Appropriate Behavior on Library Premises
It is the goal of the Colfax-Perry Township Public Library Board of Trustees to allow all patrons and visitors of the library to use its facilities to fullest advantage, for the purposes for which the library was established, during regularly scheduled hours.

Any patron not abiding by the rules and regulations of the C-PTPL may be asked to leave library premises. Further, any patron or visitor who violates the rules and regulations of the library may be denied the privilege of access to the library by the Library Board of Trustees, as recommended by the Library Director.

It is intended that patrons shall be engaged in normal activities associated with the use of a public library when inside the building and/or when on the outside premises of the library. Due regard will be given by all patrons or visitors using the facilities of the Library to the rights of other patrons or visitors engaged in normal activities in or on library premises.

Therefore, the Board of Trustees of Colfax-Perry Township Public Library reserves the right to cause to be ejected from library premises and to refuse further admission to any individuals, and/or groups, who violate the rules and regulations of the C-PTPL; infringe on the rights of any of the library staff or patrons and their proper use of library facilities; or, create disorder on the premises of the library in any situation so as to interfere with the functions which the Library was designed to fulfill, including, but not limited to any situation in which:

• The actions of a person/persons present an imminent danger to the well-being or safety of other persons on library premises
• A person is observed in an attempt to steal or maliciously destroy library property or the property of another library patron
• A person’s behavior is deemed inappropriate to the use of the library building for the purposes for which it is legally constituted
• A person willfully and purposely disturbs library staff or other library patrons, or whose behavior is any way disruptive to the legitimate use of library facilities by others

* No charge for printing student homework & related Internet reference pages, as approved by the Library Director and staff.

** The Library and/or staff are not responsible for any damage that may occur to materials while being laminated. Only flat, smooth paper may be laminated. (no glitter, decorations, etc.) The laminator machine will be operated only by authorized library staff. Staff will process laminated projects when convenient within normal library hours.

Calling a minimum of 30 minutes in advance to request laminating service will allow time for the machine to reach proper temperature and minimize wait time for the patron. Otherwise, materials may be left at the library and picked up at a later time.

Library staff reserves the right to refuse to perform laminating services, if they feel the material does not meet previously stated restrictions or might be damaged in the process

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Library Gifts & Donations
All book gifts must meet the criteria of the Library Selection Policy. Direct gifts/donations of books and other printed materials will be accepted only with the understanding that ownership transfers immediately and unconditionally giving the Director full authority regarding use or disposal. Gifts will not be accepted with restrictions to location or use. Materials must be clean and in good condition. Memorial gift books will be marked with appropriate library gift plate placed on the book end plate, as designated by the giver. A card will be sent by the library to persons specified by the donor.

Gifts to the Local History Museum will be considered on an individual basis by the Library Director and the Library Board of Trustees. Gifts and donated items will be accepted only with the understanding that ownership transfers immediately and unconditionally to the LHM of the Library. Items loaned for display in the Local History Museum will be marked as such, and remain the sole responsibility of the owner of the property.

Monetary gifts or donations shall be categorized as Unrestricted (not for specified program benefit) or Restricted (donor may specify benefit for a program or service) and proposed expenditures must be pre-approved by the Library Board of Trustees.

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Content & Book Selection
Colfax-Perry Township Public Library serves the Clinton Prairie K-12 Schools and citizens of Perry Township and the town of Colfax. The library strives to provide the best library materials, print, non-print, and electronic available within our means. Interlibrary Loan via INCOLSA augments our collection and offers patrons services equal to larger libraries.

The library’s goal is to develop a collection which reflects the present as well as future needs and interests of our patrons. The Library Trustees and Staff are united in the belief that a library should offer “something for everyone” through its collections, technical services, and programs.

Purpose for Policy and General Selection Statement
The Purpose of a Selection Policy is to define what materials should be collected to support the mission of our library and to guide the staff in selecting materials for the collection, protecting their choices and rights to make those choices. The Selection Policy for Colfax-Perry Township Public Library will be guided by the principles of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement. The collection should represent all disciplines and all points of view, as much as possible.

Criteria for Selection
Criteria for Selection will primarily be influenced by the quality of presentation, the needs of the community, funds available, and the needs of the collection. Special criteria for non-fiction works are quality of style, objectivity, and accuracy.

Procedures for Selection
Library materials will be made from current review sources, standard lists, requests by patrons, and recommendations by Library Staff. Materials receiving unfavorable reviews by the review media may, but need not, be selected if there is significant patron demand, when the material is of particular local interest, or if the material fills a special unmet need in the collection. It is the function of the Library Director to make all final selection decisions and to advise their use.

