Privacy Policy

Introduction:

Orange County Library Systems (“Library”), is committed to preserving obituaries of Orange County residents, as a cultural heritage. Obituaries often contain valuable genealogical and historical information essential to the heritage of Orange County. To this end, Library has obtained a federal grant under the EPOCH project (Electronically Preserving Obituaries as a Cultural Heritage), pursuant to which Library will provide a service to our community by serving as a repository of information to be retained and made available on-line for current and future generations of local residents, researchers, and genealogists. This service allows family members and friends (“users”) to submit detailed information about the deceased person, including photographs, images, video, and audio tracks as a tribute to their loved ones, which information can be invaluable in helping build meaningful histories about the residents of Orange County. To facilitate the preservation of these obituaries, Library provides various guides, “How To” features, and tools that allow users to access obituaries and share remembrances of friends and loved ones. Library offers these guides, features, and tools at www.epochlegacies.org (the “Services”). Please read the following privacy policy ("Privacy Policy") carefully before using the Services. Capitalized terms not defined in this Privacy Policy are defined in the Terms of Use, into which this Privacy Policy has been incorporated and made a part thereof.


1. What This Privacy Policy Covers

  • This Privacy Policy covers how Library treats user or personally identifiable information that the Services collect and receive. If, however, you are accessing this Privacy Policy from a website operated in conjunction with one of our affiliates ("Affiliates"), the privacy policy of the Affiliate will govern unless such policy states otherwise.
  • This Privacy Policy applies only to information that users provide to Library while accessing this Website, but does not apply to information Library has obtained from other sources.

2. General

It is the desire of Library to provide our users a relevant user-friendly experience on the Website, while at the same time protecting user privacy. In general, you can browse the Website without telling us who you are or revealing any information about yourself to us. Library does not collect personally identifiable information about individuals, except when specifically and knowingly provided by such individuals on interactive areas of the Services. "Personally Identifiable Information" is information that can be used to uniquely identify, contact, or locate a single person, such as name, postal address, email address, and phone number, among other information, and that is not otherwise publicly available. Any posting made while using the Services, and any other information that can be viewed by the public is not considered "personal information" or "Personally Identifiable Information", and is not the type of information covered by this Privacy Policy.

3. Information We Collect

  • Personally Identifiable Information.
  • Examples of Personally Identifiable Information we may collect includes name, postal address, email address, IP address, telephone number(s), and your search log. We may also collect your date of birth, geo-location, social networking profile picture and the date of birth and date of death for the deceased person in connection with certain features of the Services. We also maintain a record of all information that you Submit to us, including email and other correspondence. We may collect Personally Identifiable Information when you register to receive alerts, access, or submit information in connection with certain Services, post other content through the services or participate in other activities offered or administered by Library.

    We do not intentionally collect Personally Identifiable Information about children under the age of 18. Please see the section on "Children’s Privacy" below.

  • Other Anonymous Information.
  • Like most websites, Library also receives and records information on our server logs from your browser automatically and through the use of electronic tools such as “cookies.” Our server logs automatically receive and record information from your browser (including, for example, your address of your Internet Service Provider and/or your computer, and the page(s) you visit). The information gathered through these methods is not "personally identifiable;" i.e., it cannot be used to uniquely identify, contact, or locate a single person. But, once you register using the Services you are not anonymous to the Library.

