Privacy Policy

The Tolkien Society is committed to protecting your privacy. Should we ask you to provide any information by which you can be identified when using this website, you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and EU General Data Protection Regulation (from 25 May 2018)/UK Data Protection Act and Privacy of Electronic Communication Regulation.

You should read this page as it sets out how we will use your personal data. This policy is effective from 25 May 2018.

Who are we?

In this policy, whenever you see ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘orcs’, it refers to The Tolkien Society (registered charity no. 273809).

If you have any questions relating to this privacy policy, please contact the Membership Secretary, who can be contacted at membership [at] tolkiensociety [dot] org or 152 Main Road, Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire, OX29 8JY. You can also call 01865 52 2233.

What is personal data?

Your personal data (any information which identifies you, or which can be identified as relating to you personally for example, name, address, phone number, email address) will be collected and used by us. We’ll only collect the personal data that we need.

Personal data provided by you

We will collect information which identifies you if you are a member, attend a Tolkien Society event, make a donation, complete a survey, place an order or make a purchase from us.

Such personal information could include:

  • Personal details (your name, email address, postal address, telephone and mobile numbers);
  • Financial information (payment information such as credit or debit card or direct debit and whether donations are gift aided); and
  • Your opinions and attitudes about The Tolkien Society, activities, interest and experiences when completing our surveys.

If you buy a membership as a gift or are a parent or guardian of a student member under 16, your details and your relationship will be recorded.

We will automatically collect the following information:

  • Technical information, including the internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and if you access our website via your mobile device we will collect your unique phone identifier.
  • Information about your visit, including, but not limited to the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) and query string, clickstream to, through and from our website (including date and time), products you viewed or searched for, page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as but not limited to, scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), methods used to browse away from the page.
  • Information about your purchases including but not limited to revenue figures, the types of products purchased, membership application ID, purchase ID, and renewal ID.
  • The terms that you use to search our website.

Please note that the services available in the Members’ Area are only available to members.

Sensitive personal data

Sensitive personal data is information about racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs or other similar beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health, sexual life, and criminal allegations, proceedings or convictions.

We do collect limited sensitive personal data. This includes gender on applications forms and information on disabilities and dietary requirements if you attend an event.

Junior and Young People

We are committed to safeguarding children and young people. An important part of doing this is to protect their privacy. Children under 16 are either included as part of a family membership or an individual student membership bought by an adult.

If you are age 16 or under, please obtain your parent / guardian’s permission every time before you provide any personal information. We will always require their permission when you join as a member of The Tolkien Society.

What we do with the information we gather

We require this information for the following reasons:

  • To keep the membership database up to date;
  • We may use the information to improve our events and services;
  • We will send emails to you to inform you when the latest publication is available, forthcoming events and information on your membership. From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for research and survey purposes. We may contact you by email or by post; and
  • We may use the information to customise the website and The Tolkien Society’s activities according to your interests.

You can opt out of receiving information by email or post at any time by visiting the contact preferences page in the Members’ Area of the website.

Publications and Mailings

We’d like to use your details to keep in touch about things that may matter to you.

If you choose to hear from us by email or post we may send you information on The Tolkien Society’s activities or relevant information. We may also show you relevant content online. You may receive any of the following publications or mailings:

  • Welcome letter;
  • Membership renewal emails and postal letters for membership;
  • Electronic notices of events;
  • Email newsletter;
  • Email notifications of latest Amon Hen and Mallorn available online; and Mallorn available online; and
  • Confirmation of bookings.

Donations and legacy pledges

If you make a donation, we’ll use any personal information you give us to record the nature and amount of your gift, [and] claim gift aid where you’ve told us you’re eligible.

If you’ve told us that you’re planning to, or thinking about, leaving us a gift in your will, we’ll use the information you give us to keep a record of this – including the purpose of your gift, if you let us know this.

