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NEWTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY
SERVICE AND OPERATIONAL POLICIES AND GUIDELINES
GENERAL
Values
Mission
Revision
PATRON SERVICE POLICIES
Access to Library Services
Confidentiality
Code of Conduct
Request for Information
Hours
Holidays
Training Days
Issuance of Card
Lost or Damaged Card
Loan Periods
Fines and Fees
Denial or Restriction of Library Use
Services to Teachers
Services to Persons with Qualified Disabilities
Reference Service (City Cross Directory)
Interlibrary Loan Requests
Interlibrary Loan Fees
Electronic Services
Illegal and Prohibited Acts
Internet Access for Minors
Internet Contents
Other Internet Restrictions
User Responsibilities
Accessing Electronic Services
Handling Inappropriate Use of the Internet
Public Use of Library Supplies
Use
of Copier and Printers
Use of Microfilm Machine
Public
Use of Fax Machine
Public
Programming
Adult
Services
Youth
Services
Acceptable Use Meeting Rooms
Display and Distribution of Community Information
Exhibits and Displays
Copyright Disclaimer
Video Disclaimer
Computer Disclaimer
Internet Disclaimer
NEWTON
PUBLIC LIBRARY
SERVICE POLICIES AND GUIDELINES - PUBLIC FORM
STATEMENT OF VALUES
We are dedicated to the highest standards of ethics and public service, and
will strive for the maximum of effectiveness and economy in Library operations.
Information services will be conducted with all possible consideration of
confidentiality for the researcher and the contents of research. The Newton
Public Library Board of Trustees, Director, staff, and volunteers will strive
for equity and fairness in serving individuals and organizations throughout the
community. We are dedicated to the development of full and equal access to
information for all people.
These are the values which guide our services:
NEWTON PUBLIC LIBRARY MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Newton Public Library is to provide quality Library
resources and services which fulfill educational, recreational, informational
and cultural needs of the entire community in an atmosphere that is welcoming,
respectful and professional.
The roles the Library intends to fulfill are:
The Library upholds all Library users' legal right of access to Library
resources, services and facilities. We uphold these rights in order to ensure
the safety of users and staff, and to protect Library resources and facilities
from damage.
REVISION OF POLICIES
Upon recommendation of the Library Director or a majority of the Library board,
policies may be reconsidered or revised. The Library Board is granted sole
authority in Kansas Statute for adopting Library policies.
PATRON
SERVICE POLICIES
ACCESS TO LIBRARY SERVICES
The Newton Public Library affirms a person's right to use a Library should not
be denied because of origin, age, background, or views.
Any restrictions regarding the type of materials a minor may borrow from the
Library must be made by a parent or guardian, with the following exception: In
the interest of protecting the families from replacement or damage costs and
the collection from damage or loss, toys may be checked out only by an adult.
CONFIDENTIALITY
In accordance with K.S.A. Open Records Act (KOMA), 45-215 et seq., the Newton
Public Library Board of Trustees in recognizing the Library's position of
special trust with members of the public, ascribes to the confidentiality of
Library and patron records. Staff, volunteers, and the Library Board of
Trustees will not make available any of the information listed below to any
person, agency of state, federal, or local government except and pursuant to
federal, state, or local law relating to civil criminal, or administrative
discovery procedures or legislative investigative power:
The Library will not retain a patron's charge records beyond their use for
circulation or control purposes.
In exchange for access to Library services, Library patrons irrevocably consent
and agree that the Library may disclose and/or submit the circulation records
of patrons with past due materials and unpaid fines, charges and fees to a
collection agency, legal counsel and/or the court system for the purposes of
debt collection and materials recovery.
Parents or legal guardians of children under 18 years of age may, upon
presentation of proper identification, obtain the current status of their
child's circulation record or withdraw their authorization for the child's
Library card.
CODE OF CONDUCT
To the ultimate goal of providing a pleasant and suitable environment at the
Newton Public Library, the following Code of Conduct is presented to protect
the personal rights of patrons and employees and insure the preservation of
public property.
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
All requests for a copy of any budget, report, minutes or other discrete and
readily identified public record shall be open for inspection or copying by any
person unless otherwise provided.
Charges for the costs of staff time and copying shall be at the hourly rate of
pay received by the staff person actually making the record accessible. No
charge shall be made for staff time of less than six minutes, but thereafter,
staff time will be computed at six minute intervals. The costs of copying shall
be $.10 per copy page.
