Policies of Griswold Public Library
Index:
Long Range Plan Page 1
Circulation Policy Page 6
Computer and Internet Policy Page 11
Makerspace Policy Page 13
Collection Policy Page 15
Gift & Memorial Policy Page 17
Behavior Policy Page 18
Bylaws Page 20
Personnel Policy Page 28
Volunteer/Community Service Policy Page 37
Displays Policy Page 38
Programs Policy Page 39
Freedom to Read Page 40
Information Resources and Access Page 44
Access to Electronic Information,
Services, and Networks Page 48
Equity of Access Page 49
City Ordinances Page 49
Griswold Public Library
Long-Range Plan
2017-2021
Approved by the Board of Trustees March 2017
Community
Griswold is located in Cass County in Southwest Iowa. The population of Griswold has remained fairly stable since the 2010 Federal Census. The current population is 1,182. The community is fairly balanced with no significantly large population of any particular age group. The residents of Griswold are predominantly white. A small Hispanic population is present as well. English is the principal language spoken in the community.
There are 3 in-home daycare providers in Griswold. The children of Griswold attend school in the Griswold Community School District. The middle school / high school /elementary building is located in town. It is estimated that there are 10 homeschool families in the community which is more than would typically be expected for a community of this size. Excluding preschoolers, approximately 21 percent of the population is school age.
The community’s main employers include Griswold Community School District, Griswold Care Center, and Farm Service Co-Op. Because of the close proximity of larger communities, such as Council Bluffs and Omaha, a number of residents choose to commute. Median income in this community is slightly below the national average. Unemployment is significantly higher than the national average.
The community boasts many amenities. Local organizations include the American Legion, Friends of the Library, Country Club, 4H, and Griswold Betterment. The citizens take pride in the local museums, varied community groups, and a dedicated school district among other things.
The library staff and trustees wish to extend a generous thank you to the community members that took the time to participate in the Community Committee portion of this planning process.
Introduction
In October 2016, the Board of Trustees of the Griswold Public Library invited community members to serve on a Strategic Planning Committee that would envision the city’s future and explore the role the library would play to make that vision reality.
Misty Gray of the State Library of Iowa facilitated a community meeting that used the Strategic Planning for Results process, as developed by Sandra Nelson and June Garcia. Committee members participated in a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of Griswold. Then, they focused on services the library could provide to improve the community. Each participant voted, identifying which of the eighteen service responses would be most beneficial to Griswold. The Library Board then analyzed these results and identified the following service responses to focus on for strategic planning:
The Trustees used these service responses as the foundation for the strategic plan. This plan outlines goals, objectives, and activities that will help library staff meet the needs identified during the committee meeting. The Griswold Public Library Strategic Plan is submitted as a written endeavor to accomplish the goals set forth by the community committee members.
Community Planning Committee Members
Faith Beebe, Adam Bierbaum, Lisa Buchanan, Amy Carlisle, Bry Carlisle, Krisi Keiser, Erika Kirchhoff, Dana Kunze, Greg Lightner, Lisa Metheny, Susan Petersen, Jerry Putnam, Joy Smith, Cathy Vannausdle, Richard Witt
Library Board
Ben Greiman, President
Linda McLaren, Vice President
Shiona Putnam, Secretary
Krisi Keiser
Richard Witt
Library Staff
Lisa Metheny, Director
Caitlin Mueller, Assistant Librarian
Sue Petersen, Grant Writer
Monica Taylor, Sub
Mission Statement
The Griswold Public Library provides community members and visitors a collection of information in a variety of formats and resources. The library promotes personal growth to people of all ages by providing materials that support cultural, social, and other recreational needs. Within the next five years, the Griswold Public Library will strive to provide parents of young children programs and services designed to prepare children for school, provide electronic historical newspapers and information, establish a central source of community information for new and existing community members, and provide resources to encourage positive life choices.
Service Responses, Goals, and Objectives
Create Young Readers: Emergent Literacy
Children from birth to five will have programs and services designed to ensure that they will enter school ready to learn to read, write, and listen.
GOAL 1: Parents of young children will have access to programs and services designed to prepare their children for school.
GOAL 2: Griswold community members will have support systems available which enhance emergent literacy.
Discover your roots: Genealogy and local history
Residents and visitors will have the resources they need to connect the past with the present through their family histories and to understand the history and traditions of the community.
