Public Act 095-0040
 
HB0237 Enrolled LRB095 04681 BDD 24739 b

    AN ACT concerning libraries.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Library Records Confidentiality Act is
amended by changing Section 1 as follows:
 
    (75 ILCS 70/1)  (from Ch. 81, par. 1201)
    Sec. 1. (a) The registration and circulation records of a
library are confidential information. Except pursuant to a
court order, No person shall publish or make any information
contained in such records available to the public unless:
        (1) required to do so under a court order; or
        (2) the information is requested by a sworn law
    enforcement officer who represents that it is impractical
    to secure a court order as a result of an emergency where
    the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe
    that there is an imminent danger of physical harm. The
    information requested must be limited to identifying a
    suspect, witness, or victim of a crime. The information
    requested without a court order may not include the
    disclosure of registration or circulation records that
    would indicate materials borrowed, resources reviewed, or
    services used at the library. If requested to do so by the
    library, the requesting law enforcement officer must sign a
    form acknowledging the receipt of the information. A
    library providing the information may seek subsequent
    judicial review to assess compliance with this Section.
    This subsection shall not alter any right to challenge the
use or dissemination of patron information that is otherwise
permitted by law.
    (b) This Section does not prevent a library from publishing
or making available to the public reasonable statistical
reports regarding library registration and book circulation
where those reports are presented so that no individual is
identified therein.
    (b-5) Nothing in this Section shall be construed as a
privacy violation or a breach of confidentiality if a library
provides information to a law enforcement officer under item
(2) of subsection (a).
    (c) For the purpose of this Section, (i) "library" means
any public library or library of an educational, historical or
eleemosynary institution, organization or society; (ii)
"registration records" includes any information a library
requires a person to provide in order for that person to become
eligible to borrow books and other materials and (iii)
"circulation records" includes all information identifying the
individual borrowing particular books or materials.
(Source: P.A. 83-179.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2008