Weeding
Weeding (books & materials) is a continuous process and is considered sound collection development programming. The following guidelines describe a minimum schedule for weeding various library materials:

• Damaged materials and duplicates will be withdrawn as necessary.
• Periodicals (magazines) will be weeded once each year.
• Reference materials will be weeded periodically and at least every two (2) years.
• All other materials will be reviewed for weeding at least every two (2) years.

Withdrawn materials may be sold as surplus public property in Friends of the Library book sales or otherwise discarded as determined by the Director and Library Board of Trustees.

Challenged Materials
Challenged Materials include library materials censored by volunteer arbiters of morality or political opinion or by organizations that would establish a coercive concept of Americanism and must be ‘challenged’ by the library in carrying out its responsibility to provide for the intellectual, informational, and recreational needs of the entire community.

Library Trustees will be briefly and routinely alerted to potentially controversial new materials and advised of the Director’s justification for including them in the collection.

If a complaint concerning a specific item in the Library’s collection is made, the person or organization making the complaint will be given a copy of the Library’s Selection Policy, and will be asked to fill out a written complaint form. The citizen’s request for Reconsideration of Library Material will then be examined by the Director. The Director will review the material in question and author a written justification for its continued inclusion in the collection or withdraw the material if no justification is found. The Director will meet with the complaining party after having reviewed both the material in question and the complaint form. At that meeting, the Director will explain the library’s selection policy and his/her justification for inclusion of the questioned material. The complainant will be given the opportunity to further explain their reasons for requesting the material be reconsidered. If the meeting fails to satisfactorily resolve the complaint, the request will be forwarded to the Library Board of Trustees for review at the next regular scheduled meeting. If any material is withdrawn from the collection by the Director due to a formal complaint, the Board of Trustees will be informed.

Video/DVD Selection
The Library will maintain a selection of quality educational and entertainment films for adults/families and children. Film ratings acceptable for selection are “G”, “PG”, “PG-13”, & "R" (age-restricted}. There will be no “X”-rated videos/DVD’s purchased for the library collection. The Library reserves the right to change this policy at any time.

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Patron Records
By Indiana law and Library Board Policy, all records relating to library patrons and their use of library materials and services are strictly confidential. Library staff members are not authorized to disclose such records to any third party. Under Indiana law, minors are accorded the same confidentiality rights as adults.

The Library takes seriously its obligation to protect the privacy of every patron as required by law. This commitment to patrons may appear to cause inconvenience on occasion. However, we consider this a small price to pay for the assurance that an individual’s reading preferences and use of the library will remain exclusively his or her private business.

Inquiries by Law Enforcement Agencies – Colfax-Perry Township Public Library specifically recognizes that its circulation records and other records identifying names of library users with specific materials are confidential in nature. No such records shall be made available to any agency of state, federal, or local government, or to any individual not specifically authorized by the Director, except pursuant to such process, court 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 investigatory power.

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Internet Access
Colfax-Perry Township Public Library has the responsibility to establish and enforce rules and regulations concerning use of Internet accessible computers. These rules and regulations include but are not limited to the following:

• Youth under the age of 18 are required to have a parental/guardian permission form signed and on file in the Library to access the Internet. While the Library will make every effort to assure Library rules are not broken, parents are encouraged to work closely with their children in selecting material that is consistent with personal and family values and boundaries.
• Users must sign name, date, and time in/out in the Computer Log before using computers. The penalty for failing to sign the Computer Log will be loss of computer use privileges for a minimum of one (1) week, as determined by Library staff. Computer Log sheets will be filed each week and retained for a period of six (6) months.
• Users are limited to a total of two (2) hours computer use per day.
• Pre-scheduled Internet use takes precedence over walk-in users.
• Internet use is limited to 60 minutes, when other users are waiting.
• Library staff may, at any time, monitor the use of the computer.
• A maximum of two (2) users may be seated at one computer station.
• There is no charge for using a computer.
• Printing cost per page for color = $ 1.00; black print per page = $ .25.
• Patrons making use of the Library’s “hotspots,” wireless Internet access must provide their own laptop/notebook computer, wireless network cards, and wireless devices. Technical assistance from the Library staff is not available. Users of the wireless network are subject to the terms of the Library’s Internet Policy and Guidelines. The Library cannot guarantee privacy of use or security of data and connections. The Library is not responsible for any changes made to the patron’s computer settings. It is not possible to print directly from a wireless computer. The patron should save data to an external storage device (i.e. CD, memory stick), log onto a Public PC, and send the print job to the printer.

The Internet and its available resources contain a wide variety of material and opinions from varied points of view. Many sites contain valuable and timely information; however, other sites may contain material that is inaccurate, defamatory, illegal, or offensive to some people. The use of the Internet is a privilege and access is voluntary.

