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Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Inc. (the “Museum,” “we,” “us” and “our”) collects, stores, and uses your personal information in connection with its www.carlemuseum.org website (the “Website”).

About this Privacy Policy

The Museum is committed to protecting the privacy of its visitors, members and donors. This Privacy Policy explains the different kinds of information that the Museum may collect from you while you use: (i) the Website, (ii) the products and services (including without limitation memberships, e-newsletters, donations, ticketing, program/event registration, and shopping) offered through the Website, and (iii) any customer and technical support related thereto (all of the foregoing, collectively, the “Services”).  It describes how we collect, receive, use, store, share, transfer, and process your personal information as well as your rights of access to and correction of your personal data.

  • The Museum is a nonprofit, Massachusetts corporation located at 125 West Bay Road, Amherst, MA 01002, USA.
  • We will never sell your personal data without your express prior written consent.
  • This Privacy Policy governs personally identifiable information and applicable non-personally identifiable information that we collect from you when you use the Services.
  • If you are not a resident of the United States of America, or if you otherwise receive the Services in any jurisdiction with laws or regulations governing personal data collection, use, and disclosure that are different from the laws of the United States of America, your continued use of the Services shall be governed under the laws of the United States of America and this Privacy Policy. 
  • You hereby consent to the transfer of your personal information into the United States of America, even if the data protection laws applicable in the United States of America are different from or otherwise provide less protection than the laws of your own country. The Museum may store and/or process your personal information in any country where the Museum is located and/or wherever its third-party service providers are located.
  • By using the Services, you consent to such transfer of your information to countries outside your country of residence, which may have different data protection rules than in your country. While your information is outside of your country, it shall be subject to the applicable laws of the country in which it is located and may be subject to compulsory disclosure (including to governmental agencies of such other country), pursuant to the laws of such country.
  • Our Terms & Conditions sets the minimum age required to use the Services at eighteen (18) years old.  Anyone under the age of eighteen (18) years old may only use the Services under the supervision and consent of their parent or guardian.  We do not knowingly collect the personal information of any child under the age of thirteen (13) without first obtaining consent from their parent or guardian. If you have reason to believe that the personal data of a child under the age of thirteen (13) has been sent to or otherwise collected by the Museum, please reach out to us at privacy@carlemuseum.org.

Information that We Collect

We employ third-party partners (including but not limited to Eventbrite, Google Analytics, PayPal, Stripe and Constant Contact) to help us provide information, products or services to you.  Examples include processing credit card payments; search engine optimization; performing statistical analysis about how our Services are used; managing our marketing, sales and customer service efforts; helping us to gather certain information about anyone who visits our Website; and improving our Website and Services.  These third parties are committed to keeping your personal information safe and secure, and we do not authorize them to use any of your data that we share with them except for the purposes for which we engage them.  To the extent that you decide to submit a communication to us, including but not limited to when you send us an email (such as to info@carlemuseum.org), submit a form or application to us (e.g., as part of a request to: rent our facility, apply for an internship or program scholarship, participate in a field trip, or volunteer), apply for a membership, make a donation, register for a program or event, purchase tickets, create a Website ecommerce account, or call for customer support, we may collect certain personal information about you and retain a record of your contact details (such as your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address) and the content of your communications. We may automatically collect certain non-personally identifying information from you when you use the Services, whether directly or through authorized third parties (as described below). The extent of such non-personally identifying information about you that we collect may include:

  • Information collected through third-party cookies, pixels, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect information about which actions you take on the Website and how you otherwise interact with our Services. These third parties may collect this data to assist us in our advertising efforts, and the data may also be transferred and processed by the recipients for their own direct marketing purposes.
  • Technical information regarding your: (i) device (e.g., hardware-related details such as your device name), (ii) internet and network connection (e.g., your IP address), (iii) software (e.g., operating system and browser information), and (iv) geolocation, among other technical details.
  • Metrics information about when and how you use the Services, such as: (i) the date and time that you access the Services; and (ii) how you interact with our Services.
  • We may post links to third-party websites (including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Eventbrite).  The Museum is not responsible for the content or security of any third-party websites (even the ones that we link to through the Website), and your use thereof is strictly at your own risk.  Third-party websites are not governed by our Terms of Use or this Privacy Policy, so we urge you to carefully review all policies on every website you visit.
  • We may rely on trusted third-party partners to process certain payments (such as admission tickets or donations).  In such cases, we do not collect (or retain) any of your payment information.   When you purchase goods from the store located on our Website, however, we will redirect you to a secure server before we receive your sensitive financial information (which will remain encrypted).  Whenever you make a payment in connection with our Services, we may receive a notice that identifies: (i) the account associated with such transaction, (ii) the date of the transaction, (iii) the transaction amount, and (iv) type of payment card and the last four digits thereof. 

Data Security and Retention 

We store all of your information in the United States of America where possible and use reasonable safeguards pursuant to our internal security policy (including limiting access to such information to only those Museum staff members who have a legitimate reason for accessing such information on behalf of the Museum) to ensure that your personal information stays safe and secure. 

