Library records, which contain names or other personally identifying details regarding the users of public, free association, school, college and university libraries and library systems of this state, including but not limited to records related to the circulation of library materials, computer database searches, interlibrary loan transactions, reference queries, requests for photocopies of library materials, title reserve requests, or the use of audio-visual materials, films or records, shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except that such records may be disclosed to the extent necessary for the proper operation of such library and shall be disclosed upon request or consent of the user or pursuant to subpoena, court order or where otherwise required by statute.
§ 4509.Library records
Article 45. Evidence · Last amended 1988 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 4509 makes New York library records that identify individual users confidential, disclosable only for the library's proper operation or upon the user's request or consent, a subpoena, a court order, or as otherwise required by statute.
Full Text of CPLR 4509
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 4509 protects reading privacy. Library records that identify who used which materials, whether circulation records, database searches, interlibrary loan requests, reference queries, photocopy requests, or use of audio-visual materials, at public, school, college, university, or association libraries and library systems, are confidential.
Disclosure is not banned outright: it can happen to the extent necessary to run the library, at the user's own request or with the user's consent, or under a subpoena, court order, or other statute that requires it. Absent one of those routes, the library holds the information in confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are library records confidential in New York?
Yes. CPLR 4509 makes records that identify library users, including circulation and database search records, confidential.
Can a library disclose my borrowing history without my consent?
Only in narrow circumstances: to the extent necessary for the library's own operation, upon the user's request or consent, or under a subpoena, court order, or other statute.
Does CPLR 4509 cover computer database searches at a library?
Yes. The statute lists computer database searches among the records it protects, along with circulation, interlibrary loan, and reference records.
What libraries does CPLR 4509 apply to?
Public, free association, school, college, and university libraries and library systems in New York.
Can a court order force a library to disclose patron records?
Yes. CPLR 4509 allows disclosure pursuant to a subpoena, court order, or other statute requiring it, despite the general rule of confidentiality.
Amendment History
Add, L 1982, ch 14, § 1; amd, L 1988, ch 112, § 1, eff June 13, 1988.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: New York library records confidentialitylibrary patron privacy law New Yorksubpoena library records New York