Pilot Rock Public Library
Policies
Purpose and Objectives of the Public Library
The mission of the Pilot Rock Public is to provide library resources and services necessary to meet the educational, recreational, and informational needs of the public. The library attempts to serve the needs of all district residents regardless of age, race, creed, national origin and political and social views. The library supports the American Library Associations “Freedom to Read Statement”, and the Library Bill of Rights. (See Appendix A)
Library Hours
Monday 11-6
Tuesday 11-6
Wednesday 11-6
Thursday 11-6
Friday 10-5
The Library is closed on holidays which the city follows.
Library Code of Conduct
The Pilot Rock Public Library welcomes every member of the community to use and enjoy the library’s facilities and services. To protect each individual’s access to information and library services, the following rules have been established.
Collection Development Policy
Authority for collection development
The authority and responsibility for the selection of library materials is delegated to the Library Director who is qualified for this activity by reason of education, training, and experience. The director carries out this duty with the help of other library staff.
Materials are chosen for inclusion in the Pilot Rock Public Library collection from citations in standard library selection tools, the book reviewing media, publishers and distributors catalogs. Bestseller lists are consulted, but inclusion on such a list does not automatically qualify an item for inclusion in the library collection. Patron requests and suggestions are considered seriously, and requested materials are selected if they appear to meet the library’s selection criteria. Most materials are purchased new from vendors, dealers or bookstores.
Criteria for selection
The following guidelines apply to the selection of all materials for the collection regardless of the format. Materials selected must be deemed to be of interest to members of the community. They must contribute to the fulfillment of the library’s mission. Their informational content should be judged to be accurate and timely. Library materials should be recognized as containing literary or artistic merit. They should be in a physical format that will stand up well in normal use in the library and circulation to patron’s homes.
Fiction
In selecting works of fiction first priority will be given to current works by popular authors. Works from a wide variety of genres will be selected. Some works from well-reviewed new authors will be included. Works representing a wide spectrum of experiences will be selected with emphasis on materials that reflect the lives and concerns of people and the community. Recognized literary classics will be included in the collection, but lesser known works by important authors that are not in high demand may not appear in the collection. The library will try to complete popular series whenever feasible, but will not attempt to collect every book by any given author. Usually the library will collect only one copy of each title except where large demand seems to justify another copy.
Nonfiction
Accuracy and currency are important criteria in considering nonfiction materials. However, the accuracy of opinions expressed in nonfiction works may be open to dispute. While it is impossible for any library to reflect every possible shade of opinion on a given issue, the library will try to collect materials that express a wide variety of points of view. Preference will be given to subjects that are likely to interest library patrons in this community. It is beyond the scope of the small public library of this community to collect highly scholarly works or archival materials not directly related to local history or genealogy. These items are more suitable for academic or research libraries. Materials that are published as textbooks are not added to the library’s collection.
Children’s and Young Adult Materials
The library will make a special effort to provide a collection of high quality, attractive library materials for its younger patrons. While popularity is an important factor in the selection of children’s and young adult materials, greater attention will be paid to collecting educationally important materials and those that have received favorable reviews. While a public library cannot take the place of a well stocked school library with a collection specifically designed to support the school curriculum, the library will attempt in cooperation with local school libraries to stock materials that support and supplement the school library offerings.
It is the responsibility of parents or guardians to supervise their own children’s reading. What one family finds to be important information for its children may be deemed inappropriate by another family. The library cannot enforce each family’s own standards of what is appropriate for each child, nor can it collect only materials that will be considered appropriate by everyone in the community.
Donated Materials
Gifts, either new or used, accepted into the collection must meet the same criteria as purchased materials. Physical condition and currency are important factors in accepting gift materials. Materials not accepted into the library’s collection, but thought to have some monetary value will be used in a book sale.
The library will use gift materials as needed and in accordance with normal practice. It may use part of a donation, but not all, or part of a set but not all. Sets and private collections will not necessarily be shelved together. Donors may not set circulation policies different from the library’s normal policies. The library will deselect donated materials by the same criteria as other parts of the collection.
