WAYNE PUBLIC LIBRARY POLICIES
MISSION STATEMENT
The Wayne Public Library provides
materials for area residents in a variety of formats for recreational and
leisure pursuits as well as accurate and current information for daily problem
solving. Access to other materials or
information will be obtained through
interlibrary loan or online database services. Special emphasis will be placed on materials
and programs of interest and benefit to children and youth that support
enrichment of reading and learning.
Primary Roles of the Wayne Public
Library:
The Wayne Public Library has chosen
to emphasize six of the 13 primary roles of service, as designated by the
Nebraska Library Commission. These
roles currently provide the direction in purchases of materials, programming,
and services offered by the library by making it a center for:
1. Lifelong Learning
2. General Information
3. Formal Learning Support
4. Commons Area
5. Information Literacy
6. Current Topics and Titles
BOARD STATEMENT
The following policies were prepared
by the Wayne Public Library Board to serve as a directive of the board as to
the operational policy of the library.
The board unanimously adopts the policy statement of the American Library
Association, the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read statement on
book selection and controversial materials.
These objectives and policies will be examined annually and may be
revised at any time by action of the library board.
I.
GENERAL LIBRARY OBJECTIVES
The general library objectives of
this public library shall be:
A. To
assemble, preserve, and administer, in organized collections, books and related
educational and recreational material in order to promote, through guidance and
stimulation, the communication of ideas, enlightened citizenship, and the
enrichment of personal lives.
B. To
serve the community as a center of reliable information.
C. To
support educational, civic, and cultural activities,
and lifestyles of individuals, groups,
and organizations.
D. To
provide opportunity and encouragement for children, young people, men and women
to educate themselves continuously.
E. To
strive continually to identify community needs in order to provide programs of
service to meet such needs, and to cooperate with other organizations,
agencies, and institutions, which can provide programs or services to meet
community needs.
F. To
provide opportunity for recreation through the use of literature, music, films,
and other art forms.
G. To
provide a competent staff to serve the community.
H. To
provide adequate technology and access to information to meet the needs of the
community.
II. USE OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
A.
Use
Privileges
1. Everyone may use all reference
materials and collections within the library building. Anyone may use the public Internet service
who reads and agrees to the library's Internet policy agreement and safety
guidelines. Anyone under 17 years of
age must have a parent present to sign the registration. (The Wayne Public Library Internet Computer
Use Policy in the Appendixes on page 16.)
2. Service
will not be denied or abridged because of religious, racial, social, economic,
or political status.
3. Library
cards are available at no charge to patrons age 5 or older. Children under age 13 must have a parent
sign the application card. All
cardholders will be routinely asked to update personal registration
information. Proof of identity and
address is required.
4. The use of the library or its services
may be denied temporarily for due cause.
Such cause may include but not be limited to failure
to return books or to pay penalties, destruction or theft of library property,
disturbance of other patrons, or any other objectionable conduct on library
premises.
B.
Unattended children
The Wayne Public Library welcomes
youth to use its facilities and services.
However, the library is not a playground, recreation center, or day care
facility. Noisy or physically active
behavior appropriate in such facilities is not appropriate in the library. Section 51-212 of the Nebraska Statutes
specifically gives public libraries the power to regulate the use of the
library and to exclude from the library persons who violate or refuse to comply
with the library's rules and regulations.
In order to prevent undue disruption of normal library activities, to
provide for the general welfare of all persons using the library and to provide
for the general safety of children using the Wayne Public Library the following
policies are adopted:
1. All
children seven years or younger shall, at all times, be attended and adequately
supervised by a responsible adult.
Children may be left unattended at scheduled library programs. The responsible person should plan to be at
the library when the program concludes.
2. Children
with special needs related to physical or mental ability shall be attended by a
responsible party as needed. Library
staff cannot be expected to provide constant care or oversight.
3. Children
eight years and older may use the library unattended, subject to the rules and
regulations of the Wayne Public Library.
