Library Policies Continued . . .

    Identification Needed When Applying For a Library Card 

1.     The purpose for requesting identification or name and number in the phone book is to establish residence in Concordia Parish, and to have on file the correct mailing address and residence address. 

2.  Adult cards will be issued to patrons 16 years and older.  Juvenile cards will be issued to patrons under 16 years of age whose parents will sign for the card and be responsible for materials checked out.

    Fines for Overdue Materials 

The Library will charge for materials held past the date at which the material was due back to the Library.  A patron may not check out additional material after five (5) books are overdue and/or there are $5.00 or more in fines.  Patrons are told at desk of overdues and fines and overdue notices are mailed.  Privileges may be denied. (Use Good Judgment) 

The following fine rates shall apply: 

1.   Books (Hardback and softcover [paperback], cataloged and uncataloged): $0.05 per day per item up to a maximum of $.50 per item. 

2.   Magazines: $0.05 per day per item up to a maximum of $.50 per item.

3.   Videos: $0.50 per day per item up to a maximum of $5.00 per item.

4.   Arco books: $1.00 per day per item up to a maximum of $5.00 per item.

5.   Books-on-Tape: $0.05 per day per item up to a maximum of $0.50 per item.

6.   Fines shall not be charged Saturdays and Sundays and for any holiday days when the library is not open for regular business.

    Charges for Damaged Materials 

Patrons will be charged for damage to a book or any other material checked out on their cards and returned damaged. 

1.   The circulation desk assistant will be authorized to make initial determinations of the state of materials returned to the library for obvious damage.  If there is some question about the extent of the damage, then the Administrative Librarian is consulted. 

2.   Any material that has become wet, burned, or warped beyond use will be charged at the full price of the item. 

3.   Torn page . . . $1.00 per page. 

4.   Cover damage (bent or torn but repairable). . . $1.00. 

5.   Written in/Colored in (To the extent that it is unusable). . .Full price of the item. 

6.   Magazine returned with torn pages . . $1.00 per page. 

7.   Magazine returned without cover . . . $1.00. 

8.   Replacement cassettes for Books-On-Tape are $5.00 each. 

9.   Audiovisual equipment . . . Patron will be assessed the price of the repair and will be charged the purchase price of the item if it is damaged beyond repair. 

10. There will be a fee of the full price of the item on all items returned in a malodorous state (having a pervasive, strong odor). 

11. Special note:  If a patron suffers from an act of nature (house fire, tornado, flood, hurricane, etc.  and through this event library materials are damaged or destroyed, then those materials will be fully forgiven and the patron will not be charged any fines or fees.

    Lost Materials Charge 

1.     A patron who has lost or destroyed an item belonging to the library or had it lost or destroyed while in his/her charge, whether inside or outside of the library will be required to pay the full price of the item. 

2.   If no price is shown on the computer, consult the Administrative Librarian. 

3.   If the item is returned within a six (6) month period from the date of payment for the lost item, then the patron will receive a refund of the funds and then will be charged the overdue fine.  After six (6) months, there are no refunds.

    Copy Machine Availability 

1.     The library will provide access to a photocopy machine for library patrons. 

2.  A notice will be posted informing the patron of copyright law and regulations in the United States.  The library is not responsible for misuse. 

3.   The charge for use of the photocopier shall be ($.20) twenty cents per copy page (thus a two-sided copy is $.35).  Color copies and black and white copies are the same price. Document size is ($.35) thirty-five cents per copy and transparencies are ($.35) thirty-five cents per copy. 

4.   Patrons are not allowed to bring their own paper or transparency film to use in the library photocopy machine.

    NOTICE 

WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS 

          THE COPYRIGHT LAW of the United States (Title 17, United States code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. 

          UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction.  One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be ‘used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.’  If a user makes a request for, or later uses a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of ‘fair use,’ that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

          THIS INSTITUION reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. 

3-327    Use of Computers 

1.     Internet and word processing computers are available for public usage in all branches of the Concordia Parish Library 

2.   All users should be familiar with the Computer Policy.  Copies of the policy are available on the computer and at the circulation desk.  Staff shall log patrons on and log them off when they are finished. 

3.   Patrons wishing to use the computer must present their library card and sign in at the circulation desk – Name, Computer #, Time on, Time off. 

4.   Initial sign-up time is 1 hour with possible 1-hour extensions on available time slots.  The limit during peak periods will be 30 minutes.  (Staff judgment during heavy school assignments.) 

5.   Patrons having overdue materials and/or fines and/or fees for photocopies, will have computer services/privileges denied. Reference assistance for electronic resources will be allowed with staff assistance. (USE GOOD JUDGMENT) 

6.   Non-residential visitors should be allowed to use a computer without a library card.  This privilege is only for visitors into the parish. 

 Interaction between the Staff and the Public 

1.     Recognizing that the public who use the library (our patrons) are also the people who pay the taxes that support the library, the Board of Control stresses the importance of good public relations in the daily operation of the library.  This means that a friendly outgoing demeanor and a willingness to assist each person who comes into the library is a necessity from each library staff member.  This institution, the library, is in the business of providing a public service. 

2.   The Board also recognizes that there may be individual situations that are outside the normal course of human interaction.  These cases of angry, problematic and dangerous persons are not to be tolerated and allowed to progress to more sever problems.  There must be limits placed on what must be tolerated by the staff.  If and when it is necessary, the civil authorities should be summoned to intervene and to evict disruptive patrons. 

3.  Patrons may not be allowed in the library if they are interrupting a healthy, safe, and pleasant environment for other library users.

    Americans with Disabilities/Equal Accessibility Policy 

The Concordia Parish Library is a resource for all the citizens of the Parish.  Access to its services and materials shall be available with equal accessibility by the disabled or handicapped.  All requests for access and services are welcomed and will be given formal consideration.  No request from any individual or group shall be turned down until the Concordia Parish Library Board reviews such a recommendation. 

