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Revised 9/21/00 [based on 12/18/96 and 11/26/91]
I. General Library Objectives
A. Assemble, preserve and administer, in organized collections, educational
and recreational material in order to promote, through guidance and
stimulation, the communication of ideas, an enlightened citizenship
and enriched personal lives.
B. Serve the community as a center of reliable information.
C. Provide a place where inquiring minds may encounter the original,
sometimes unorthodox and critical ideas so necessary in a society that
depends for its survival on free competition in ideas.
D. Provide the opportunity and encouragement to all age groups for
continuous self-education.
E. Seek continually to identify community needs, provide programs of
service to meet such needs, and cooperate with other organizations and
institutions in this endeavor.
F. Provide opportunity for recreation through the use of literature,
music, films.
G. Strive to attain and surpass minimum standards for public library
service set by the Maine Library Association and the American Library
Association.
II. Who May Use the Library
A. Subject to such reasonable rules as the Board may prescribe, any
person resident in Brunswick or Harpswell may take materials from the
Library free of charge. Persons residing outside of Brunswick or Harpswell
who are Brunswick or Harpswell Property owners and students and faculty
of Brunswick schools shall be considered residents. Other persons may
be allowed the same privilege of taking materials from the Library upon
the payment of such a sum as the Board may fix
B. Any person may use books and other materials in the Library during
such hours and under such regulations as the Board may prescribe.
C. The use of the Library or its services may be denied for just cause.
Such cause may include the failure to return books or pay penalties,
destruction of library property, disturbance of other patrons, interference
with staff members in the conduct of their duties, or any objectionable
conduct on Library premises.
III. Services of the Library
A. The Library has concurrent responsibilities to provide materials
and services to the individual citizen, to community organizations,
to governmental and social agencies, and to business and industry. Its
resource and services must be available to the entire population, regardless
of age, sex or physical condition; regardless of economic, ethnic, religious
or political status.
B. The Library will provide information and materials to help people
increase their competence to form sound judgements on public problems.
C. The Library staff will provide guidance and assistance to people
so that they may obtain the materials or information they are seeking.
Whenever possible, guidance is given to children by the Youth Services
Librarian, but responsibility for a child's reading must rest with the
parent or guardian. Children's needs are generally met by the juvenile
collection, but children are not limited to that collection. Occasionally
the information they are seeking is available only in the adult collection.
D. The Library will initiate programs, exhibits, book lists, etc.,
to stimulate the use of its resources.
E. The processing and shelving of materials shall in no way reflect
a value judgement of these materials. There will be no labeling of any
item or of its catalog entries to indicate its point of view or bias.
All materials will be housed in their proper places on open shelves
(except for rare and fragile materials that may be on closed shelves
or in the Archives Room). Individual or group prejudice about a particular
item may not preclude its use by others.
F. The Library will cooperate with the schools and other community
agencies to determine and meet the educational needs of the community,
and will aid such agencies in planning programs.
G. The Library will cooperate with, but cannot perform the functions
of, school or other institutional libraries that are designed to meet
curricular needs. At the same time, the Library will seek to encourage
in school children a lifetime habit of using the public library. This
can be achieved with a lively and attractive collection, and by maintaining
close contact with the schools and school libraries.
H. The Library accepts a responsibility for securing information beyond
its own resources by:
- Collecting information about, and listing for referral, resources
of agencies, institutions, organizations and individuals in and beyond
the community.
- Attempting to borrow, within the limits of the interlibrary loan
system, materials which are not owned by the Library and which cannot
be purchased, or materials for which the demand does not justify purchase.
It is not the responsibility of the Library to pay any fee imposed
by the lending institution.
- The Library will take full advantage of the most current technology
available to search on-line remote data banks for patron benefit.
The use of those technologies will depend upon fiscal capabilities
of the Library and procedures developed by the Director of the Library.
I. The Library recognizes that no single collection can meet all demands
in the community. Libraries in different political subdivisions and
different institutions, working together, sharing resources, can more
nearly meet the demands of their users. Therefore, the Library will
lend to other libraries materials for their patrons, keeping in mind
that the patrons of this Library have priority in the use of materials.
J. Library service will be provided during hours which best meet the
needs of the community.
K. Periodic review will be made of Library services to determine whether
the needs of the community indicate that present services should be
discontinued or other services added.
IV. Material Selection Policy (see Material
Selection Policy)
V. Method of Material Selection (see Material
Selection Policy)
VI. Withdrawal of Materials (see Material
Selection Policy)
VII. Gifts (see Material Selection
Policy)
VIII. Requests for Withdrawal of Objectionable Material (see Material
Selection Policy)
IX. Privacy of Records
All records, formal and informal, relating to patron registration and
the subsequent circulation by patrons of materials provided by the Library
are considered to be confidential in nature as stipulated by Maine State
law (MSR Title 27 Chapter 4A sec. 121). In order to prevent an unreasonable
invasion of personal privacy, the contents of registration and circulation
refords shall not be made available to anyone except under the written
order of the Director, such order having been issued pursuant to a proper
legal process, order, or subpoena under the law. Upon receipt of any process,
order, or subpoena, the person named and/or served shall immediately report
to and consult with the Director, the President of the Library Association
and its legal counsel to determine if such process, order, or subpoena
is proper and in full compliance with proper legal authority. In the event
the legal process fails to sufficiently identify or name in specific terms
or specifications the records on file in respect to an identified Library
patron, the request is considered to be defective and not binding upon
the Library and its personnel, except under further due process of law.
Any problems or conditions relating to the privacy of a patron through
the records of the Library which are not provided in the policy statement
shall be referred to the Director, who, after study and consultation with
the Library Board and/or legal counsel, shall issue a written decision
as to whether to heed the request for information.
X. Community Relations
A. Public relations involve every person who has any connection with
the Library. Friends of the Library, Board and staff members represent
the Library in every public contact.
B. The public should be encouraged to use the Library and be informed
of the Library's objectives and services through the press and other
media.
C. The Board and Friends of the Library shall strive for citizen support
for Library development, and the understanding of the Library's objectives
and services by town officials.
XI. Staff Development
The Library encourages staff membership and participation in professional
and civic organizations, attendance at conferences and workshops, and
constant development of inter-agency relationships. The staff may be expected
to speak to community groups to explain the Library's services and to
encourage the Library's use.
XII. Physical Facilities
A. To achieve the goal of good library services, the Board accepts
the responsibility to see that public library building facilities are
provided which will adequately meet the physical requirements of good
library service. Such building facilities are best planned by a team
consisting of Board, the Director, and an architect, with the assistance
of consultants when necessary.
B. The Library makes its public meeting room available to groups in
the community on an equitable basis. Library uses including programs
and those sponsored by the Fiends of the Library, as well as staff needs,
will be given priority when considering the reservation of space. (See
Meeting Room Policy P-2-B and Meeting Room Reservation Procedure A-2.)
C. Granting of permission to use Library facilities does not constitute
an endorsement by the Library.
D. The Library will not provide personnel to assist handling of exhibits
or other materials used by groups using meeting rooms. (See Exhibits
Procedure A-12)
E. The Library will periodically review its policies and fee schedule
for use of the meeting room. The policies are set forth in the Meeting
Room Policy P-2-B.
XIII. Meeting Room Reservations (see Meeting
Room Reservation Policy)
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