Northampton Public Library

Northampton Public Library, also known as NPL, operates as a public library located in the United States. The library provides traditional lending services for books and other media to registered patrons. It offers public access to computers and wireless internet connections for patrons who visit the facility. Users can search the library’s catalog online, manage their accounts, and renew borrowed materials through the library’s digital services. The library maintains a patron database that includes names, addresses, contact information, driver’s license numbers, and birth dates. The institution has stated that it does not store sensitive financial data or Social Security numbers in its systems.

On November 16, 2020, the Northampton Public Library experienced a ransomware attack that caused a network outage across its operations. The attack forced a temporary closure of the library’s physical premises and disrupted core services such as catalog searches, account access, and online renewals. While the building was closed, book drop locations remained available for returning items and the library paused the accrual of overdue fines during the incident. Restoration efforts required taking affected servers offline, and the library indicated that full service recovery was expected to take several days. The library confirmed that no financial or Social Security data were compromised, but advised patrons who used library computers or Wi‑Fi to change passwords for personal accounts as a precaution. The incident highlighted the library’s reliance on digital infrastructure for patron services and the need for cybersecurity resilience in public institutions.