4. The
Wayne Public Library assumes no responsibility for children left unattended on
library premises.
5. If library staff judges that any
unattended child is not coping adequately, a staff member will immediately try
to locate the responsible adult. If the
adult cannot be found in 30 minutes, or if the library is closing, the staff
will contact the police department for
assistance. The staff will under no
circumstance take the child out of the building.
C.
Cell Phone Use (adopted
2/14/06)
1. Cell phone use is not
allowed in the library except in the entrance foyer. All patrons are asked to turn cell phones off or to
"vibrate." If a cell phone is
ringing or a patron is talking on a cell phone, library staff will ask them to
step outside.
2. Exceptions may be made to
no cell phone conversations in the library at staff discretion.
3. If a patron fails or
refuses to comply with a request of the library staff or personnel, or responds
to the request in an abusive manner, he or she will be required to leave the
library for the remainder of the day.
Further offenses may result in longer terms of suspension of library
privileges.
D. Children's
Computer Stations (adopted 2/14/06)
1. The computers in the
children's room have simple games. They
are not Internet accessible, nor do they permit printing.
2. Users without basic
computer and reading ability should be accompanied by an older sibling or
caregiver. Library staff are not always
available to assist inexperienced users.
3. If someone is waiting to
use a computer station in the children's room, use is limited to 30 minutes per
session. If no one is waiting, use may
be extended to 1 hour per day. Children
(preschool through 8th grade) have priority use at all times.
E. Opening
Hours
1. Summer and winter hours will be
determined by the Board in accordance with the Nebraska Guidelines for
Excellence and the needs of the community.
Hours will be posted in a prominent place.
2. If
the librarian feels the library should be opened or closed for special
occasions (exhibits, staff in-service, etc.) the decision will be made by the
librarian and one member of the board.
F. Holidays
1. The library will be closed in accordance
with city regulations, with posted exceptions.
Holidays include: New Year's,
Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
2. If December 24th or December 31st falls
on a weekday, the library will follow stated city hours. If they fall on a weekend, the library board
will make the determination of open hours.
3. The
library will be closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving instead of Veteran's
Day, and December 26th instead of Martin Luther King Day.
G. Check out and Renewals
1. All borrowers must have a library card
in order to check out books. If a
patron does not have a card with at the time of check out, library staff (at
their discretion) may require other proof of identity.
2. Books
and most circulating materials shall be issued for a two-week period and
renewed (at the discretion of the librarian) for another two weeks. A hold on a title may be requested at any
time. Any item with a hold will not be
renewed. Patrons needing more time must
choose between keeping the item a few more days and paying the subsequent
overdue fine, or returning the item and requesting to be placed on the hold
list. The librarian reserves the
right to limit quantities, to deny a hold request, and to extend loan periods
for special purposes.
3. Reference
books may not be issued for home use.
4. Videos,
DVDs and games are checked out for 1 week with no renewals.
5. Art
prints are checked out for 62 days with no renewals.
6. Patrons
may request a hold on any material currently checked out or in processing. Upon notification of a hold being available,
patrons have 7 days in which to pick up the material.
H. Fines
and Overdue Materials
1. Five cents per day shall be charged for
over-due books, magazines, art prints, and most materials until they are
returned to the library. Twenty-five cents per day shall be charged for overdue
videotape cassettes. The overhead
projector, slide projector and screen are subject to a $.25 per day fine. Fines will accrue to face value or $5.00 per
item, whichever is less.
2. The
replacement cost for lost or destroyed materials shall be the list price. The
replacement cost for lost or destroyed out-of-print materials shall be based on
the cost to purchase a new item of similar nature, as could be found on online
sites providing current market prices or in Books in Print.
3. Any person failing to return books or
other library materials due to their loss or destruction will be assessed a
fine as indicated above until notification of such to the library. This person
will also be assessed the replacement costs as referenced in item E2
above.
