Date tracking by publishers
Some publishers and providers of scholarly information use their websites to track the search patterns of their users (a process known as data tracking), creating profiles and analysing them for their own purposes without the consent of those affected.
How we act as a library to ensure data minimisation
The authentication technologies used by the University Library to enable you to access licensed resources do not transmit any personal data to publishers. Our authentication portal E-Media Login uses a rewrite proxy process during which only the IP address of the University Library's E-Media Login server is shared with our business partners.
The authentication system Shibboleth, which LMU also uses, lets users check which data is transmitted to service providers. This data cannot usually be linked to individuals.
The University Library rejects any licence model offered by publishers or agencies that aims to identify users, or which uses corresponding technologies.
How you can minimise personal data transfer
Beside the Library's authentication procedures (such as E-Media Login and Shibboleth) numerous publishers offer personal accounts enabling information such as reading settings and search history to be saved.
We recommend that you avoid using these functions whenever possible, making sure you both adjust the data protection settings appropriately and read the providers' data protection declarations carefully. As a rule, most scholarly resources licensed by the University Library can be accessed without creating a personal account with the publisher.
To protect yourself from conventional website data tracking technologies, we recommend using the privacy features built in to your browser (e.g. Firefox Enhanced Tracking Protection), and follow the advice of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