If we have a conversation or interaction with you (or with someone who contacts us in relation to your will, for example your solicitor), we’ll note these interactions throughout your relationship with us, as this helps to ensure your gift is directed as you wanted.

Charity Commission rules require us to be assured of the provenance of funds and any conditions attached to them. We follow a due diligence process which involves researching the financial soundness, credibility, reputation and ethical principles of donors who’ve made, or are likely to make, a significant donation to the Tolkien Society.

Controlling your personal information

You may choose to withdraw or restrict the use of your personal information at any time. Members can so this by going to the contact preferences page in the Members’ Area of the website. You can also update or delete your contact information at any time. Non-members need to email the Membership Secretary at membership@tolkiensociety.org.

We’ll always act upon your choice of how you want to receive communications (for example, by email, post or phone). However, there are some communications that we need to send. These are essential to fulfil our promises to you as a member, donor or buyer of goods from the Tolkien Society. Examples are:

  • Transaction messaging, such as Direct Debit schedules, purchase confirmations and booking confirmations; and
  • Membership-related mailings such as renewal reminders, publications and notice of our Annual General Meeting. You have the option to opt out of receiving these notifications.

Access to your information and Opting-Out

You have the right to ask for a copy of the personal information which we hold about you, to correct inaccuracies in that information or ask us to delete such record.

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the above address. We will correct any information immediately. If you ask us to delete your records we will destroy all of your personal information that we hold on our files.

If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to the  Membership Secretary, who can be contacted at membership [at] tolkiensociety [dot] org or 152 Main Road, Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire, OX29 8JY.

You will be asked to provide the following details:

  • The personal information you want to access;
  • Where it is likely to be held;
  • The date range of the information you wish to access

We will also need you to provide information that will help us confirm your identity. If we hold personal information about you, we will give you a copy of the information in an understandable format together with an explanation of why we hold and use it.

If you are not happy

In the first place, please talk to us direct to resolve the problem or query. You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if we have not been able to satisfactorily resolve a problem about our handling of your personal information.

ICO’s contact details: Head office is Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Their helpline is registration@ico.org.uk / 0303 123 1113 (UK) and +44 1625 545 70 (outside UK). Textphone is 01625 545860.

Website Privacy Information

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small text file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular page. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

We use cookies in a number of ways:

  • A cookie is stored so that whenever you next load a page with the sign-up widget on it, it will not prompt you to add your email address again.
  • When you access to the Members’ Area login (and you select ‘Remember Me’) a cookie is stored to remembers you logged in.
  • When you use the Join, Donate or Renewal pages, a cookie is used to store a unique identifier so that you go through the difference stages the web servers knows it is you.
  • We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to anonymously collect data on how visitors engage with the website. We use this information to compile reports which help us improve our website content.

We have enabled the “Demographics and Interests” feature in order to help us better understand the type of people who visit and engage with our website. All this data is anonymous and will not be passed on to any third party. To opt out of all Google Analytics tracking across all the website pages you use, click here to install a browser add-on.

Links to other websites

Our website contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy policy. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy policy applicable to the website in question.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access, loss, misuse or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. Information relating to electronic transactions entered via this website are protected by encryption technology.

By disclosing your personal information to us via tolkiensociety.org or tolkien2019.com by phone or in writing, you are giving us your consent to collect, store and process your personal information in the manner described in this policy. The information we hold will be accurate and up to date within our knowledge

Sharing your information

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information with other organisations unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We will not sell, rent or lease our membership subscription lists to any third-parties.

We sometimes have to share your information with other organisations to undertake our activities. When we do so we always confirm that they meet our security standards. For example, this includes our printer, who mailouts our publications and venues where we hold events. We will only provide these organisations with your name and address if required.

Changes to this privacy policy

We’ll amend this privacy policy from time to time to ensure it remains up to date and reflects how and why we use your personal data and new legal requirements. Please visit our website to keep up to date with any changes. The current version will always be posted on our website.