Each donor will be informed of this policy and may choose to take back materials not accepted into the collection. The library cannot issue receipts that estimate the monetary value of donated used materials.
Memorial Gifts
Like other gifts, materials donated to honor any person living or dead will be accepted subject to the same selection criteria that purchased materials meet. The library director will work with the donors to select items that meet the library’s needs, serve as a fitting memorial to the person being honored and fit the donor’s monetary guidelines. The library will place a bookplate inside the front cover mentioning the honoree, the occasion, and the donor as appropriate. The library will acknowledge each memorial gift with a letter to the donor and or honoree as appropriate.
Deselection of Library Materials
As library collections age they deteriorate physically, become outdated, or lose their popularity. Very few libraries can continue to grow physically to accommodate every item ever acquired. From time to time library staff must remove materials from the collection. Factors to be considered in deselecting materials include: the declining accuracy and currency of the information, the presence in the collection of newer, more authoritative materials on the same topic, the declining popularity of an item as reflected by the library’s circulation records, the deteriorating physical condition of the item, the attractiveness of illustrations and cover art. As parts of a working library, memorials and other gifts must be subject to the same deselect ion process as other materials except that memorial gifts in good physical condition will not be removed from the collection for at least ten years from their acquisition. Materials removed from the library collection may be donated or used in book sales.
Citizen Objections to Library Materials Selections
In even the most careful selection process materials are occasionally placed in a library that did not meet that institution’s selection policies. When residents of the community discover items that they feel for some reason do not belong in the library collection, they are encouraged to take the matter up with a library staff member. Since such situations are often emotional, the staff member will ask the objecting citizen to fill out and sign a copy of the library’s “Material Complaint Form”. This form will be given to the Library Director, who will make an appointment to discuss the complaint with the citizen. The citizen and the Director may be able to agree on what should be done with the item in question. If they cannot, the citizen may appeal the Director’s decision to a public meeting of the Pilot Rock Library Board. As representatives of the people of the city, the board members have the authority to make a final decision on the matter.
Circulation and Interlibrary Loans
The Pilot Rock Public Library makes a variety of materials available to all persons on an equal basis. In order to provide for the efficient and equal circulation of materials and the loaning of materials to other libraries, the Pilot Rock Public Library follows the Umatilla County Special Library District – Countywide Standardized Loan Rules that were adopted June 11, 2007.
Internet Use Policy
The Pilot Rock Public Library is providing access to the Internet as a means to enhance the information and learning opportunities for the citizens of the community. The use of the computers is a privilege, not a right. The privilege requires users to follow the Internet Code of Conduct which has been established by the library, and to also be a library patron in good standing. (See Appendix D)
To be library patron in good standing means that all library materials are to be returned on time and the patron shall have no outstanding overdue fines. If library materials are overdue, lost, or damaged these items must be paid for before the use of a computer is granted.
Personnel and Financial Matters
Library staff will follow the guidelines that have been set up by the City of Pilot Rock in the City Employee Handbook.
Public Relations
In recognition of the Pilot Rock Public Library’s responsibility to maintain continuing communication with present and potential users of the library’s services and resources, the following objectives have been established.
--promote community awareness of library service
--stimulate public interest in and usage of the Pilot Rock Public Library
The following means may be used to accomplish the objectives:
Emergency Closing
Emergencies or catastrophes, including, but not limited to, extreme weather, utility failure, demonstration, bomb threat, fire, explosion, or terrorism may require closing the library.
The primary consideration in any emergency or catastrophe is the safety of all persons in the building. The library cooperates fully with policy that has been set in place by the city of
Pilot Rock.
