Enquiries privacy notice

Explanation of the purpose

We will process personal details that you provide (such as your contact details) in order to respond to enquiries and other communications you make to us, for example through our websites or by email.

Also, if you choose to send us personal details, for example by post or email, we process this data in the course of assessing, managing or responding to your communication.

Legal basis

Processing your data is necessary to perform a task carried out in the public interest or for our official functions.

Recipients of the data

This data will be processed by the National Library of Scotland for this purpose and certain data will be sent to third parties (see 'Will the data be transferred to third parties?').

Retention period

We process enquiry records for five years after the year in which the enquiry was made, at which point we destroy the personal details associated with the enquiry and review the non-personal content of the enquiry for its re-use value.

We have a detailed range of retention periods for different types of records, some of which may also apply to information processed in the course of handling enquiries. Please see our retention schedules (811 KB; 77 pages) for details, in particular under business classification 05.03.08.00 'Enquiry records' on page 37.

While we are working to implement our retention schedules, some data may be retained longer than required under the schedules.

Your rights in relation to this data

Your core rights as a data subject apply to this processing. Additionally, the right of objection applies to this processing.

Will the data be transferred to third parties?

Our email and electronic file management services are provided by Microsoft's cloud-based Office 365 tools. Enquiries and communications submitted by email or managed electronically are processed within Microsoft Office 365. For more information, please see Microsoft's privacy policy.

Our telephone system is provided by a third party, Exchange Communications Ltd. Enquiries submitted by telephone will be processed by Exchange Communications Ltd. For more information, please see Exchange Communication Ltd's privacy policy.

We handle some enquiries using LibAnswers, which is a third party resource maintained by Springshare. Enquiries submitted through our online chat or enquiry form are processed within LibAnswers. Your data will only be processed for the purpose of responding to your enquiries. For more information, please see Springshare's privacy policy.

Occasionally, we may pass details of an enquiry to a third party if that party would be better placed to respond or if we require their assistance with our response. We normally inform you before we transfer your enquiry to a third party. We endeavour wherever possible to avoid transferring personal details when we seek assistance with an enquiry from a third party, although sometimes it may not be possible to remove all personal details.

Will the data be transferred outside the European Union?

Data that is processed in Microsoft Office 365 may be transferred outside of the European Union. The Library has a Standard Contractual Clauses agreement with Microsoft to ensure adequate protection for any personal data transferred outside of the European Union.

Is it obligatory to supply this data and what are the consequences of not supplying the data?

It is necessary for you to supply us with contact details to ensure we can respond to your enquiries.

If you are unable to supply this data or you do not wish us to process your data for these purposes we will not be able to send a response to your enquiry.

Will the data be used in automated decision-making?

No.