4. How We Use Your Information

  • We will use your information only as permitted by law, and subject to the terms of our Privacy Policy;
  • Use of Personally Identifiable Information:
    • We do not sell or share your Personally Identifiable Information with unrelated third parties for their direct marketing purposes.
    • Personally Identifiable Information and other personal information you specifically provide may be used:
      • to provide the services we offer for identification and authentication purposes, to communicate with you concerning security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of the Services, to improve Services, to do something you have asked us to do, or to tell you of services that we think may be of interest to you,
      • to communicate with you regarding the Services, or
      • for the administration of and troubleshooting regarding the Services. Certain third parties who provide technical support for the operation of the Services (our web hosting service, for example), may need to access such information from time to time, but are not permitted to disclose such information to others.
    • We may disclose Personally Identifiable Information about you under the following circumstances:
      • In the course of operating the Library or our Website, it may be necessary or appropriate for us to provide access to your Personally Identifiable Information to others such as our service providers, contractors, select vendors and Affiliates so that we can operate the Services. Where practical, we will seek to obtain confidentiality agreements consistent with this Privacy Policy and that limit others’ use or disclosure of the information you have shared.
      • We may share your Personally Identifiable Information if we are required to do so by law or we in good faith believe that such action is necessary to: (1) comply with the law or with legal process (such as pursuant to court order, subpoena, or a request by law enforcement officials); (2) protect, enforce, and defend our Terms of Use, rights and property; (3) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of the Services; or (4) protect the personal safety or property of our users or the public (among other things, this means that if you provide false information or attempt to pose as someone else, information about you may be disclosed as part of any investigation into your actions.)
  • Use of Anonymous Information:
    • Certain information that we collect automatically or with electronic tools or tags (such as cookies) is used to anonymously track and measure user traffic for the Services and to enhance your experience with the Services and the Website. For example:
      • IP Addresses/Session Information. We occasionally may obtain IP addresses from users depending upon how you access the Website. IP addresses, browser, and session information may be used for various purposes, including to help administer the Website and diagnose and prevent service or other technology problems related to the Website or Services. This information also may be used to estimate the total number of users downloading any Material and browsing other services from specific geographical areas, to help determine which users have access privileges to certain content or services that we offer, and to monitor and prevent fraud and abuse. IP addresses are not linked to Personally Identifiable Information
      • Cookies. A cookie is a small amount of data that often includes an anonymous unique identifier that is sent to your browser from a website’s computers and stored on your computer’s hard drive or comparable storage media on your mobile device. You can configure your browser to accept cookies, reject them, or notify you when a cookie is set. If you reject cookies, you may not be able to use the Services that require you to sign in, or to take full advantage of the Website. Cookies may involve the transmission of information either directly to us or to another party we authorize to collect information on our behalf. We use our own cookies to transmit information for a number of purposes, including to:
        • require you to re-enter your password after a certain period of time has elapsed to protect you against others accessing your account contents;
        • keep track of preferences you specify while you are using the Website or Services;
        • estimate and report our total audience size and traffic;
        • conduct research to improve the content of the Website and operation of Services.

      We may let other entities that show advertisements on some of our web pages or assist us with conducting research to improve the content and Services set and access their cookies on your computer or mobile device. Other entities’ use of their cookies is subject to their own privacy policies and not this Privacy Policy. Advertisers or other entities will not have access to our cookies.

      Page Visit Data. We may record information about certain pages that you visit on our site (e.g., specific obituaries) in order to recall that data when you visit one of our Affiliates’ sites. For example, we may record the name and address of the funeral home associated with an obituary.

    • We may share anonymous information aggregated to measure the number of downloads, number of visits, average time spent on the Website, pages viewed, use of the Services, etc. with others, but not for commercial purposes.

5. Privacy Alert: Your Postings Generally Are Accessible to the Public

  • Your own use of the Services may disclose personal information or Personally Identifiable Information to the public. For example:
    • Submissions and other postings to Library’s Website are available for viewing by all our visitors unless the host of a Service selects a privacy setting that restricts public access. Please remember that any information disclosed on a non-restricted Website becomes public information and may be collected and used by others without our knowledge. You therefore should exercise caution when disclosing any personal information or Personally Identifiable Information in these forums. Carefully select the information you decide to Submit and always avoid Submitting illegal or unsuitable content contrary to the Terms of Use.
    • When you post a message to the Website via message board, blog, or other public forum available through the Services, your user ID or alias that you are posting under may be visible to other users, and you have the ability to post a message that may include personal information.
  • If you post Personally Identifiable Information online that is accessible to the public, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return. Such activities are beyond the control of Library and the coverage of this Privacy Policy. Please be careful and responsible whenever you are online. In addition, although we employ technology and software designed to minimize spam sent to users and unsolicited, automatic posts to message boards, blogs, or other public forums. We cannot ensure such measures to be 100% reliable or satisfactory.

