Closed circuit television systems at the British Library
The British Library uses CCTV systems at its five main sites: St Pancras, Colindale, Micawber St, Woolwich and Boston Spa. At St Pancras and Colindale, CCTV is used in the Reading Rooms and parts of the public areas as well as around the site perimeters. At the other sites, where there is either limited or no public access, CCTV is used around the site perimeters, or as at Boston Spa, around the perimeter of the main buildings.
In its management and operation of these systems, the Library complies with the requirements of the Data Protection Act (1998), the Human Rights Act (1998) and all other relevant legislation. This notice sets out the objectives of the CCTV systems and the procedures that govern "subject access" to video recordings under the Data Protection Act.
Statement of Objectives
The objectives of the CCTV systems at all British Library sites are as follows:
(i) To assist in the detection of crime committed on British Library premises;
(ii) To provide evidence of crime committed on British Library premises;
(iii) To deter those having criminal intent;
(iv) To give greater confidence to staff, contractors and visitors that they are in a secure environment;
(v) To provide management information relating to Health and Safety matters and the management of emergencies on BL sites.
The camera systems will not be used to infringe an individual's rights of privacy or to provide information on the activities of staff, contractors and visitors except in the following circumstances:
(i) where staff, contractors or visitors are observed to be committing criminal acts, or where there is reasonable suspicion that they are about to commit or have committed criminal acts;
(ii) where staff, contractors or visitors are observed to be breaching Health and Safety regulations or carrying out actions which could seriously compromise the Library's security.
Subject Access
Under the Data Protection Act 1998, an individual may request a copy of any CCTV recording that exists of them. He or she may also request a description of the purposes of the recording and details of any disclosure of the recording.
Subject access requests should be made to the Library's Data Protection Officer and should:
- be made in writing
- provide sufficient information to identify the individual (eg. a photograph)
- provide sufficient information to locate the relevant recording including a specific date and reasonable time window.
The British Library will respond to a subject access request within a maximum of 40 days. If the Library cannot comply with a request without disclosing identifiable images of third parties, it is not obliged to comply with the request. However, if the third parties have given consent, or it is reasonable in all circumstances to comply without consent, it will comply. If a subject access request is considered to be unreasonable or vexatious, the Library will not comply.
The British Library will charge a fee of £10 for processing each such request, payable in advance.
Any enquiries regarding use of the Library's CCTV systems should be addressed to the Data Protection Officer, the British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB.
1 July 2005
