Some personal information from hundreds of patrons of the Bellingham Public Library was downloaded in a data breach at the Whatcom County Library System last month, the city announced Thursday.
A file containing data from 735 Bellingham library patrons was downloaded from the WCLS computer network on June 26, the city said. The data included names, birth dates, library card numbers and library PINs.
It was not immediately clear whether similar personal data was obtained for WCLS patrons. A WCLS investigation into the breach, a single event affecting data from both library systems, is ongoing.
The Bellingham Public Library and the Whatcom County Library are distinct entities, but share a library catalog and electronic management system through a longstanding contract.
WCLS Executive Director Christine Perkins said in a June 27 release that patron data was secure following the breach.
“The security of patron information is of utmost concern to us — always,” she said then. “Patron data is secure. The products we use for library transactions are not hosted on our servers. This issue is confined to internal communication systems.”
The Bellingham library system does not store data such as credit or debit card numbers or Social Security numbers, according to Thursday’s Bellingham Public Library release.
As part of its ongoing investigation, the county library identified downloaded files that contained personal data of Bellingham Public Library patrons, and notified the city. In accordance with state law, the Bellingham library issued its own public notice Thursday. Both library systems have now emailed and mailed notices to all patrons affected by the breach.
“We take this incident, and patron information confidentiality, security, and privacy, very seriously,” the July 21 city release stated. “Based on our ongoing commitment to keeping patron data safe, we are reviewing and enhancing our security policies, procedures, and data sharing agreements with other libraries and service providers.”
The Bellingham Public Library has more than 48,000 members who have used their library cards within the past three years, the city said.
The WCLS announced last week that digital resources had been restored after being unavailable for two weeks.
The investigation into the breach is ongoing. This story will be updated when more information is made available.
This story was updated to clarify the process of separate public notices of the data breach by the two library systems.