4. Library
privileges may be suspended at the discretion of the librarian until any
delinquent overdue material is returned and the
fine is paid.
I. Miscellaneous
fees
1. The
library facsimile machine is available for public use. There is not a charge for a standard cover
page. Cost is $1.00 per page for both
in-coming and out-going faxes, with a minimum charge of $1.00.
2. Charges
for photocopies, computer printer copies, and microfilm reader printer copies
are 10 cents per page for black & white text.
3. A slide projector and a screen are
available for a one week period with no renewals.
4. Requests can be made for the library
staff to search the Wayne Herald on microfilm for obituaries or
articles, but due to the time-consuming nature involved and limited staffing,
the staff will consider or limit the request, given the following conditions:
· the request is long distance and the
caller cannot reasonably do the search in person;
· the exact date of death and the name
are known, or the exact date of issue in which the article appeared is
known. The fee will be the actual cost
of photocopying and postage; or
· a time range for date of death is
within 6 months, one search can be done for $10, which includes staff time,
photocopying and postage. Unspecified dates will be refused. The Library can limit searches.
· Requesters will be referred to local
and other resources for requests the library staff is unable to search.
5. Patron
fees for use of the National Archives Microfilm Rental Program will be based on
fees established by the National Archives.
6. Blank
3.5 floppy disks or writeable CDs can be purchased for $1 at the desk for
saving documents on library word processing computers.
7. The
replacement fee for lost library cards is $3.
There is no fee to replace library cards worn out over time.
III. LIBRARY COLLECTION AND
SERVICES
A. Collection
Development
1. The librarian shall be responsible for
the selection and purchase of items that best fill the needs of the
community. Selection for purchase and
weeding shall take place in an on-going manner.
2. Each acquisition shall be coded to
identify purchase, and original ownership by the city.
3. The following criteria will be used to
evaluate materials for acquisition and weeding.
a. Author
b. Recommendations
c. Format, technical quality,
durability
d. Content
e. Ease of use
f. Originality
g. Style
h. Timeliness or lasting value
i. Scope
j. Accuracy
4. The following criteria will be used in
making final selections for acquisition:
a. Price
b. Physical limits of building
c. Relationship to existing collection
5. The
following criteria will be used in making final selections for weeding:
a. Physical limits of building
b. Usage statistics
c. Relationship to existing collection
d. Physical condition of item
6. The library will endeavor always to
balance special group interests with general demand, to present fairly and
truthfully opposing sides of every controversial subject handled. Political or social affiliations of specific
author will not be cause for rejection of his works. Neither will serious works, which present an honest aspect of
life, be excluded because of coarse language or frankness. While the library does select its material
to maintain a quality collection, it does not censor any book for reasons of
religious or political thought expressed.
Judgment is made after thoughtful review of the whole book.
7. Generally excluded will be
denominational and proselytizing works (and textbooks).
8. The
library adopts the Library Bill of Rights and the policy statement of the
American Library Association on Intellectual Freedom which are included in the
Appendixes.
9. A
"Request for Purchase" form is available upon request. See sample in the Appendixes on page
13. All patron requests for materials
will be subject to the same criteria as other purchases. Patrons will be notified upon processing if
materials they have requested are purchased.
10. A
"Request for Re-Consideration" form is available upon request. See sample in the Appendixes on page
14. All requests for re-consideration
will be reviewed in the same manner:
a.
Item in question will
be pulled from the shelves
b. Reviews
for the item will be acquired as possible and copied
c. Two
staff members will review the item and its reviews, reaching independent
decisions
d. The
director, upon review of materials and staff members' decisions, will notify
patron of final decision
e. If
decision is appealed by patron, all materials will be presented to the library
board, whose decision in the matter is final.
B. Services
of the Public Library
1. The library staff will provide guidance
and assistance for people to obtain the information they seek.
