Library staff will be happy to help any library lover get set with your new password.
Why are Marmot libraries implementing passwords?
The library profession prioritizes the protection of patron privacy as a core tenant of the Library Bill of Rights. Colorado law also requires that “reasonable steps” be taken to protect personally identifiable information. Implementing passwords for access to patron data is a reasonable step.
Passwords are for more than just keeping patron reading history private. Personally identifiable information such as personal contact information can be more easily accessed without passwords in place – information that has the potential to result in identity theft or other crimes.
Why is this level of security being put into place now?
Colorado law has recently changed such that this level of security is required. There have been dramatic nationwide and worldwide increases in cyber crime, identity theft, and the commodification of personally identifiable information. This level of security is more important now than in the past.
Can a patron still use their library card if they forgot their passwords?
Yes. Patrons can still use their library card for in-library checkouts at the circulation desk.
How do patrons without an email address reset their passwords?
If a patron does not have an email address in their account they will need to contact the library staff to have their password reset.
What about patrons who never reset their default password?
Patrons will have a grace period from March 28 – July 31 to reset their default password. After July 31, patrons will have to contact the library at that point for assistance resetting the password.
Patrons should be encouraged to monitor their password security and reset it if they think it might be compromised.
