Information We Receive Automatically
When you visit the Historical Medicine Archive, our server records routine technical details: your device's IP address, browser type and language, operating system, referring and exit pages, and the date and time of each request. This is standard practice for operating any website and helps us diagnose technical problems, protect against abuse, and understand general usage patterns.
Information You Provide Voluntarily
If you send a message to the catalogue project provided on the site, we receive your email address and any information you choose to include. We use this only to respond to your inquiry and do not add it to a marketing list. You may also set site preferences (such as text display options) that are stored on your device; these are not sent to us unless you actively submit them through a form.
Cookies and Similar Technologies
We use cookies and similar storage mechanisms for the following purposes where enabled:
- Essential cookies — to remember your preference for how catalogue pages are displayed (for example, grid or list view) and to maintain session security.
- Analytics cookies — to collect aggregated, non-identifying data about which pages are visited, how long readers stay, and what links they follow. This helps us understand which public-domain works are of interest.
- Advertising cookies — if advertising is displayed on the site, third-party ad networks may place cookies to show you relevant ads based on your browsing activity across different sites.
Where Google advertising services are used, Google may serve cookies and use web beacons to measure ad performance and personalize ads. You can learn more about Google's practices and opt out of certain Google ad features by visiting the Google Advertising Privacy & Terms page.
Web beacons (also called pixel tags) may be included in emails or on pages that use analytics or advertising services. These allow the service provider to confirm that a page was viewed or an email was opened.
How We Use Information
We process the data described above for the following purposes:
- Operating and improving the catalogue, including troubleshooting and security.
- Understanding which public-domain texts and categories — such as Medicine; Public Health and Care; or specific works like Handbook of anæsthetics or Coca and Cocaine — are most valued by readers.
- Communicating with you if you have contacted us.
- Where advertising is enabled, delivering and measuring the effectiveness of advertisements.
Service Providers and Third Parties
We may engage limited service providers (for example, hosting, analytics, or advertising platforms) who have access to personal data only as necessary to perform their functions and are contractually bound to protect it. These providers may be located in countries with different data protection laws than your own.
Third-party advertising networks, including Google where applicable, may collect information about your visits to this and other websites to provide interest-based advertising. Their use of cookies and data is governed by their own privacy policies.
Data Security and Retention
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the information we hold against accidental loss, unauthorized access, or disclosure. We retain server logs and analytics data for a period sufficient to analyze site performance and usage trends, after which they are deleted or anonymized. Messages sent to the catalogue project are retained only as long as needed to address the inquiry and for a reasonable follow-up period.
Your Choices and Rights
You have several ways to control data collection:
- Browser controls — Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies, and to opt out of analytics by installing a browser add-on (where available).
- Consent controls — Where a cookie consent tool is displayed, you may adjust your preferences at any time.
- Advertising opt-out — You can opt out of personalized advertising from Google and other ad networks by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page or the Digital Advertising Alliance's consumer choice page.
- Access and deletion — Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to request access to personal data we hold about you, to ask that it be corrected or deleted, or to restrict processing. To exercise these rights, please contact the catalogue project provided on the site.
Children's Privacy
The Historical Medicine Archive is a general-interest catalogue of public-domain texts and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can remove it.
External Links
The catalogue includes links to external websites, such as full-text editions hosted by partner libraries or referenced works. This privacy policy applies only to your use of the Historical Medicine Archive. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party sites.
International Access
This site is operated from the United Kingdom. If you access it from outside the UK, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the UK or in other countries where our service providers operate. By using the site, you acknowledge that data protection laws in those countries may differ from those in your location.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the revised version on this page. Continued use of the catalogue after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the new policy.
Contact
Questions or requests regarding this privacy policy should be directed to the catalogue project@uzoce.com.