GOAL 1: Griswold community members will have access to digitized newspapers for Griswold, Lewis, and Elliott.
GOAL 2: Griswold community members will have activities available to them to connect to local history.
Know your community: Community resources and services
Residents will have a central source for information about the wide variety of programs, services, and activities provided by community agencies and organizations.
GOAL 1: Griswold residents will have the information they need regarding access to community resources.
Make informed decisions: health, wealth and other life choices
Residents will have the resources they need to identify and analyze risks, benefits, and alternatives before making decisions that affect their lives.
GOAL 1: Griswold residents will have access to programs and materials that allow them to make decisions that positively impact their lives.
Philosophy
The Library collection consists of approximately 14,463 books and serials, 756 CD’s, 1,554 Blu-ray/DVD, games, 49 cake pans, seeds and electronic software for a total collection. The library occupies 2500 square feet with 11 public access computer stations, 2 laptops, 1 public access catalog, 2 children’s computer, 1 Job Service computer, 6 kindles, 1 treadmill with computer, 2 gaming devices, 2 TV for movies and 3 staff computers. All computers are networked and have access to the Internet except for the children’s computers.
Regulations:
Library Materials and Services
All customers may have access to library materials while in the building. Some library services require having a valid library account. To be eligible to check out Library materials, customers must have a library account in good standing.
LIBRARY ACCOUNTS
Individual Account
Account Application and Activity:
Residents of Griswold and rural Cass County are eligible for a library card account.
Residents of the state of Iowa are eligible to register for a library card account through the State Library’s Open Access system. Residents in cities not participating in Open Access can apply for a non-resident card.
Residents of other states are eligible to register for a non-resident library card account, with fees. The fee for a non-resident card is $40.00 per year.
Homebound Patrons
Special Needs Account
Patron Responsibilities:
CIRCULATION PERIOD
The library sets loan periods and limits in order to provide patrons with fair and reasonable access to the library’s resources.
Interlibrary Loan
RENEWALS
RESERVES
Returning Items
OVERDUES, LOST, OR DAMAGED MATERIALS
Confidentiality
22.7 (13)
Confidential records.
The following public records shall be kept confidential, unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records, or by another person duly authorized to release such information:
DELINQUENT BORROWERS
Borrowing privileges are suspended when unpaid fines or other charges total $10 or more. If habitually late or materials are continually damaged, at the Library Director’s discretion, there may be a limit on the amount of items that may be checked out at one time.
Philosophy
The Griswold Public Library provides computers and Internet access, as part of our mission to make information available to meet the needs and interests of all members of our community. The Board of Trustees has established the following Internet Use Policy to assure effective use of this resource.
The Library has no control over the information accessed through the Internet, assumes no responsibility, and shall have no liability for any damages arising from the use of information found on the Internet, or any communications sent through the library’s networks, equipment, or social media sites. Users are responsible for evaluating material for accuracy and suitability and may encounter material that they consider offensive. The availability of information on the Internet or on the Library’s social media sites does not constitute an endorsement by the Griswold Public Library.
LIBRARY COMPUTER AND INTERNET USE
Internet usage is not monitored. It is the responsibility of the user and of the parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated individual of minors to determine what is appropriate.
Misuse of the computer or internet access will result in the loss of computer privileges as determined by the Library staff. The length of suspension of computer privileges is at the discretion of the Library Director. To best utilize and preserve the computer hardware, the following general guidelines are to be observed:
FILTERS
Software is used to filter inappropriate content. This software may not filter all information that may be harmful to minors, as well as visual depictions of materials deemed obscene or child pornography. In addition, software may filter content that is deemed appropriate. Patrons may submit a request to have sites unfiltered.
Procedures
Governing the Use of
Computers/Internet:
Philosophy
The Griswold Public Library’s goal is to provide learning in not only book and web based learning but through experiences. The makerspace provides many different pieces of equipment to explore.
Eligibility
To be eligible, users must have a Griswold Public Library card in good standing, not have any past abuses of this policy or any other Library policies.
Duration
Eligible equipment may be checked out for up to three days.
Hours
During school operating days:
Monday- Friday 10-12:00
Wednesdays that a volunteer is available from 4-6
There will also be classes for all ages that will be available.
Exceptions can be made at the discretion of the director.
Fees
We are using these fees to help replace and maintain this area.