Requests for Library and patron records shall be denied in accordance with the
K.S.A. Open Records Act. (see Confidentiality). All requests must be submitted
in writing and signed by the requestor.
HOURS
The facility will be open for public service as follows:
Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The Library website and on-line resources will be available for public access
24 hours each day except for maintenance services.
HOLIDAY
Holidays the Library shall not be open to the public: New Year's Day, Memorial
Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day.
Closing the Library for other observed holidays will be at the discretion of
the Library Board.
TRAINING DAYS
It is at the discretion of the Library Board to close the Library for staff,
board and volunteer In-Service Training Days.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
The Library may be closed at the discretion of the Library Director or Library
Board President for inclement weather. It is the general policy to close the
Library when USD 373 Newton closes for inclement weather.
ISSUANCE AND USE OF LIBRARY CARD
A Library card will be issued without charge to residents of Kansas who present
valid proof of identification which includes a photo ID. Acceptable forms of
identification are:
Courtesy cards are issued to college students who are not residents of Kansas
but attending a Kansas college who present a school ID with proof of address.
The Library will issue cards, with a legal guardian's or foster parent's
signature on the application, to wards in a legal guardian's or to foster
children in a foster parent's care. The guardian or foster parent will remain
legally responsible for lost, damaged, or overdue items checked out on that
card until such time as the guardian or foster parent notifies Library staff
that the child is no longer in their care and the Library card should be
cancelled.
A Library card may be issued to a business, governmental unit, or other
organization when requested and when a responsible individual is identified.
The business or organization is responsible for materials borrowed on the card.
A teacher Library card may be issued to a teacher when requested who present
valid proof of identification. A teacher Library card will extend the three
week loan period for an item to an eight week loan period. Library items
checked out on the special teacher card must be for in classroom use. The
teacher is responsible for materials borrowed on the card.
Library materials may be checked out by anyone with a Newton Public Library
card in good standing.
· LOST OR DAMAGED CARD
The patron is responsible for promptly notifying the Library of a lost or
stolen Library card. Patrons are responsible for all materials checked out to a
lost or stolen card that is not reported as such.
Upon loss or damage beyond usability of a Library card or barcode the
replacement cost of a new card or barcode is $2.00. Staff may issue a new
borrower's card or barcode without replacement charge five years after issuance
of previous card.
LOAN PERIODS
RENEWAL LOAN PERIODS:
FINES AND FEES
Items held over the final day of the loan period are subject to the following
fine schedule except as noted. (Newton Ordinance No. 3506)
A $5 maintenance fee is charged for all equipment for the loan period.
Replacement cost and $10.00 processing fee and accumulated fines per item
will be charged for material damaged or destroyed beyond use. Material that is
damaged or still useable will be charged a minimum of $1.00 up to the replacement
cost of the material.
The Newton Public Library is not responsible for any damage which may occur to
a patron's personal equipment during use of videos, audiocassettes, compact
discs or computer software borrowed from the Library. Any damage to the
Library's material is the responsibility of the borrower.
DENIAL OR RESTRICTION OF LIBRARY USE
Any patron who has fines or fees accumulating to $5.00 or more must clear those
charges before the patron's Library card can be reactivated.
Lost Declaration. Patrons are responsible for library materials borrowed on
their Library card which have been declared lost or damaged beyond repair by
the Library or the patron. An item is declared lost by the Library when the
item is at least 30 days overdue. A patron may declare an item lost or damaged
beyond repair at anytime.
SERVICES TO TEACHERS
The Library will cooperate with area public, private and home schools to
promote good reading habits with students.
Classes are welcome to visit the Library for stories, research, and tours. As a
courtesy to staff and other patrons, it is requested that teachers call the
Library before bringing in a class or group of students. This will allow staff
to plan for visits, and to advise teachers of the best times to visit, based on
pre-existing classroom activities, Storytimes and staffing availability.
SERVICES TO PERSONS WITH QUALIFIED DISABILITIES
No individual with a qualified disability shall, by reason of such disability,
be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services,
programs or activities of the Newton Public Library, except when such
accommodation would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the
program or in undue financial and administrative burdens.
REFERENCE AND INFORMATION SERVICES
The Library reference staff endeavors to provide accurate information and
materials in response to requests from Library users in an efficient,
courteous, and timely manner. Questions are generally answered in the order
received, with priority given to questions asked by patrons in the library.