6. Children’s Privacy

  • Library does not intentionally collect from or maintain Personally Identifiable Information of children under the age of 18, nor do we offer any content targeted to such children.
  • In the event that Library becomes aware that a user of the Services is under the age of 18, the following additional privacy terms and notices apply:
    • Prior to collecting any Personally Identifiable Information about a child that Library has become aware is under the age of 18, Library will make reasonable efforts to contact the child’s parent or guardian, to inform the parent or guardian about the types of information Library will collect, how it will be used, and under what circumstances it will be disclosed, and to obtain consent from the child’s parent or guardian to collection and use of such information.
    • Although Library will apply these children’s privacy terms whenever it becomes aware that a user who submits Personally Identifiable Information is less than 18 years old, no method is foolproof. Library strongly encourages parents and guardians to supervise their children’s online activities and consider using parental control tools available from online services and software manufacturers to help provide a child-friendly online environment. These tools also can prevent children from disclosing online their name, address, and other personal information without parental permission.
    • Personally Identifiable Information collected from children may include any of the information defined above as Personally Identifiable Information with respect to general users of the Services and may be used by Library for the same purposes. Library does not rent, sell, barter or give away any lists containing a child’s Personally Identifiable Information for use by any outside company.
    • A child’s parent or legal guardian may request Library to provide a description of the Personally Identifiable Information that Library has collected from the child, as well as instruct Library to cease further use, maintenance and collection of Personally Identifiable Information from the child.
    • If a child voluntarily discloses his or her name, email address or other personally-identifying information on chat areas, bulletin boards or other forums or public posting areas, such disclosures may result in unsolicited messages from other parties.

7. Ownership

Library is the sole owner of the Website, the Services, and all non-personally identifiable information they collect through the Services.

8. Security Measures

The security and confidentiality of your Personally Identifiable Information is extremely important to us. We have implemented technical, administrative, and physical security measures to protect guest information from unauthorized access and improper use. From time to time, we review our security procedures in order to consider appropriate new technology and methods. Please be aware though that, despite our best efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no data transmissions over the web can be guaranteed 100% secure. Consequently, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you do so at your own risk.

9. Correcting or Updating Information

You may modify and correct Personally Identifiable Information provided directly to Library in connection with the Services, if necessary. Library offers users the following options for updating information:

  • Send an email to us at Contact Us; or
  • Send a letter to us via postal mail to the following address:
  • Orange County Library System, Attention: EPOCH, 101 E. Central Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32801

10. Opt-Out Procedures

You may opt out of receiving future mailings, transmissions, or other information from Library If the mailing does not have an email cancellation form, send an email to Contact Us detailing the type of information that you no longer wish to receive.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may periodically edit or update this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy whenever you provide information on this Website and we recommend that you download, save, or print this Policy whenever you access this Website. Your use of the Services after changes of the terms of the Privacy Policy have been posted will mean that you accept the changes.

12. Additional Information

Questions regarding the EPOCH Privacy Policy should be directed to Contact Us or Orange County Library System, Attention: EPOCH, 101 E. Central Blvd., Orlando, Florida 32801

13. California Residents [Only] Privacy Rights

(As provided by California Civil Code Section 1798.83)

A California resident who has provided personal information to a business with whom he/she has established a business relationship for personal, family, or household purposes ("California resident") is entitled to request information about whether the business has disclosed personal information to any third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes.

Library does not share information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. If, however, you are accessing this Privacy Policy from one of our Affiliate sites, the privacy policy of our Affiliate will apply to the collection of your information unless the Affiliate’s privacy policy specifically states otherwise. You should review the privacy policy of the Affiliate to understand what information may be collected from you and how it may be used.

California residents may request further information about our compliance with this law by emailing Contact Us.