Replacement Fee for broken equipment will be assessed at replacement costs.
Patron Responsibilities
Waivers
Check Outs Available
Equipment may be borrowed at a $20.00 deposit for use outside the library. To be eligible to check-out equipment, the borrower must be at least 18 years of age, have a Griswold Public Library card in good standing, and have a picture identification. Before checking out, all borrowers must read and sign an equipment agreement. Upon request, the check-out time may be extended. Whether an extension is granted is at the discretion of the library staff, who will take into consideration not only the need of the borrower, but public demand. Equipment is assumed to be in good working condition at the time of check-out. Equipment will be inspected and inventoried after each use and the borrower shall be responsible for the cost of any repair or replacement parts, up to the cost of replacement. If the equipment is lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair the borrower is responsible for the full replacement cost. Failure to pay will result in suspension of check-out privileges and possible revocation. Borrowers may also be subject to criminal prosecution under Iowa.
Iowa Code: Section: 714.5 Library materials and equipment--unpurchased merchandise--evidence of intention.
The fact that a person has concealed library materials or equipment as defined in section 702.22 or unpurchased property of a store or other mercantile establishment, either on the premises or outside the premises, is material evidence of intent to deprive the owner, and the finding of library materials or equipment or unpurchased property concealed upon the person or among the belongings of the person, is material evidence of intent to deprive and, if the person conceals or causes to be concealed library materials or equipment or unpurchased property, upon the person or among the belongings of another, the finding of the concealed materials, equipment or property is also material evidence of intent to deprive on the part of the person concealing the library materials, equipment or goods.
The fact that a person fails to return library materials for two months or more after the date the person agreed to return the library materials, or fails to return library equipment for one month or more after the date the person agreed to return the library equipment, is evidence of intent to deprive the owner, provided a reasonable attempt, including the mailing by restricted certified mail of notice that such material or equipment is overdue and criminal actions will be taken, has been made to reclaim the materials or equipment. Notices stating the provisions of this section and of section 808.12 with regard to library materials or equipment shall be posted in clear public view in all public libraries, in all libraries of educational, historical or charitable institutions, organizations or societies, in all museums and in all repositories of public records.
After the expiration of three days following the due date, the owner of borrowed library equipment may request the assistance of a dispute resolution center, mediation center or appropriate law enforcement agency in recovering the equipment from the borrower.
The owner of library equipment may require deposits by borrowers and in the case of late returns the owner may impose graduated penalties of up to twenty-five percent of the value of the equipment, based upon the lateness of the return. In the case of lost library materials or equipment, arrangements may be made to make a monetary settlement.
Philosophy
The Library collection consists of approximately 14,463 books and serials, 756 CD’s, 1,554 videos/DVD, games, 49 cake pans, seeds and electronic software for a total collection of 17,020. The library occupies 2500 square feet with 10 public access computer stations, 1 public access catalog, 2 children’s computer, 1 Job Service computer, 1 treadmill and laptop, 2 gaming devices, a TV for movies and 3 staff computers. All are networked and have access to the Internet except for the children’s computer.
The Griswold Public Library provides materials, technology, and services to support all ages represented within the community.
SELECTION
Selection and purchase of library materials is the responsibility of the library director. Yearly budget and monthly reports are provided to the board for their approval. Allocations of funds are determined based upon circulation statistics.
Selections are made so as to supply materials to encourage reading and hopefully foster a life-long habit of recreational reading and learning.
The responsibility of the library is to serve all of the community, not to promote or censor any particular political, moral, philosophical, or religious convictions or opinions. It is not the purpose of the library to stimulate interest in, nor cater to trivial, antisocial, or immoral interests. A free public library does not have the right to judge what another may or may not read or hear.
PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES CONCERNING WEEDING AND INVENTORIES
Weeding occurs when: (1) materials are damaged beyond repair, (2) materials have not been checked out for a period of 3 years, (3) materials are deemed irrelevant by the Library Director.
Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials
Title Book Periodical Other
Author
Publisher
Request initiated by
Address
City State Zip Telephone
Do you represent:
Yourself
An Organization (name)
Other group (name)
Return it to the staff selection committee for reevaluation.
Other. Explain
Signature
Date
Philosophy
The philosophy of this procedure is to set forth policies which gift and donation decisions are made by either Library Board or Employee. The Griswold Public Library welcomes gifts of new and used books, audio CD’s, videos/DVD, and similar materials.