Telephone or electronic reference service is usually limited to supplying
readily available information that does not require extensive research and that
can be accurately imparted over the telephone or electronic communication
system. Extensive research that requires selection of appropriate materials,
interpretation of data and sources, or analysis of information is best
performed by the patron.
Telephone reference questions that can be answered quickly (two or three
minutes) without affecting service to patrons in the library should be handled
while the patron waits. Questions that require more time to answer, or that are
received while other patrons are waiting in the library, will be handled as
callbacks. Privacy and concern for accuracy of information will be considered
when leaving messages on answering machines or with another household member.
Additional care and caution must be exercised when providing legal, medical, or
consumer information. To avoid misunderstandings, it is preferred that patrons
visit the library to review this type of information, rather than receiving the
information over the telephone. Staff will not offer advice or opinions,
condense or abstract information, or suggest a course of action or diagnosis. Staff
will provide the source and copyright date for legal and medical information.
Cross directory information will not be provided via the telephone or computer.
INTERLIBRARY LOAN REQUESTS
The Library participates in the Kansas Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Circuit. At the
request of a patron, the Library will attempt to locate materials which are not
owned by the Library and borrow the materials from other participating
Interlibrary Loan libraries.
INTERLIBRARY LOAN FEES
If the lending Library charges a lending fee, the patron, after being
consulted, will be responsible for the charges.
ELECTRONIC SERVICES
Computer use is an integral part of Newton Public Library activities and
information resources. The following policy governs the use of public
workstations at Newton Public Library
The Newton Public Library has no control over the information accessed through
the Internet and cannot be held responsible for its content. As with other
library materials, restrictions of a minor’s access to the Internet is the
responsibility of the parent or legal guardian The Library does not monitor an
individual’s use of any sites except when material displayed on the screen may
be deemed criminally prohibited by applicable state and federal laws. All
workstations are in view of other library users and staff and users are not
permitted to display images containing gratuitous violence or obscenity as
identified in K.S.A 21-3516 and 21-4301 et seq, and federal laws on copyright
(U.S. Code, Title 17). The Library complies with the Children’s Internet
Protection Act (CIPA) and the Neighborhood Children’s Internet Protection Act
(NCIPA) (codified in pertinent part at 20 U.S.C. § 9134) regarding requirements
to use technology protection measures. Technology protection measures such as
filters are not completely reliable. The Library cannot be held responsible for
prohibited information that might be displayed. The Library will disable the
filter for adults patrons 17 and over upon request or in the case of minors for
bona fide research or other lawful purposes.
Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and Neighborhood Children’s Internet Protection
Act (NCIPA) laws require an age-related limitation of information access for,
in the Kansas law, "...a child under the age of 18 years" and in CIPA
and NCIPA, "...an individual who has not attained the age of 17."
This limitation is applied to information that is obscene as defined in K.S.A.
21-4301; 21-4301a, and 21-4301c. In compliance with state law, the library will
apply this limitation to users under the age of 18. To provide the definition
required by CIPA and NCIPA, the phrase "matter...inappropriate for
minors...." used in the federal law is regarded as synonymous with the
definition of obscenity in K.S.A. 21-4301; 21-4301a, and 21-4301c. Applicable
state and federal laws for this policy are available upon request.
ILLEGAL AND PROHIBITED ACTS
Inappropriate use of Internet access will result in cancellation of the
individual’s use of this service. Examples of inappropriate use include, but
are not limited to, the following:
• Displaying or disseminating images containing gratuitous violence or
obscenity;
• Disclosure, use, or dissemination of personal information that could threaten
the safety or security of a minor, any other person, or the Library;
• Attempting unauthorized access to restricted or confidential systems;
• Use of computer which impedes activities of others;
• Destruction or damage to equipment, software, or data belonging to the
Library;
• Unauthorized monitoring (or disruption of) electronic communications;
• Unauthorized use or destruction of data of other users;
• Unauthorized copying of copyright-protected material;
• Violation of software license agreements and copyright laws;
• Violation of another user’s privacy;
• Any illegal activity, unethical misrepresentation or any form of harassment;
• Use of library workstations for other than their intended purposes.
Illegal acts involving Library resources may be subject to prosecution by
local, state, or federal law enforcement authorities.
