The Knoxville Public Library staff is joining a nationwide effort to remind people not to let their guard down with access to their private information…and to assure library users their information is safe with them.

The American Library Association is holding Choose Privacy Week from May 1st through the 7th; they are using the occasion to remind anyone using the library to make sure their information is secure when using the computers there. Ensuring you are logged out when finished is the best way to keep an outsider from accessing your private accounts.

Roslin Thompson with the Knoxville Public Library tells KNIA/KRLS News they also want to reassure the public any personal information in their files remains confidential.

“We do not share any of the information that you give us on your library card application with any other vendors. Surveys have shown that public librarians, librarians in general are trusted individuals and professionals; and we like to keep that trust,” Thompson says.

In April the library offered residents the opportunity to bring in old documents with private information to be shredded; she says a large number of people turned out, demonstrating how much the public understands the need to keep sensitive information safe.