Gifts and Memorials
Memorial and donated monetary gifts given to the library are given to the City Clerk in Griswold. If the purpose is not designated, funds are used at the discretion of the Library Director and the Library Trustees. Materials donated and deemed inappropriate are handled at the discretion of the Library Director. The Griswold Public Library welcomes gifts of new and used books, audio CD’s, videos/DVD, and similar materials. Items will be added to the collection in accordance with the selection policy of the Library, and may be given to other libraries and non-profit agencies, sold, traded, or discarded if they are not added to the collection. Donated items will not be returned to the donor and the Library will not accept any item that is not an outright gift. The following form is given to each donor upon request acknowledging their contributions to the Library.
Friends of the Griswold Public Library
Monetary gifts may be designated to go to the Friends of the Griswold Public Library. The Friends group is a 501(c)3 organization and is tax deductible. Funds given to the Friends may be given a designation or it will be decided by the Friend’s Board.
GRISWOLD PUBLIC LIBRARY
DATE__________________________
NAME___________________________
ADDRESS____________________________________________________
Donated the following to the Griswold Public Library:
___Paperback Books
___Hardcover Books
___Magazines
___Audio-Visual
___Other
The Library Trustees, staff, and Friends thank you for supporting the Griswold Public Library. The Library is a non-profit institution and this donation may be tax deductible. The Library staff does not assign a value to items donated. Items donated to the Library may or may not be added to the collection.
_____Staff Initials
Philosophy
The Griswold Public Library is designed for the use of all members of the public. Patrons are expected to respect the rights of other patrons and staff and use the library for its intended use. Therefore, the Library has established the following rules of conduct to protect the rights and safety of Library patrons, volunteers, and staff, and for preserving and protecting the Library’s materials, equipment, facilities, and grounds. If a patron has a problem that needs addressed, the board asks the patron to bring the issue to the librarian to be handled as policy directs. The library director has the responsibility to enforce discipline within the library and determines when the behavior is inappropriate.
Rules
Forms of behavior, which will not be allowed in the library, include:
Young children:
The Griswold Public Library encourages visits by young children and it is our desire to make this important visit both memorable and enjoyable for the child. While staff members will act with care and concern, responsibility for the welfare, behavior, and supervision of children using the Library and computer work stations rests with parents, guardians, caregivers, or designated person. The Library defines a caregiver as an individual over the age of 18.
Therefore, it is library policy that all children under age six must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person while in the library.
A child may be asked to leave the Library due to inappropriate behavior. If a child is not able to leave the library without a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person then the child should not be in the library without a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person present.
The library is not an appropriate place to leave children and dependent adults with obvious medical conditions that require close monitoring. If the staff determines that a child or dependent adult needs a parent, caregiver, guardian, or designated person’s attention, staff will attempt to reach the parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person by telephone. If the parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person cannot be reached or is reached but does not come within a reasonable period of time to pick up the child or dependent adult, the staff may report the circumstances to either law enforcement or the appropriate social services agency. Parents, guardians, caregivers, or designated people who disregard this policy risk losing library privileges for a period of time to be determined by the director.
Disruptive children:
Children of all ages are encouraged to use the library for homework, recreational reading, table activities, internet, and program attendance. The library staff realizes that the library will be noisier at busy times and that children by nature can cause more commotion. However, children (whether with parents, guardian, caregiver or designated person or not) who are being continually disruptive will be given a warning to settle down or will be asked to leave the library. If after a second warning the child continues to be disruptive, he/she will be asked to leave the library. If the child needs to contact a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person, they may do so and then wait with a staff person until the parent arrives.
Revised Behavior Policy: Adopted 05-05-2014
SEX OFFENDERS AGAINST MINORS POLICY
In accordance with Chapter 692A of Subtitle 1 of Title 16 of the Code of Iowa (It is now 692A.113 as of 11-10), the Board of Trustees for the Griswold Public Library prohibits the presence of sex offenders convicted of sex offenses against minors upon or within 300 feet of library property without written permission of the Library Director. The Iowa Code, section 692A prohibits a sex offender (defined as a person who is required to be registered in the Iowa Sex Offender Registry) and who has been convicted of a sex offense against a minor from being present upon the real property of a public library without the written permission of the library administrator, nor to loiter within three hundred feet of the real property boundary of a public library.