2. The library will initiate programs,
story hours, reading club, booklists, training sessions, etc., to stimulate the
use of library materials and to guide in the effective use of technology and
related software for the enlightenment of people of all ages.
3. The library will cooperate with civic
and community agencies and organizations to help them with program materials.
4. The
library will supplement, but cannot perform the functions of school and other
institutional libraries, which are designed to meet curricular needs.
5. The library board recognizes that no
single library can meet all demands of its patrons. Because of this, full
advantage shall be taken of the interlibrary
loan service. The
current charge is $2 per filled request, payable when the item is picked up,
and whether the item is still wanted or not.
The cost covers the online search, display holdings, and postage charges
assessed to the library. Any current
library cardholder in good standing (no fines or overdue materials) may use
this service. Borrowers must contact
the library one week prior to the
due date to request permission from the loaning library to renew the item. Borrowers are responsible for the prompt
return of interlibrary loan materials and for any charges placed by the lending
library. This includes, but is not
limited to, overdue fees, processing fees, damage or loss of the material.
6. Proctoring of tests may be considered by the library director, to
be given under the supervision of a member of the library staff, provided that,
(a) the test will be given only during regular library hours or when staff is
normally scheduled for work, and (b) that the test does not require constant
supervision which will prevent the staff member from completing regular duties.
IV. GIFTS, BEQUESTS,
MEMORIALS
A.
The library accepts gifts of
books, pamphlets, periodicals, videotapes, musical compact discs, and the like
with the understanding that they will be added to the library collections only when needed. The same principles of selection, which are
applied to purchases, are applied to gifts.
Some gifts may not be able to be used to full advantage because of reasons
such as these:
1. Duplication
of materials already owned by the library
2. Physical
limitations of the building
3. Physical
condition of the donated materials
4. Extent
to which the donated materials meet the library's mission
B. Donations
of materials that are not added to the library collection may be given to the
Friends of Wayne Public Library.
C. Unrestricted gifts of money, lands, or
property will be gratefully accepted by the board to be used at its discretion.
Gifts or bequests with specific restrictions attached will be reviewed by the
board before acceptance.
D.
Notwithstanding the above,
the board recognizes the Wayne Library Foundation exists for the purpose
of handling gifts and bequests.
V.
PHYSICAL FACILITIES
A.
General statement
To achieve the goal of good library
service, the library board will strive to provide and maintain public library
facilities, which will adequately meet the physical requirements of modern
library service. Such facilities will
offer to the community an invitation to enter, read, look, listen, and
learn. The building must be able to
accommodate an expanding program of library service, as well as be accessible
to the handicapped.
B.
Insurance
Under current city code, insurance policies
are determined by the city council and the library will be governed
accordingly.
VI. PERSONNEL
A. Employment
1. Selection of staff members is based
solely upon merit, with due consideration of personal, educational, and
physical qualifications of training and aptitudes for the positions, regardless
of race, color, creed, age or gender.
Performance evaluations will be completed annually. (Job descriptions for each position are
included in the Appendix.)
2. All city requirements for employment
will be complied with.
3. All appointments are made for a
probationary period of six months. An
employee may be released by the librarian at any time during the probationary
period, after being given two weeks notice if his/her services are unsatisfactory
or if they prove to be unqualified for the position to which they were
appointed. This six month probationary
period is a pre-requisite for permanent appointment.
4. All categories of employment shall
be determined according to the city's job schedule.
5. All employees will be directly
responsible to the librarian for their work requirements and conduct while on
duty for the library.
6. The
Library Director, the Adult Services Librarian and the Youth Services Librarian
will work towards / maintain Nebraska Library Certification, as recommended by
the "Fundamentals in Public Library
Service, Advanced Accreditation Guidelines".
The Library Director will hold at least Level III certification.
7. The Library Board will maintain board
certification, as recommended by the "Fundamentals of Public Library Service,
Advanced Accreditation Guidelines."
