[LIBRARYDIR] [EXTERNAL] - Library users in Alma

[Herman, Amy]

Not a dean/director here, but chiming in since I can probably best answer this for Olympic College.


  *   We "anonymize" completed loans once per week on Saturdays.


  *   We "purge" copies of patron letters (attached to the user record in Alma) that are not related to fines/fees after 14 days. Copies of letters related to fines/fees are kept until the user record is purged.


  *   We usually purge expired library user records once per year in summer, retaining the previous 12 months' expired user records.  User records with outstanding fines/fees are not purged.


These periods are documented in our Patron Data Privacy Policy.  I'm also curious what retention periods others use!

I reviewed applicable regulations and retention schedules last year while drafting the privacy policy. Library Services records in WA are governed by the State Government General Records Retention Schedule<https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/RecordsManagement/RecordsRetentionSchedulesforStateGovernmentAgencies.aspx> (SGGRRS) rather than the Community and Technical Colleges retention schedule. The SGGRRS (section 5.2, pg. 119) indicates that many library records, including "user/patron records" specifically, are "non-essential" and need only be retained as long as "needed for agency business then destroy[ed]." Financial records related to fines/fees are an exception. But at our campus, library fines/fees are paid at the cashiering office, not the library, so we assume they are keeping those financial transaction records per state financial record retention laws. I tried to confirm with student services last year about this but did not hear back.  If we collected fines/fees in the library then I think we would handle things a bit differently.


Amy Herman
Library Faculty | Olympic College
1600 Chester Avenue | Bremerton, WA 98337
aherman at olympic.edu<mailto:aherman at olympic.edu> | 360-475-7256

Proudly serving my diverse community equitably and inclusively

From: LIBRARYDIR <librarydir-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of Claire Murata via LIBRARYDIR
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2025 9:34 AM
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Cc: Claire Murata <claire.murata at edmonds.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] - [LIBRARYDIR] Library users in Alma

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Hi all,

I hope everyone is surviving and thriving.

How long do you keep library user info in Alma? Does it automatically line up with the college retention schedule? Thanks as always, Claire

Claire Murata, MLIS
Associate Dean, Library and Learning Resources
she/her
Edmonds College
20000 68th Ave. W., Lynnwood WA 98036 | edmonds.edu<http://edmonds.edu>
claire.murata at edmonds.edu<mailto:claire.murata at edmonds.edu> | (425) 640-1522

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