EBSCO Information Services Privacy Policy for POV Debate Blog

EBSCO Information Services wants you to have a positive experience at the websites operated by the EBSCO Information Services group and its two divisions, EBSCO Subscription Services and EBSCO Publishing. We want you to know that we respect the privacy and security of our users. Our goal is to provide you with an experience that delivers the information, resources and services that are helpful to you. In order to achieve this goal, we may collect information from you.

We discuss our information collection practices below.

This Privacy Policy sets forth the privacy practices in effect at the EBSCO Information Services group websites. If you do not agree to these terms, do not access this website.

Information about personal information collected from children at Section E of this Policy.

What Information Is Collected and How is it Used?

1. General Collection and Use of Personal Identifying Information
   We will only collect and use personal identifying information (such as a first and last name, physical address including a street name, e-mail address, telephone number, etc.) when a user voluntarily provides it to us. In order to use some portions of our websites, or in order to undertake certain actions (such as setting up an account to make a purchase of an article), a user must first complete a registration form or provide an e-mail address that will require disclosure of personal identifying information. Such disclosure is strictly voluntary. In order to contact us by e-mail, however, you must provide an e-mail address. We will use the personal identifying information we collect for limited internal purposes that may include, but are not limited to, processing your transactions, establishing the identity of account holders, customer service, development, content processing, content classification, and providing you with information concerning our services. We will retain this information. We also may use that personal identifying information to improve and customize our content.
   We reserve the right to disclose your personal identifying information if we are required to do so by law, or in the good faith belief that disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to comply with legal process, to respond to claims, or to protect or advance the rights, property, safety, or well-being of our company, our employees, customers, or the public.
2. Collection of Non-Personal Identifying Information
   We collect and use non-personal identifying information, including IP addresses and web server log files to track trends, administer the website, track user movement, and gather demographic information. We use this non-personal identifying information in the aggregate. We do not combine these types of non-personal identifying information with personal identifying information. We may also share aggregated demographic information with our business partners, sponsors, advertisers, and companies that control, are controlled by, or are under common control with EBSCO Information Services.
3. Cookies and Web Service Log File Data
   We may place a "cookie" or other tracking or information gathering device used in the industry in the browser files of a user's computer. A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's hard drive containing information about the user. Cookies enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our website. We are able to access only the cookies that our sites set on your computer and we are only able to determine the type of computer operating system and browser that you are using. We collect information from cookies and other information gathering devices and log files in the aggregate. We do not link the information collected through cookies or other devices to personal information that users submit online while participating in our activities. Users can set their browsers or third party software to reject cookies. If a user rejects the cookie, the user may be unable to use portions of our website. Some of the websites we provide links to also may use cookies. As noted in the "Links to Third Party Sites" section of the Legal/Trademark section of our site, we have no control over these linked websites or access to or control over cookies or other technology used by linked websites.
4. Security
   EBSCO Information Services has taken steps to ensure that personal identifying information collected in the future is secure, and we have limited the number of people who have access to the information, by electronic security systems and password protections that guard against unauthorized access. EBSCO Information Services provides links to websites outside of EBSCO Information Services. These websites may not have the same privacy policies as EBSCO Information Services. EBSCO Information Services takes reasonable care in recommending these websites but is not responsible for their content or privacy policies. We urge users to read the privacy statement of an outside website when leaving our site and linking to an outside website. We always use industry-standard encryption technologies when transferring and receiving consumer data exchanged with our site. We have appropriate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of information that we have collected from you at our site.
5. Collection and Use of Information from Children: Information for Parents
   The site for the Points of View Debate Blog is directed toward middle-school and high school aged children, their teachers, and library educators.
   1. Information Collected.
      The Points of View Debate Blog website can collect the following student
      information:
      
      • Student Name (first and last)
      • Student Age
      EBSCO has determined that this information is the information that is the minimum that is reasonably necessary for the user to gain the benefits of the website. Use of the Points of View Debate Blog website is not conditioned upon the child’s disclosure of more personal information than is reasonably necessary to participate in the activity.
   2. Use Of Information.
      EBSCO does not use the personal information it collects to market to the child that provides the information, to send notices to the child, or for any other purpose other than the purpose of participating in the Points of View Debate Blog. Also, the website service does not allow children or the site to disclose the child’s personal information publicly (for example, through chat rooms, message boards, or email accounts).
   3. NOTICE TO PARENTS
      PARENTS, you have the option to agree to the collection and use of the personal information described above and can withhold consent to the disclosure of the information to the teachers, counselors, and administrators described above. EBSCO understands that your child’s school has obtained your consent to your child’s use of the Points of View Debate Blog website and our collection and use (as described in this policy) of personal information. Because of the contractual relationship between your child’s school and EBSCO, which authorizes EBSCO to collect the personal information from students that participate in the Points of View Debate Blog, the Childrens’ On Line Privacy Protection Act allows us to presume parental consent to collection of this information.
      Parents can review their child’s personal information, can have it deleted, and can refuse to allow further collection of the child’s personal information. If a parent wants to take any of these steps, please contact us by using the following contact information and advise us of the steps that you want us to take:
      EBSCO Information Services
      Post Office Box 1943
      Birmingham, AL 35201-1943
      Inside US: 1-800-815-9627
      Outside US: 1-205-991-1299
      Facsimile: 1-205-995-1518
      debateblog@ebscohost.com
      Before we can take the action you request, we will have to undertake certain procedures to determine the parent’s identity, which may include obtaining a signed form from the parent via mail or facsimile, or other verification methods. We only use the non-personal identifying information we collect for internal uses, such as improving and customizing our content. We do not link the information collected through cookies or other devices to personal information that users submit online while participating in our activities. We will not share or distribute this information to any outside third parties not bound by this Privacy Policy.”
6. How to Correct Information. Customers may correct information or prevent their information from being used for purposes other than those for which it was originally collected by contacting us by written request, phone or e-mail at the contact information stated above.
7. Questions.
   If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the EBSCO Information Services privacy policy or practices, please go to our Feedback/Comments page and send us an e-mail or write to us at the addresses found at that page or listed above.
8. Changes to Privacy Policy. We will notify you of changes to the EBSCO Information Services Website Privacy Policy by posting an updated policy on this page with a notification link to this page from the home page or by a "News Box." You agree that continued use of the web site is an acknowledgment and consent to any terms contained in the EBSCO Information Services Website Privacy Policy, current at the time of use.
9. Effective Date. This policy was last updated on January 15, 2007.