The staff at each branch will make the greatest effort to serve each individual who wishes to make use of the services and materials of the Library.  This may entail opening the entrance doors to assist in entry to the building; assisting the patron by retrieving books from shelves or bring materials to a handicapped patron who cannot get into the stack area.   The staff is encouraged to be creative in serving the disabled or handicapped users as with all patrons. 

If a request cannot be immediately fulfilled, the branch supervisors shall notify the Administrative Librarian by phone.  In all cases that cannot be immediately fulfilled, the Administrative Librarian is to meet with the requester to discuss what the Library may do to offer equal accessibility.  Branch staff should call the Administrative Librarian immediately.  The requester’s name, address and telephone number shall be taken by the branch supervisor or public services supervisor so that the Administrative Librarian may make contact as soon as possible if he/she is unavailable to communicate with the requester.  The requester shall be given the Administrative Librarian’s name, address, and telephone number to facilitate contact. 

The Administrative Librarian shall make prompt contact with the requester in order to determine the exact nature of the patron’s needs.  The Administrative Librarian is authorized to use discretion within the bounds of the library budget and staffing to meet requests.  The Board is to be notified in writing of the provision of request.  Should the Administrative Librarian determine that meeting the request will require Board approval, or that the request would be nonviable (either condition would arise from a request that fundamentally alter the nature of the library’s service or would result in an undue burden-significant difficulty or expense), the Board and requester shall be notified at once, and  a decision made at the next Board meeting with the requester urged to be present and given notice of the meeting. 

Any negative decision shall be put in writing and shall be accompanied by an explanation of how the conclusion not to provide the requested aid or service was reached.

    Interlibrary Loan 

1.     Interlibrary loan services shall be offered to the patrons of the library as part of the regular services of the library.  The library will use this service to supplement its own resources and extend the materials available to its users. 

2.   The Library will participate, to the best of its ability and the availability of funding, in cooperative interlibrary loan efforts that are developed in Louisiana to benefit the patrons and citizens of Concordia Parish. 

3.   No charges shall be required for the provision of interlibrary loan services except the following: 

a.   All photocopies received as a result of a request shall be charged to the patron at the price charged by the lending library or agency.

b.   Genealogical material in print and microfilm formats shall be charged to the patron at the price charged by the loaning library or agency.

c.   Any material lost or destroyed by the patron shall be charged to the patron at the price charged by the loaning library or agency. 

4.   The Library will make available all materials for interlibrary loan except: rare books and archival materials. 

5.   The Library will not make interlibrary loan services available to out of state patrons who purchase a card, residents from Catahoula or Tensas, and/or who may hold a Trail Blazer card.  (Use Good Judgment)

    Reference Service 

This policy is not to state an exact definition of reference service but to give general guidelines.  The staff is encouraged to give as much assistance to patrons as is possible with the limits and demands on time made by the number of patrons needing assistance at any given time.  The goal is to deliver complete service without making the patron totally dependent upon the staff for information and guidance in the use of the library. 

1.    The library will provide reference service to children and adults using the library.  Reference will include in-person and telephone users.  The staff providing this service will instruct the patron in the use of the OPAC, indexes and reference books as well as electronic resources and the library itself as a resource and in addition to answering quick questions, assisting in the search for answers to complex questions and guiding the patron to the area of the library that will be most helpful to him/her.  It shall never be acceptable service to point across the building to an area and tell the patron that the information sought is there-unless that patron has asked for simple directions.  The reference staff must assist the patron to the extent that he understands the proper use of the material he/she is using. 

2.   Telephone reference should be limited to quick, easily answered questions; or for a complex question, the name and telephone number of the patron should be taken, the answer search completed and the call returned. 

3.    The staff member is not to do the work for the patron but is to give him/her the information to do the work for himself/herself.  The reference staff member does not do homework assignments for students.  If a patron calls in for the assistance with homework over the telephone, the staff must limit such assistance based upon the demands for assistance by patrons in the library. 

4.    The staff member is not at the beck and call of persons who wish to have all their research done for them.  These persons are to be told politely of the limits to time and staff and then assisted in finding the material that they may use themselves. 

5.    The staff member must limit the amount of time spent with an individual, which may cause the neglect of other work assignments.  He/she must constantly be aware of the needs of the patrons in the library, bust must be firm in setting limits when many people are seeking assistance at the same time. 

6.    The library does not offer the service of doing genealogy or historical research for patrons.  Microfilm and newspaper searching will be done only if time demands permit such searching.  Letters seeking this service will be answered stating this limitation and inviting the questioner to visit the library.

    Temporary Collections 

The library reserves the right to build temporary reference collections of subjects as needed in order to better serve high demand situations.  (EX: Class assignments, Black History Month, etc.)

    Programming 

1.     Programming shall be a regular part of the provision of service at the library, and shall be divided into adult programming and juvenile programming. 

2.  Staff shall be responsible for planning and executing programs at the direction of the Administrative Librarian. 

3.  Programs shall be limited only by resources available to finance the development and execution of the program. 

4.  Regular programming for children shall be provided. 

5.  Programs for adults may vary in frequency.

6.  Programs from outside the library may be utilized.

    Outreach 

The library will provide service to shut-ins and residents of the nursing homes and senior citizens apartment housing.  It shall be our philosophy to provide as much service to these citizens as is practical thru means of the bookmobile.

   Dress Code for Public 

To use the public library, individuals must be properly and completely clothed. 

Library patrons must be wearing shirts or blouses, as well as shoes. 

No swim suits are allowed. 

Staff have been authorized to enforce these regulations and to ask patrons who do not comply with the them to leave the library.