PATRON CONFIDENTIALITY Pilot Rock Public Library takes steps to protect the privacy and confidentiality of all library patrons, no matter their age. Our commitment to patron privacy and confidentiality has deep roots not only in the law but also in the ethics and practices of librarianship. In accordance with the American Library Association's Code of Ethics: "We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired, or transmitted." Pilot Rock Public Library's privacy and confidentiality policies are in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. State law protects patron library records from disclosure if a member of the public or the media requests them. Library records include circulation records, patron names together with addresses or telephone numbers, and email addresses. Library records may be subject to disclosure to law enforcement officials under provisions of state law, the USA PATRIOT Act or in a civil lawsuit. Librarians may be forbidden from reporting to patrons that records have been requested or obtained under provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. Privacy and confidentiality policy .We post publicly the library's privacy and information-gathering policies. We avoid creating unnecessary records, we avoid retaining records not needed for library business purposes, and we do not engage in practices that might place personally identifiable information on public view without patron consent. Information the library may gather and retain about library patrons includes the following:·Information required to register for a library card (e.g. name, address, telephone number, email address,birth date)·Records of material checked out, charges owed, payments made Requests for interlibrary loan or reference service· Sign-up information for library classes,programs· Information about topics searched for (does not contain any personally identifiable information)The library will not collect or retain private and personally identifiable information without patron consent. Individuals may choose to submit their names, email addresses, postal addresses or telephone numbers in order to receive library services, such as registering for library cards, ordering materials, receiving personal responses to questions or being added to specific mailing lists. If patrons consent to give us personally identifiable information, we will keep it confidential and will not sell, license or disclose it to any third party, except those working under contract to the library, or except as required by law. We never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing patrons an opportunity to prohibit such unrelated uses, unless we are required by law to do so.
Policies
Purpose and Objectives of the Public Library
The mission of the Pilot Rock Public is to provide library resources and services necessary to meet the educational, recreational, and informational needs of the public. The library attempts to serve the needs of all district residents regardless of age, race, creed, national origin and political and social views. The library supports the American Library Associations “Freedom to Read Statement”, and the Library Bill of Rights. (See Appendix A)
Library Hours
Monday 11-6
Tuesday 11-6
Wednesday 11-6
Thursday 11-6
Friday 10-5
The Library is closed on holidays which the city follows.
Library Code of Conduct
The Pilot Rock Public Library welcomes every member of the community to use and enjoy the library’s facilities and services. To protect each individual’s access to information and library services, the following rules have been established.
- Library users must treat others and staff with respect.
- Library users must refrain from disruptive or unsafe behavior, loud abusive language, improper conduct, and the misuse of library facilities and library resources, i.e. materials and equipment.
- Library users must comply with all city, county, state, and federal laws. Unlawful behavior will be handled by the appropriate law enforcement authority.
- Library users must abide by the Pilot Rock Public Library’s Code of Conduct Policy.
- Weapons of any type are not allowed in the library.
- Bicycles must remain outside of the building. Skateboards or skates must be held inside the building so as not to create a safety hazard for others.
- Pets are not allowed in the Library, except animals assisting the handicapped.
- Shoes, shirts, and appropriate attire must be worn in the library.
- Food and open containers of drink may not be brought into the library.
- No smoking is allowed in the library.
- All postings or distributing of materials, notices, or announcements must be approved by library staff.
- Children aged 5 and under must be accompanied by an adult when using the library.
- Adults must control all children accompanying them, not only for their safety, but to show respect for others.
Collection Development Policy
Authority for collection development
The authority and responsibility for the selection of library materials is delegated to the Library Director who is qualified for this activity by reason of education, training, and experience. The director carries out this duty with the help of other library staff.
Materials are chosen for inclusion in the Pilot Rock Public Library collection from citations in standard library selection tools, the book reviewing media, publishers and distributors catalogs. Bestseller lists are consulted, but inclusion on such a list does not automatically qualify an item for inclusion in the library collection. Patron requests and suggestions are considered seriously, and requested materials are selected if they appear to meet the library’s selection criteria. Most materials are purchased new from vendors, dealers or bookstores.
Criteria for selection
The following guidelines apply to the selection of all materials for the collection regardless of the format. Materials selected must be deemed to be of interest to members of the community. They must contribute to the fulfillment of the library’s mission. Their informational content should be judged to be accurate and timely. Library materials should be recognized as containing literary or artistic merit. They should be in a physical format that will stand up well in normal use in the library and circulation to patron’s homes.