When Internet searching results in disruption of library service, or if patron
behavior when using Internet resources becomes inappropriate for a library
setting, the library reserves the right to end the session.
INTERNET ACCESS FOR MINORS
As with all Library materials, parents, legal guardians and caregivers, not
Newton Public Library, are responsible for their minor's use of the Internet.
The organization of the Internet makes it impossible for Library staff to
control content selected by minors or adults. Parents are expected to monitor
and supervise their minor's use of the Internet through the Library. Parents
and minors are encouraged to read CHILD SAFETY ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY
including the section MY
RULES FOR ON-LINE SAFETY, reprinted and distributed with permission
of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is available
on-line and in print form through the Library. Parents and legal guardians may
restrict their minor from access to the Internet resource available through the
Library (see Appendices: Internet Access For Minors Restriction Form, Internet
Access Procedure, Internet Disclaimer on Internet Workstation, Statement on
Internet Sign Up Sheet).
INTERNET CONTENTS
Library staff cannot control the availability of information links which often
change rapidly and unpredictably. Not all sources on the Internet provide
accurate, complete or current information. Users need to be good information
consumers, questioning the validity of the information. The Library's book,
periodical, CD-ROM databases, etc., provide resources that have been selected
in accordance with the Materials Selection Policy and consequently are often
more authoritative and credible than some Internet content.
OTHER INTERNET RESTRICTIONS
The Library does allow Library patrons and visitors access to email through
free web based email services for a maximum of 15 minutes per day on designated
email stations. Library patrons and visitors may access Library email stations
by presenting a Newton Public Library card or acceptable photo identification.
Visitors under the age of eighteen who are not registered borrowers may
register to use email stations only with a parent or legal guardian who has
presented acceptable photo identification.
The Library does not provide access to newsgroups/chat rooms. Users may not
download material onto the computer’s hard drive.
The Library reserves the right to terminate an Internet or computer session at
any time.
USER RESPONSIBILITIES
All users of the Internet are expected to use this Library resource in a
responsible and courteous manner, consistent with the purposes for which it is
provided, and to follow all Internet-related rules, regulations and procedures
established for its use including, but not limited to, those of the Library.
Responsible, courteous use of the Internet includes:
°
Use of Internet and email computer stations
is open to all registered Library patrons and visitors in good standing (see:
Illegal and Prohibited Acts, Denial Or Restriction Of Library Use). Users must
sign up at the Check Out Desk presenting a Newton Public Library card or
acceptable photo identification which will be held for the duration of the
Internet or email session. Parents and legal guardians may restrict minors from
access to Internet resources available through the Library (See Appendices:
Internet Access Restriction Form). Visitors under the age of eighteen who are
not registered borrowers may register to use email stations only with a parent
or legal guardian who has presented a Newton Public Library card or acceptable
photo identification.
°
Register for public use reference
computers at each computer station.
°
Register for public use CD computers at
Children’s Services Check Out Desk.
·
User may reserve computer time 24 hours
prior to use.
°
User may reserve up to a one hour block
of time in a 24 hour period.
°
User may use the computer in 15 minute
increments until time the computer was previously reserved if the computer is
available without making a reservation.
·
Parents and guardians of minor children
are responsible for their children’s use of Library computers. Parents and guardians are expected to monitor
and supervise their children’s access to the computer resources in the Library.
·
Users may not download materials onto
the computer’s hard drive. Users may
download material onto a diskette, when appropriate. The diskette must be purchased
from the Library. There will be a $1 charge for each diskette used. Due to chances of a virus, users may not
bring in their own diskettes.
·
Users may not use their personal
software on Library computers.
·
Library scheduled use of the equipment
takes precedence over individual use at all times.
STEPS FOR
HANDLING INAPPROPRIATE USE OF THE INTERNET
·
Whenever a staff member receives a
complaint or witnesses a user accessing Internet material that may be
inappropriate, the staff person should take the first step to correct the
situation. The staff member should inform the user that it appears they may be
viewing material that is considered inappropriate and ask them to review the
Library acceptable use policy. The staff member will inform the user that violating
the acceptable use policy will result in the loss of library privileges.
·
The staff member will note on the
patron’s card that the customer was observed or reported to be viewing
inappropriate material, that the acceptable use policy was reviewed and that
the patron was informed that violation of this policy will result in the loss
of library privileges.