The Federal Children’s Internet protection Act (CIPA) requires filtering of all computers in the library to protect against visual depictions of obscenity, child pornography, and materials harmful to minors. While the Colfax-Perry Township Public Library attempts--through filtering at the server level--to prevent direct access to materials that would not be generally acceptable in a public library, it is technically impossible to prevent access to 100% of objectionable resources. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of parents and guardians to monitor and guide their own children in the use of the Internet.

While using computers and Internet services provided by Colfax-Perry Township Public Library, persons of all ages shall:

• Not access, transmit, upload, download or distribute material in language that is pornographic, abusive, sexually explicit, obscene, harmful to minors, or otherwise inappropriate for a public Library environment;
• Not engage in any illegal activities on the Internet;
• Not vandalize, damage, or disable property of another individual or organization;
• Not engage in hacking or attempts to otherwise compromise any computer or network system;
• Use electronic mail and other forms of non-chat electronic communications only for purposes appropriate in a public library setting, and;
• Not use chat or instant messenger sites if under 18 years of age and must show I.D. to Librarian on duty.
• Minors (any person under 18 years of age) shall not disclose personal identification information on the Internet.

Inappropriate use of Library-provided computers and Internet services, as determined by Library staff, will result in the loss of computer use and access to Internet services, expulsion from the Library, or other disciplinary action.

Colfax-Perry Township Public Library makes no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied regarding Internet access provided. The Library is not responsible for accuracy, nature, or quality of information gathered through library-provided Internet access.

In consideration for the privilege of using the Internet, users hereby release and hold harmless Colfax-Perry Township Public Library Director, Staff, Board of Trustees, and any institutions or organizations with which they are affiliated from any and all claims of any nature arising from it’s use or inability to use Internet computers.

The Library reserves the right to amend this policy at any time without notice to patrons.

Monitoring and Filtering
All Internet access at Colfax-Perry Township Public Library passes through a single proxy/firewall server located in a secure location. There is no direct connection to the Internet. Library Internet use is managed and tracked by security software.

Monitoring
Web page requests are recorded in a daily history file on the proxy server. It is possible to review activity within the previous 24 hours and see each web page or graphic element loaded in the Library system, along with information identifying each computer and time of access. This data can be cross-referenced with our Internet sign-in Log to identify individual users.

Filtering
Filtering software is configured to deny access to any web page or graphical element containing key words considered inappropriate in the URL (filename). In addition, all access to commonly-accessed (often accidental) pornography websites is prevented. It is not possible for patrons or staff using Library computers to bypass the firewall or circumvent these filters without direct access to the proxy server itself.

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Public use of Library Facilities
Elevator Policy
There will be no restrictions on the use of the elevator unless library staff observes it is being used as a source of entertainment. As a result, patrons and visitors may be restricted to use of the stairway only. The elevator must be available for use by patrons and visitors unable to climb stairs.

Americans with Disabilities Act
It is the policy of Colfax-Perry Township Public Library to comply with all the relevant and applicable provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Public Meetings
Colfax-Perry Township Public Library offers meeting space to civic, community, or educational organizations (whose purpose is non-commercial, non-partisan, and non-profit) in the Library as a community service, at no charge. No admission fee may be charged for any meeting, except fees to cover actual costs of materials or supplies used during the meeting or workshop. Reservations may be made in person or by phone and are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Meetings may be scheduled during regular Library hours, respecting other library patrons’ expectations for a quiet environment. Meetings scheduled before or after regular library hours must be supervised by library staff. Because no separate room is available for public meetings, special consideration must be exercised by the Library and by the organization. The Library assumes no responsibility for personal belongings of persons attending the meetings or for injuries incurred during non-library meetings.

Final approval regarding public meetings is made by the Library Board of Trustees.

Driveway and Parking
There is one designated handicapped parking space for use by vehicles that have a disability license plate or display a handicap permit.

The Library driveway is to be used for dropping off books in the book return or dropping off patrons at the door, and the vehicle should immediately vacate the driveway. Delivery vehicles are authorized to park only for the time of pick up and/or deliveries.

Safety
The safety and well-being of employees and patrons is a priority. Colfax-Perry Township Public Library makes every effort to comply with all federal and state workplace safety requirements. Each employee and visitor is expected to obey safety rules and exercise caution and common sense in all work activities.

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Grant Writing
Grants, general and/or specific, may be applied for by library staff, Trustees, Friends of the Library, or designated partner organizations with approval of the Board of Trustees.

All grant revenue awarded to the Library must be reported to the Board of Trustees in the format of a proposal, prior to expenditure of funds.

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