Philosophy
The Board is an independent organization within the structure of the City of Griswold. By Iowa law the Board has complete authority over the line-item library budget once it is approved by the City Council. The City has approval of the bottom line only within the library budget. The Board recognizes the importance of the library within the structure of the City of Griswold and seeks support and cooperation at every opportunity. As a Board we may seek information from other libraries but will respect the information given and keep all confidentialities. The main purposes of the Board are to establish library policy and budget, to hire a Director to administer that policy and budget, and to advocate for the library at all times.
General Statement
The Griswold Public Library Board of Trustees hereafter referred to as the board.
City 5-1-2 Library trustees.
The board of trustees of the Griswold Public Library, hereinafter referred to as the board, consists of four (4) resident members and one (1) nonresident member. All resident board members shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council. The nonresident board member shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the County Board of Supervisors.
(Code of Iowa) 336.2 Library districts formed.
1. A library district may be established composed of one or more counties, one or more cities, or any combination of cities and counties.
2. a. Eligible electors residing within the proposed district in a number not less than five percent of those voting for president of the United States or governor, as the case may be, within the district at the last general election may petition the board of supervisors of the county, or the city council, for the establishment of the library district. The petition shall clearly designate the area to be included in the district, the total number of board members, and how representation on the board shall be divided among the jurisdictions.
b. The board of supervisors of each county and the city council of each city containing area within the proposed district shall submit the question to the registered voters within their respective counties and cities at the next general election. The petition shall be filed not less than eighty-two days before the election.
3. a. A library district shall be established if a majority of the electors voting on the question and residing in the proposed library district favor its establishment.
b. The result of the election within cities maintaining a free public library shall be considered separately, and no city shall be included within the library district unless a majority of its electors voting on the question favor its inclusion. In such cases the boundaries of an established district may vary from those of the proposed district.
4. After the establishment of a library district, other areas may be included subject to the approval of the board of trustees of the library district and the passage of a referendum by the electors of the area sought to be included.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.5) Library board.
1. a. A city library board of trustees functioning on the effective date of the city code shall continue to function in the same manner until altered or discontinued as provided in this section.
b. In order for the board to function in the same manner, the council shall retain all applicable ordinances, and shall adopt as ordinances all applicable state statutes repealed by 1972 Iowa Acts, Ch. 1088.
2. A Library board may accept and control the expenditure of all gifts, devises, and bequests to the library.
3. a. A proposal to alter the composition, manner of selection, or charge of a library board, or to replace it with an alternate form of administrative agency, is subject to the approval of the voters of the city.
b. The proposal may be submitted to the voters at any city election by the council on its own motion. Upon receipt of a valid petition as defined in section 362.4, requesting that a proposal be submitted to the voters, the council shall submit the proposal at the next regular city election. A proposal submitted to the voters must describe with reasonable detail the action proposed.
c. If a majority of those voting approves the proposal, the city may proceed as proposed.
d. If a majority of those voting does not approve the proposal, the same or a similar proposal may not be submitted to the voters of the city for at least four years from the date of the election at which the proposal was defeated.
City 5-1-3 Qualifications of trustees. All of the members of the board shall be bona fide citizens and residents of the City. The nonresident member of the board shall be bona fide citizens and residents of the unincorporated county, and all shall be over the age of eighteen (18).
City 5-1-4 Organization of the board.
1. Terms of office. All appointments to the board shall be for six (6) years, except to fill vacancies. Each term shall commence on July first. Appointments shall be made every two (2) years of one-third the total number as near as possible, to stagger the terms.
2. Vacancies. The position of any trustee shall be declared vacant if said trustee moves permanently from the City or if said trustee is absent from six (6) consecutive regular meetings of the board, except in the case of sickness or temporary absence from the City. Vacancies in the board shall be filled by the City Council, and the new trustee shall fill out the unexpired term for which the appointment is made.
(Code of Iowa Sec. 336.6) 336.5 Terms — vacancies.
1. Of the trustees appointed in accordance with section 336.4 on boards consisting of nine members, three shall hold office for two years, three for four years, and three for six years; on boards consisting of seven members, two shall hold office for two years, two for four years, and three for six years; and on boards consisting of five members, one shall hold office for two years, two for four years, and two for six years, from the first day of July following their appointment in each case. At the first meeting of the board, members shall cast lots for their respective terms, reporting the result of such lot to the governing body of each jurisdiction forming the library district. All subsequent appointments, whatever the size of the board, shall be for terms of six years each.
