• Main
• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• App. A
• App. B
• App. C
• App. D

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The terms policies and procedures are frequently confused. Yet the distinctions between these terms are important when understanding the roles and responsibilities of board members.

4.1 POLICIES

Policies are written statements that become administrative documents reflecting the library's and its governing body's goals and objectives. They also serve as guidelines for the conduct of library personnel in the performance of their duties. Policies are flexible, which does not mean that they are made to be broken, but that they are dynamic and can be changed as the need arises. Library policies should be reviewed regularly, and, as goals and objectives change, should be revised to keep them current. As policies are approved by the library advisory board, a board officer generally submits these policies to its governing body (the city council for municipal libraries or the county commissioners for county libraries) for formal adoption. The library director can advise the board whether or not revisions to existing policies must be submitted to its governing body for adoption or if revisions can be submitted to an administrative official for approval. Usually, revisions involving fees must be presented to the governing body but other revisions may require only administrative approval. Policies often must be submitted to the governing body's attorney for review prior to adoption by the governing body. There are two types of policy: external and internal.

4.2 EXTERNAL POLICIES

External policies determine the kind of interaction between the library and its users and the ways in which programs and services are delivered. These policies should be prefaced by the library's mission statement, its goals and objectives, and definitions of its primary roles in the community. The policies themselves may include topics such as collection development, challenged materials, gifts and donations, circulation of materials, conditions for issuing library cards, use of meeting rooms, fines and fees assessed by the library, access to electronic resources such as online databases and the Internet, and public relations activities.

As of this writing, Texas public library boards are developing policies determining public access to the Internet and discussing attendant issues such as the use of filters, privacy screens, and software designed to protect users' confidentiality. At this time, policy decisions for this service area are in question due to the initiation of laws to regulate these activities in libraries receiving federal funding. Currently, these proposed laws are in debate but not yet passed, and the resolution of these laws may affect many Texas public libraries receiving federal grants. Some local governments already require libraries under their jurisdiction to either use filters or eliminate the service altogher. Citizens' rights groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union are challenging such regulations in court, and the outcome of these actions is yet to be determined.

The purpose of the above discussion is to point out that despite efforts to support intellectual freedom by recommending policies designed to ensure free public access to library services and resources, occasionally these decisions are beyond the control of library boards, staffs, and other intellectual freedom advocates. It also exemplifies the importance of library board members' staying abreast of legislative issues that impact their library's services.

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4.3 INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND THE FREEDOM TO READ

Well written, duly adopted policies are crucial in a library's defense and resolution to challenged materials and resources. A challenge occurs when an individual or a group seeks to remove or limit access to library materials (books, videos, audio tapes, etc.) or library resources (electronic media, the Internet, etc.). A ban occurs when an individual or a group succeeds in convincing the library's governing body to order the withdrawal of materials or resources from the library.

Although public perception of challenged materials focuses on "dirty books," there are many reasons other than sexual content that precipitate challenges to library holdings. History books on the Salem witch trials have been challenged for their discussion of witchcraft; Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books have been challenged for their treatment of native Americans; Huckleberry Finn has been challenged for its depiction of juvenile independence as well as its characterization of Huck's friend, Jim. At the time of this writing, a library's offer of free public access to the Internet can generate acrimonious debate in Texas communities. Although Internet access is generally challenged on the grounds of the pornographic content of many of its web sites, it is frequently challenged on philosophical and political issues similar to those described above.

At their most disruptive extremes, such challenges can cause sufficient upheaval that all other work of a library can virtually stop while the library's board, director, and staff devote their time and energy to answering citizen inquiries, providing media interviews, planning meetings, and working with the governing body's attorneys, administrators, and elected officials to resolve the issue.

The library board's responsibility in these cases is to uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and the freedom to read. A library's mission statement may include language providing for "wide and diverse collections in a variety of formats;" or for providing "a safe and confidential environment in which users may freely pursue intellectual interests." Mission statements including such language place advocates in the position of defending intellectual freedom as the library's stated mission as well as on the broarder principle of intellectual freedom. It is essential that board members, the director, staff, and other library advocates in the community show respect for opposing viewpoints at all times, and remain sensitive to the right of all citizens to express their opinions and concerns.

Intellectual freedom is a term encompassing the broad ideal "freedom of the mind" and includes not only the constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and of the press, but also, by extension, the freedoms to hear, view, and read. These freedoms are at the heart of library service to the public. These are simplistic definitions for complex and volatile issues. They are presented thoroughly in the American Library Association's publication, Intellectual Freedom Manual, Fifth Edition, compiled by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom and published in 1996; and the Texas Library Association's publication, Intellectual Freedom Handbook, Fifth Edition, prepared by the Intellectual Freedom Committee of TLA, also published in 1996. (This manual is available in print and on the TLA home page at http://www.txla.org/pubs/ifhbk.html.)