To the extent that we should ever transfer data outside of the United States of America, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Although the Website uses Secure Sockets Layer protocols and we deploy industry standard practices and security standards to prevent unauthorized access to our servers, no information security system is impregnable.  We will try our best to keep your personal data secure at all times.

Data Use 

  • We may use your personal data to perform our obligations arising out of our agreements with you.
  • We may use your personal data to further our legitimate business interests, including but not limited to communicate with you (e.g., via email) and to enforce our agreements with you (including our Terms of Use); to notify you about changes to the Services; to provide, maintain, protect and improve the Website and the Services; and to protect the Museum and our other customers.
  • To the extent that we are required by applicable laws, we will comply with law enforcement (such as in response to a warrant or court-ordered subpoena) and intellectual property protection obligations (including but not limited to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act), which may require disclosure of your personal data.
  • We may share your name and other personal information with a governmental health authority, should such information be requested for COVID-19 contact tracing purposes.  If you do not want your name or other information used for these purposes, please email privacy@carlemuseum.org.
  • If you opt to sign up for our marketing services (such as our e-newsletter) or consent to our use of cookies, you consent to our reliance upon third parties (such as Constant Contact), and our furnishing of your personal information to such third parties, to deliver any such services as you request or otherwise allow. 
  • As mentioned above, we rely on certain third-party service providers in order to run our Website and offer the Services to you.  We may provide your personal information to these trusted partners on our behalf.  We will not share your personal information with any third-party partner unless appropriate safeguards (including contracts) are in place.  Please note that our third-party partners may also collect data about you as well.  We strongly suggest that you carefully review the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any website before submitting any of your personal information.
  • If the Museum is acquired by another entity, or otherwise participates in any merger, acquisition or similar transaction, we may transfer your data to a third party, but not without an adequate assurance that such party will honor this Privacy Policy and use a standard of security comparable to what we use to safeguard your data.

How Long will We Keep Your Data? 

We may retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose for which your information was collected (e.g., as long as we reasonably believe that you remain our customer), or as long as may otherwise be permitted under applicable law. The jurisdiction in which you live may provide you with a legal right to object to our collection and use of your data. Please bear in mind that if you avail yourself of such rights, then the Services may not function as intended, or otherwise become unavailable.  We may also retain your personal information in order to comply with applicable legal obligations, resolve disputes, maintain appropriate business records and to otherwise enforce our contractual rights.

Your Data Rights 

You may enjoy certain rights regarding how your personal information is collected and used, which can vary depending on where you live.

  • If you wish to opt in to receiving our newsletter or other marketing communications, you can thereafter exercise your right to opt out using the ‘unsubscribe’ button at the bottom of such emails.
  • You can deactivate certain kinds of cookies that we may deploy but doing so may cause the Website or Services to become unavailable or nonfunctional.  You may toggle your browser preferences or settings to turn on Do Not Track (“DNT”) requests.  There is currently no industry-wide consensus about how companies should respond to such DNT requests and until such consensus is achieved, we will not honor DNT requests.  Similarly, our third-party partners (such as analytics companies) may collect information about you and your online activities, over time, across third-party websites, including while using the Services.  We do not obligate these third parties to change their tracking practices in response to your DNT settings.  We rely on Google Analytics to provide us with certain analytics, and you can opt out of your usage data being included in our Google Analytics reports.
  • Under California’s “Shine the Light” law, California residents who have an established business relationship with us have the right to request a notice disclosing the categories of personal information that we have shared with third parties, for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes, during the preceding calendar year.  If this law applies to you, you may submit requests for such information in writing, to our address listed above, but please allow thirty (30) days for a response.
  • If you are unable to access this Privacy Policy because of a disability or physical or mental impairment, please contact us and we will arrange to furnish you with the information you need.
  • Some residents may enjoy additional rights (for example, residents of California). These heightened rights may include the right to request that we correct your personal data (or the data pertaining to those individuals identified with your membership, e.g., the personal data of your children identified with your membership); provide you with a copy of all your personal data; and request our deletion of your personal data. We will use reasonable efforts to fulfill your requests, but we reserve the right to refuse requests that we deem unreasonably repetitive, infringe upon the privacy of others, or as may be otherwise permitted under applicable law.  In some instances, by exercising these rights or by withdrawing your consent, the Services may malfunction or become unavailable. 
  • If you have any questions about these rights, or if you would like to exercise them, please e-mail us at: privacy@carlemuseum.org or call us at 413-658-6315.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time, so please take note of the date above to see when it was last updated.  We will strive to give our customers prior notice of any material change hereto before it takes effect, but this may not always be possible.  Once we change the Privacy Policy, it will become legally binding on you as soon as it is published.  If you do not agree to our updated Privacy Policy then your only remedy is to immediately stop using the Services.

Last updated on August 14, 2021.

Copyright © 2021 The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Inc. All rights reserved.