SWAN defines a vendor as any third-party business, organization, or person that seeks to interact with the Member Libraries to provide supplementary services in conjunction with the ILS.
In the interest of our Member Libraries, SWAN is willing to partner with vendors that provide services in observance of the conditions below. By participating in a contract with a SWAN Member Library or with SWAN directly, vendors agree to comply with this Policy. The vendor acknowledges that any violation of any of this Policy below may result in the termination of its contract with the Member Library and/or SWAN and could result in permanent removal from SWAN Services. SWAN reserves the right to deny a vendor access for any reason and/or decline integration setup of the vendor for an associated Member Library.
Respect of Patron Privacy, Data Integrity
- Vendor acknowledges that all data stored or processed by SWAN and its Member Libraries, including patron, circulation, and catalog data, are considered confidential and must be handled in a responsible manner, ensuring end-to-end transaction encryption, secure storage (when applicable), and full transparency with SWAN, the Member Library, and affected parties.
- Vendor agrees not to collect any patron data, including, but not limited to, circulation statistics, contact information, or demographics, with the intention to redistribute to any parties outside of the requesting Member Library or SWAN.
- Vendor agrees that patron, circulation, and catalog data will not be used for any monetary or personal gain outside of their agreement with the Member Library or SWAN.
- Vendor agrees to notify both the Member Library and SWAN in the event of a security breach, data leak, or mishandling of data.
- Vendor agrees to keep patron and circulation data anonymous whenever achievable through rendered services.
- Vendor agrees to comply with the Illinois Library Records Confidentiality Act, 75 ILCS 70/1, et seq, as amended from time to time.
- The definition of a public record in the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.) (“FOIA”) includes a “public record that is not in the possession of a public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on behalf of the public body and that directly relates to the governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this Act.” (5 ILCS 140/7(2). Consequently, the vendor agrees to maintain and make available to SWAN and Member Libraries, upon request, its public records relating to the performance of its agreement with SWAN and/or Member Libraries in compliance with the requirements of the Local Records Act (50 ILCS 205/1 et seq.) and FOIA. To facilitate a response by SWAN or a Member Library to any FOIA request, the vendor agrees to provide all requested public records within five (5) business days of a request being made by SWAN or a Member Library. The vendor agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless SWAN and Member Libraries, and agrees to pay all reasonable costs connected therewith (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney and witness fees, filing fees and any other expenses) for SWAN and Member Libraries to defend any and all causes, actions, causes of action, disputes, prosecutions or conflicts arising from the vendor's actual or alleged violation of the FOIA or the vendor’s failure to furnish all public records as requested by SWAN or Member libraries. Furthermore, should the vendor request that SWAN or Member Libraries utilize a lawful exemption under FOIA in relation to any FOIA request thereby denying that request, the vendor agrees to pay all costs connected therewith (such as reasonable attorney and witness fees, filing fees and any other expenses) to defend the denial of the request. The defense shall include, but not be limited to, challenged or appealed denials of FOIA requests to either the Illinois Attorney General or a court of competent jurisdiction. The vendor agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless SWAN and Member Libraries, and agrees to pay all costs incurred by SWAN and Member Libraries connected therewith (such as reasonable attorney and witness fees, filing fees, penalties, fines, and any other expenses) to defend any denial of a FOIA request pursuant to the vendor’s request to utilize a lawful exemption.
Agreement with Member Library
- Vendor must provide explicit documents stating the nature of the services to be provided to a Member Library or SWAN, and how these services interact with the ILS, with specific reference to interactions with patron, circulation, and catalog data.
ILS Connectivity
- Vendor must have a tested and established method of gaining connectivity to the ILS and/or associated data, and this method must be agreeable to SWAN, in SWAN’s sole discretion, by meeting the following criteria:
- All data transactions are secured via VPN, SSL, or other approved encryption method.
- Data is only communicated between SWAN, the Member Library and the vendor.
- Any desired changes to encryption or connection method to the ILS is discussed with SWAN with at least 30 days of advance notice.
- If vendor does not have a tested and established method of connectivity with the ILS, the vendor will coordinate with its software providers and SWAN for any additional development or consulting required to establish the necessary connectivity. SWAN shall not charge vendor for any additional costs or expenses in relation thereto without the prior written approval of vendor.
By signing this agreement, the vendor acknowledges and agrees to observe the requirements stated above throughout the length of their services with SWAN and/or associated Member Libraries.
Please print this document for signing. Return to SWAN via scanned PDF to it@swanlibraries.net.
Vendor Name:
- ________________________
Library Administrator's Name (If Applicable):
- ________________________
Vendor's Signature:
- ________________________Date:__________________
SWAN Administrator's Signature:
- ________________________Date:___________________
