What Are Cookies
Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device to remember information about your visit. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently and to provide information to the site owner.
How We Use Cookies
We use cookies and similar technologies, such as local storage, for the following purposes:
- Essential storage: To enable core functions such as navigating between pages, remembering your reading progress, and maintaining your session securely. These are strictly necessary for the catalogue to operate.
- Preference storage: Where you choose a display option (for example, font size or theme), we may store that choice in a cookie or local storage so that it persists across visits.
- Analytics: Where analytics are enabled, we use first-party cookies to understand how visitors interact with the catalogue—which titles are viewed, how pages are navigated, and general usage patterns. This helps us improve the reading experience. No personally identifiable information is collected through analytics cookies.
- Advertising: On pages where advertisements are displayed, we may use cookies from Google and other advertising partners to deliver relevant ads, measure ad performance, and prevent the same ad from appearing too often. These may be first-party or third-party cookies and may track your browsing across different sites.
Types of Cookies We Use
Session Cookies
Session cookies are temporary and are deleted when you close your browser. They are used to maintain your session and remember actions during a single visit.
Persistent Cookies
Persistent cookies remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them. They help us remember your preferences and recognise you on return visits. The duration varies by purpose and is always disclosed in your browser’s cookie inspector.
First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookies
First-party cookies are set by this website. Third-party cookies are set by services we use, such as Google Analytics or Google AdSense. These third parties have their own privacy policies governing the data they collect.
Local Storage
In addition to cookies, we may use local storage (also called DOM storage) to store larger amounts of data on your device. Local storage is similar to persistent cookies but does not expire automatically and is not sent to the server with every request. We use local storage for purposes such as caching reading preferences and partially completed forms.
Your Choices
Consent for Optional Technologies
Where we use analytics or advertising cookies, we seek your consent before placing them. You may accept or decline these cookies when first visiting the site. Your choice can be changed later through the cookie consent tool available on every page.
Withdrawing Consent
If you have previously consented to optional cookies, you may withdraw your consent at any time by clearing your cookies or using the consent tool. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
Browser Controls
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can choose to block all cookies, delete existing cookies, or receive a warning before a cookie is stored. If you disable essential cookies, some features of the catalogue may not function correctly. For example, you may be unable to stay logged in or save your reading progress.
To learn how to manage cookies in your browser, consult the help section of your browser or visit aboutcookies.org.
Practical Effects of Disabling Storage
If you disable all cookies and local storage, the catalogue will still be accessible, but certain features may be limited. You may need to re-enter preferences on each visit, and some interactive elements may not work as intended. Essential functionality, such as browsing titles and reading public-domain texts, will remain available.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, regulation, or our practices. Any changes will be posted on this page, and where material, we may notify you via the website.