Fiction
In selecting works of fiction first priority will be given to current works by popular authors. Works from a wide variety of genres will be selected. Some works from well-reviewed new authors will be included. Works representing a wide spectrum of experiences will be selected with emphasis on materials that reflect the lives and concerns of people and the community. Recognized literary classics will be included in the collection, but lesser known works by important authors that are not in high demand may not appear in the collection. The library will try to complete popular series whenever feasible, but will not attempt to collect every book by any given author. Usually the library will collect only one copy of each title except where large demand seems to justify another copy.
Nonfiction
Accuracy and currency are important criteria in considering nonfiction materials. However, the accuracy of opinions expressed in nonfiction works may be open to dispute. While it is impossible for any library to reflect every possible shade of opinion on a given issue, the library will try to collect materials that express a wide variety of points of view. Preference will be given to subjects that are likely to interest library patrons in this community. It is beyond the scope of the small public library of this community to collect highly scholarly works or archival materials not directly related to local history or genealogy. These items are more suitable for academic or research libraries. Materials that are published as textbooks are not added to the library’s collection.
Children’s and Young Adult Materials
The library will make a special effort to provide a collection of high quality, attractive library materials for its younger patrons. While popularity is an important factor in the selection of children’s and young adult materials, greater attention will be paid to collecting educationally important materials and those that have received favorable reviews. While a public library cannot take the place of a well stocked school library with a collection specifically designed to support the school curriculum, the library will attempt in cooperation with local school libraries to stock materials that support and supplement the school library offerings.
It is the responsibility of parents or guardians to supervise their own children’s reading. What one family finds to be important information for its children may be deemed inappropriate by another family. The library cannot enforce each family’s own standards of what is appropriate for each child, nor can it collect only materials that will be considered appropriate by everyone in the community.
Donated Materials
Gifts, either new or used, accepted into the collection must meet the same criteria as purchased materials. Physical condition and currency are important factors in accepting gift materials. Materials not accepted into the library’s collection, but thought to have some monetary value will be used in a book sale.
The library will use gift materials as needed and in accordance with normal practice. It may use part of a donation, but not all, or part of a set but not all. Sets and private collections will not necessarily be shelved together. Donors may not set circulation policies different from the library’s normal policies. The library will deselect donated materials by the same criteria as other parts of the collection.
Each donor will be informed of this policy and may choose to take back materials not accepted into the collection. The library cannot issue receipts that estimate the monetary value of donated used materials.
Memorial Gifts
Like other gifts, materials donated to honor any person living or dead will be accepted subject to the same selection criteria that purchased materials meet. The library director will work with the donors to select items that meet the library’s needs, serve as a fitting memorial to the person being honored and fit the donor’s monetary guidelines. The library will place a bookplate inside the front cover mentioning the honoree, the occasion, and the donor as appropriate. The library will acknowledge each memorial gift with a letter to the donor and or honoree as appropriate.
Deselection of Library Materials
As library collections age they deteriorate physically, become outdated, or lose their popularity. Very few libraries can continue to grow physically to accommodate every item ever acquired. From time to time library staff must remove materials from the collection. Factors to be considered in deselecting materials include: the declining accuracy and currency of the information, the presence in the collection of newer, more authoritative materials on the same topic, the declining popularity of an item as reflected by the library’s circulation records, the deteriorating physical condition of the item, the attractiveness of illustrations and cover art. As parts of a working library, memorials and other gifts must be subject to the same deselect ion process as other materials except that memorial gifts in good physical condition will not be removed from the collection for at least ten years from their acquisition. Materials removed from the library collection may be donated or used in book sales.
Citizen Objections to Library Materials Selections
In even the most careful selection process materials are occasionally placed in a library that did not meet that institution’s selection policies. When residents of the community discover items that they feel for some reason do not belong in the library collection, they are encouraged to take the matter up with a library staff member. Since such situations are often emotional, the staff member will ask the objecting citizen to fill out and sign a copy of the library’s “Material Complaint Form”. This form will be given to the Library Director, who will make an appointment to discuss the complaint with the citizen. The citizen and the Director may be able to agree on what should be done with the item in question. If they cannot, the citizen may appeal the Director’s decision to a public meeting of the Pilot Rock Library Board. As representatives of the people of the city, the board members have the authority to make a final decision on the matter.
