Privacy
What information do we collect?
If you visit the MLA website, we automatically gather and store the
following information about your visit in so that we can track the
use of our website in order to make improvements:
- the IP address from which you access our website
- the name of the domain from which you access the Internet
(e.g. aol.com, if you are connecting from an America Online account)
- the type of browser and operating system used to access our website
- the date and time of your visit to the site
- the pages, files, documents and links that you visit
- the internet address of the website from which you linked to
our site (i.e. the previous site you visited before you came
to us)
What happens to the information collected?
MLA will not make any attempt to identify individual users or their
particular browsing activities. The information above is stored and
used in the aggregate only, in order to provide us with information
about the general use of our site. We analyse our logfiles in order
to make improvements to the site: for example if we find that some
pages are rarely, or never visited, we may decide to remove or
rewrite them.
What are cookies?
Cookies can be either persistent or session-based. Persistent cookies
are small pieces of information sent to your browser by a website
that you visit. They are stored on your computer, contain an expiry
date, and may be used to track your browsing behaviour upon return
to the issuing web site. When you register on a website, cookies
allow the website to remember your information so you will not have
to re-enter it the next time you visit. You can set your browser to
refuse cookies from any website you visit. If you choose to do that
you can usually still gain access to most, if not all of the site,
but you may not be able to conduct certain types of transactions
(such as shopping) or take advantage of some of the interactive
elements offered. Session cookies are short-lived, are used
only during a browsing session, and expire when you quit your
browser. Upon closing your browser the session cookie set by the web
site is destroyed and no personal information is maintained which
might identify you should you visit the web site at a later date.
Does MLA use cookies?
MLA does not use session cookies at present. If we start to use them,
we will inform you here.
We use a persistent cookie on our Access Options
page, to enable your accessibility preferences to
be remembered when you next visit our site. For example, if
you choose to view the site in black text with yellow background,
and you click that button on our Access Options page, a cookie
will be activated and placed on your machine so that the next
time you visit us, our site will be presented to you in those colours.
You can usually set your browser to refuse our cookie if you wish:
check your browser for a command called 'Block Cookies'
(it is in the Privacy or Security settings area, depending on whcih
browser you have.)
Note that if you choose not to accept our cookie, you will have to
reset your access options each time you visit our website.
Email addresses and personal information
We will only collect personal information which you knowingly and
willingly provide, by for example sending emails or completing
online forms. Your email address will only be used for the purpose
for which you have provided it and it will not be added to a mailing
list or used for any other purpose without your consent. When
you sign up to our email alert service (so that you can be notified
by email when new material is added to our website), we ask you for
your email address and a password. This is to enable you to
personalise the alerting service and this will not be used for any
other purpose. When you sign up for Resourcenews, or
Peoplesnetworknews our discussion email lists, you are asked for an
email address, a password and your name. The request for your name
is because our lists are administered by JISC, the National Academic
Mailing List Service and it is one of their requirements. The
information which you give to JISC is not passed on to MLA.
Further information
If you have require any further information or concerns about
privacy, please contact the Website Manager at webmanager@mla.gov.uk
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