These books present historical and philosophical overviews of intellectual freedom issues, as well as interpretations and practical guidelines and resources available to libraries facing challenges to their materials. They also provide sample policies modeling protection of users' intellectual freedom rights. Appendix A of this manual, "Library Position Papers," provides more in-depth discussion of intellectual freedom issues and includes the TLA and ALA intellectual freedom statements and their interpretations.

Three crucial components of a library's defense against challenges to its holdings are the materials selection policy, the Internet access or acceptable use policy, and the policy for handling challenged materials.

Materials Selection Policy. All libraries should have a written policy determining the process by which library staff select books and other materials and resources. The policy will include review sources and other professional tools used for selection as well as other criteria for selecting materials.

Internet Access Policy (Acceptable Use Policy). Each library offering public access to the Internet must decide how to develop its Internet access policy. At this time, most libraries have a separate policy for Internet use; however, there is a trend in Texas public libraries to incorporate their Internet policy into the body of their materials selection policy. Issues generally covered in an Internet policy include issues such as conditions under which a user may access the Internet, time constraints to allow fair access, use of filters, cost (if any) for printing, protection of confidentiality, and permissibility of downloading onto a personal disk. A sample Internet access policy is included at the end of this chapter.

Policy for Handling Challenged Materials (Reconsideration of Materials). Many user complaints against library materials can be dealt with simply through discussion between the library director and the user making the complaint. If discussion does not satisfy the user, then a written form should be available for the user to fill out and sign. The point at which a user files a written statement requesting withdrawal of the title is the point at which the complaint becomes a challenge. Subsequent procedures will be delineated in the policy, including some point at which the user will be invited to attend a board meeting to formally present the challenge for board review.

The library board should recommend all such policies to the library's governing body for adoption. As liaison between the library and its citizens, board recommendation of the policy adds credibility for the user. Once the governing body adopts the policy, it carries the authority of governmental resolution or ordinance. These steps provide more favorable conditions for successfully withstanding a prolonged or united challenge.

Access to Services and Confidentiality of Users' Records. Two other intellectual freedom issues citizens and outside agencies occasionally become involved with are access to services and confidentiality of users' records and the materials and services they request. These issues are more fully covered in Appendix A and Appendix B of this handbook.

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4.4 INTERNAL POLICIES

Internal policies determine the way a library provides its services. Types of internal policies found in public libraries and the issues they cover may include:

• Circulation - the types of documents accepted for proof of residency; items that may not be checked out or renewed; loan periods on high demand items; chain of command in dealing with disputes over fines
• Reference - how many reference questions may be answered per call; the extent to which criss-cross directory service will be delivered; the extent to which homework help will be provided; the order in which telephone and inhouse users will be handled during peak times
• Cataloging and technical services - what to do when a new version of the Dewey Decimal System is issued; to what extent materials will be classified; how to code, classify, and shelve special collections; how vendors will be selected; who selects various types of materials
• Safety/Security - who has oversight for opening and closing the building; who will be called in emergency situations when the library is closed; who has oversight for maintaining fire extinguishers; evacuation of the building in case of fire or other disaster
• Intellectual freedom issues - chain of command in dealing with user complaints, and points at which complaintants are referred to the next level; who speaks for the library in various stages of challenges
• Personnel - who has oversight for scheduling; who has oversight of time sheets; how many employees may be scheduled to be off duty at the same time; how scheduling is communicated between departments and to the library director; who evaluates employees
• Collection development - who selects various types of materials and formats; who receives various types of review tools; who weeds various collections and nonfiction titles; how "last titles" and discarded items are handled
• New and used materials donations - who officially accepts gift books; what types of materials are accepted, and what types are not; how gifts of used materials are stored and who reviews and selects them for inclusion into the collection; how donated materials not selected for the collection are handled
• Volunteers - who is in charge of recruiting, training and supervising volunteers; who determines assignments for volunteers; what the criteria are for allowing court ordered community service volunteers to work in the library; what the dress code is for volunteers

4.5 PROCEDURES

Procedures are guides to action and are subordinate to and aid in implementing policies. Procedures describe how a service is to be executed, establish a method of handling repetitive tasks, and specify how a policy is to be implemented. Procedures tend to be chronological, listing a sequence of steps to be performed, or providing a timetable. Examples of procedures include the steps to be taken to process an interlibrary loan request, issue a new library card, sign up for computer time, or reserve meeting rooms.

The library director and departmental supervisors establish and revise procedures to provide the most effective, efficient methods for carrying out general operating policies. The library board generally does not become involved in establishing and implementing procedures unless those procedures significantly impact the board itself, such as developing and posting agendas, or determining the content and distribution of board meeting packets. Staff reports to the board should, however, mention changes in procedures that impact the public perception of service delivery, such as procedures for registering for story times. Knowing such procedural changes prevents board members from being surprised by, and not knowing how to respond to, users' questions concerning such changes.

To Sample Internet Policy

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