B. Salaries
1. All salaries paid to employees of the
library shall be set with the approval of the Wayne Public Library Board and
with budget approval of the city council.
2. All salaries will be commensurate with
the duties of each employee.
3. All personnel will be paid every other
week with deductions made according to the city payroll policy.
4. Salary increases are at no time
automatic. Salaries may be adjusted at the discretion of the board in
consideration of qualifications, tenure and quality of service rendered by the
person being considered.
C. Dismissal
The librarian has the right and
authority to recommend to the board dismissal from the staff of any employee
whose attitude, professional ethics and conduct, or performance of duties,
warrant such action. In every case the
employee shall have the right to present his case both to the librarian and to
the board. No staff member under
permanent appointment shall have his/her services terminated without
cause.
VII. PROFESSIONAL EXPENSES
A. Conventions,
Meetings, Seminars, Travel:
1. The
library encourages the attendance of all staff members and board members at
professional meetings, conferences, and conventions. When possible, time will be allowed with pay for staff members to
attend.
2. Library
funds will pay for mileage on one car and registration fees for staff members
and board who will attend state and regional library meetings. Other expenses will be allowed depending
upon the amount of travel and money available for the year.
B. Professional
Memberships
The
library shall pay national association dues for the library. Dues will also be paid for the Library
Director, the Adult Services Librarian and the Youth Services Librarian as well
as library board members for the state
library association.
VIII. PUBLICITY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
A. Publicity
All
publicity concerning the library shall be under the direction of the library
director, who shall inform the public of the services the library performs and
its activities as a public relations agent between the library and the
community. Full advantage will be taken
of all news media.
B. Public
Relations
The Board recognizes that public
relations involves every person who has any connection with the
library. The board urges its own
members and every staff member to realize that he/she represents the library in
every public interaction.
IX. POLICY and GUIDELINES
A.
Confidentiality of Library
Records
The library board of the Wayne
Public library recognizes its circulation records and other records identifying
the names of library users with specific materials to be confidential in
nature.
All librarians and library employees
are advised that such records shall not be made available to any agency of
state, federal, or local government except to such process, order, or subpoena
as may be authorized under the authority of, and pursuant to, federal, state,
or local law relating to civil, criminal, or administrative discovery
procedures or legislative power.
The board shall resist the issuance
or enforcement of any such process, order, or subpoena until such time as a
proper showing of good cause has been made in a court of competent
jurisdiction. (In other words, upon receipt of such process, order or subpoena,
the library's board will consult with their legal counsel or the city attorney
to determine if such process, order, or subpoena is in proper form and if there
is a showing of good cause for its issuance; if the process, order or subpoena
is not in proper form or if good cause has not been shown, they will insist
that such defects be cured.)
APPENDIX
1 -- LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS
The Council of the American Library
Association reaffirms the belief in the following basic policies, which should
govern the services of all libraries.
1. As
a responsibility of library service, books and other library materials selected
should be chosen for values of interest, information and enlightenment of all
the people of the community. In no case
should library materials be excluded because of the race or nationality or the
social, political, or religious views of the authors.
2. Libraries
should provide books and other materials presenting all points of view
concerning the problems and issues of our times; no library materials should be
proscribed or removed from libraries because of partisan or doctrinal
disapproval.
3. Censorship
should be challenged by libraries in the maintenance of their responsibility to
provide public information and enlightenment.
4. Libraries
should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting
abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
5. The
rights of an individual to the use of a library should not be denied or
abridged because of his age, race, religion, national origins or social or
political views.
6. As
an institution of education for democratic living, the library should welcome
the use of its meeting rooms for socially useful and cultural activities and
discussion of current public questions.
Such meeting places should be available on equal terms to all groups in
the community regardless of the beliefs and affiliation of their members,
provided that the meetings be open to the public.
Adopted
June 18, l948. Amended February 2,
1961, and June 27, l967, by the ALA Council.