Circulation and Interlibrary Loans
The Pilot Rock Public Library makes a variety of materials available to all persons on an equal basis. In order to provide for the efficient and equal circulation of materials and the loaning of materials to other libraries, the Pilot Rock Public Library follows the Umatilla County Special Library District – Countywide Standardized Loan Rules that were adopted June 11, 2007.
Internet Use Policy
The Pilot Rock Public Library is providing access to the Internet as a means to enhance the information and learning opportunities for the citizens of the community. The use of the computers is a privilege, not a right. The privilege requires users to follow the Internet Code of Conduct which has been established by the library, and to also be a library patron in good standing. (See Appendix D)
To be library patron in good standing means that all library materials are to be returned on time and the patron shall have no outstanding overdue fines. If library materials are overdue, lost, or damaged these items must be paid for before the use of a computer is granted.
Personnel and Financial Matters
Library staff will follow the guidelines that have been set up by the City of Pilot Rock in the City Employee Handbook.
Public Relations
In recognition of the Pilot Rock Public Library’s responsibility to maintain continuing communication with present and potential users of the library’s services and resources, the following objectives have been established.
--promote community awareness of library service
--stimulate public interest in and usage of the Pilot Rock Public Library
The following means may be used to accomplish the objectives:
- Continuing education opportunities shall be made available to library staff members to assure courteous, efficient, and friendly contact with library patrons.
- Personal and informational group contacts shall be maintained with local service clubs, and community organizations by library staff.
- Local media shall be utilized to keep the public aware of and informed about library resources and services.
- The library may sponsor programs, classes, and other library-centered activities and shall cooperate with other groups in organizing these to fulfill the community’s needs for educational, cultural, informational, or recreational opportunities.
Emergency Closing
Emergencies or catastrophes, including, but not limited to, extreme weather, utility failure, demonstration, bomb threat, fire, explosion, or terrorism may require closing the library.
The primary consideration in any emergency or catastrophe is the safety of all persons in the building. The library cooperates fully with policy that has been set in place by the city of
Pilot Rock.
PATRON CONFIDENTIALITY Pilot Rock Public Library takes steps to protect the privacy and confidentiality of all library patrons, no matter their age. Our commitment to patron privacy and confidentiality has deep roots not only in the law but also in the ethics and practices of librarianship. In accordance with the American Library Association's Code of Ethics: "We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired, or transmitted." Pilot Rock Public Library's privacy and confidentiality policies are in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. State law protects patron library records from disclosure if a member of the public or the media requests them. Library records include circulation records, patron names together with addresses or telephone numbers, and email addresses. Library records may be subject to disclosure to law enforcement officials under provisions of state law, the USA PATRIOT Act or in a civil lawsuit. Librarians may be forbidden from reporting to patrons that records have been requested or obtained under provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. Privacy and confidentiality policy .We post publicly the library's privacy and information-gathering policies. We avoid creating unnecessary records, we avoid retaining records not needed for library business purposes, and we do not engage in practices that might place personally identifiable information on public view without patron consent. Information the library may gather and retain about library patrons includes the following:·Information required to register for a library card (e.g. name, address, telephone number, email address,birth date)·Records of material checked out, charges owed, payments made Requests for interlibrary loan or reference service· Sign-up information for library classes,programs· Information about topics searched for (does not contain any personally identifiable information)The library will not collect or retain private and personally identifiable information without patron consent. Individuals may choose to submit their names, email addresses, postal addresses or telephone numbers in order to receive library services, such as registering for library cards, ordering materials, receiving personal responses to questions or being added to specific mailing lists. If patrons consent to give us personally identifiable information, we will keep it confidential and will not sell, license or disclose it to any third party, except those working under contract to the library, or except as required by law. We never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing patrons an opportunity to prohibit such unrelated uses, unless we are required by law to do so.