Are you interested in using the various tools the library website has for you, but don’t want people all up in your business? Do you already use them, but would feel more comfortable if you were the only person who had access to your lists, comments, tags, and shelves (sometimes or all the time)?
We’ve got you.
There are so many moving parts to the online catalog and My Account, opens a new window. Completed and For Later Shelves, profiles, personal tagging, lists, comments, Borrowing History; what do you do to make sure all of these are for you and you alone?
There are two ways to pull your information out of the public eye: through My Account, or when you’re adding things to those moving parts.
My Account
In the Log In dropdown box, select My Settings. On the left sidebar once you're on the Settings page, you'll see Privacy. Select My Shelves. If you want everything in your shelves to be private automatically all the time, put checkmarks in all the boxes, then click on Save Changes.
Do the same for My Feeds if you don't want other website users to see what shows up in the feed on your profile page.
You can also make individual items private from this end. Go to your Completed Shelf (or other shelf, wherever the item is) and select Add Details in the right sidebar of any item you want to edit. You’ll get a dropdown list of options, the last of which is “keep this item private”. Check the box, and your item is private (you’ll get a notice that you’ve made it so). If you want to make it public again for any reason, just check the box again, and you’re back to sharing your stuff with the world.
Content you create
Making a list? You can make those private as well. After you've created your title, description, and added things to your list, you'll go to publish it. On that screen, you decide who can see your list. If you don't want anyone to see it, select Only me.
In the catalog
Regardless of what settings you have in your account, you can still mark items on your shelves private as you add them to shelves in the catalog.
If you ever have any questions, you can check out these FAQs that go into more detail on different aspects on privacy:
- What's always private and always public? (FAQ maintained by PCPL)
- What do library vendors, like our website and catalog companies, have access to? What are the privacy laws and rules that protect library patrons? (FAQ maintained by PCPL)
- Privacy Settings, Borrowing History, and Shelf Privacy (FAQ maintained by BiblioCommons, the website company we use)
- You are also always welcome to read the Privacy Statement, opens a new window for our website hosting company, who makes and enforces all the rules of user privacy.
Questions? Call Infoline at 520 791 4010, or contact Ask A Librarian!