2. A vacancy exists when a member ceases to be a resident of the jurisdiction the member represents or is absent for six consecutive regular meetings of the board.
3. Vacancies shall be filled for unexpired terms by the governing body of the jurisdiction represented by the vacancy.
Code of Iowa Sec. 336.7
Compensation. Trustees shall receive no compensation for their service.
City 5-1-5 Powers and duties.
The board shall have and exercise the following powers and duties:
1. To meet and elect from its members a president, a secretary, and such other officers as it deems necessary. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(1)
2. To have charge, control and supervision of the public library, its appurtenances, fixtures and rooms containing the same. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(2)
3. To direct and control all the affairs of the library.
4. To employ a librarian, and authorize the librarian to employ such assistants and employees as may be necessary for the proper management of the library, and fix their compensation; provided, however, that prior to such employment, the compensation of the librarian, assistants and employees shall have been fixed and approved by a majority of the members of the board voting in favor thereof. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(3)
5. To remove by a two-thirds vote of the board the librarian and provide procedures for the removal of assistants or employees for misdemeanor, incompetency or inattention to duty, subject, however, to the provisions of Chapter 35C, Code of Iowa. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(4)
6. To select, or authorize the librarian to select, and make purchases of books, pamphlets, magazines, periodicals, papers, maps, journals, other library materials, furniture, fixtures, stationery and supplies for the library within budgetary limits set by the board. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(5)
7. To authorize the use of the library by non-residents of the City and to fix charges therefor. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(6)
8. To make and adopt, amend, modify or repeal rules and regulations, not inconsistent with Ordinances and the law, for the care, use, government and management of the library and the business of the board, fixing and enforcing penalties for violations. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(7)
9. To have exclusive control of the expenditure of all funds allocated for library purposes by the City Council, and of all monies available by gift or otherwise for the erection of library buildings, and of all other monies belonging to the library including fines and rentals collected, under the rules of the board. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(8)
10. To accept gifts of real property, personal property, or mixed property, and devises and bequests, including trust funds; to take the title to said property in the name of the library; to execute deeds and bills of sale for the conveyance of said property; and to expend the funds received by them from such gifts, for the improvement of the library. (Code of Iowa, Sec. 336.8(9)
11. To keep a record of its proceedings.
12. To enforce the performance of conditions of gifts, donations, devises and bequests accepted by the City. The board shall enforce performance by taking action against the City Council.
13. To have authority to make agreements with the local County historical associations, where such exists, and to set apart the necessary room and to care for such articles as may come into the possession of the association. The trustees are further authorized to purchase necessary receptacles and materials for the preservation and protection of such articles as are in their judgment of a historical and educational nature and pay for the same out of funds allocated for library purposes. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.17)
Code of Iowa 69.16A Gender balance.
All appointive boards, commissions, committees and councils of the state established by the Code if not otherwise provided by law shall be gender balanced. No person shall be appointed or reappointed to any board, commission, committee, or council established by the Code if that appointment or reappointment would cause the number of members of the board, commission, committee, or council of one gender to be greater than one- half the membership of the board, commission, committee, or council plus one if the board, commission, committee, or council is composed of an odd number of members. If the board, commission, committee, or council is composed of an even number of members, not more than one-half of the membership shall be of one gender. If there are multiple appointing authorities for a board, commission, committee, or council, they shall consult each other to avoid a violation of this section. This section shall not prohibit an individual from completing a term being served on June 30, 1987.
Officers
The officers shall be President, Vice-President and Secretary. All shall be elected by and from the membership of the board and shall be elected annually at the first meeting of the Board in July of each year. All officers shall take office at the first meeting in August following their election. An election of new officers can be requested by 3 board members.
The President shall preside at all meetings and appoint all committees. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall assume the President’s duties. The Secretary shall record all the proceedings of the Board, submit the minutes to the Director following the monthly or special meeting, answer any correspondence, and perform such duties as the Board may require. If the Secretary is absent the Vice-President shall assume the Secretary’s duties.
Committees
At the first regular meeting in July, the president may appoint standing committees: Finance Committee, Personnel Committee and Policy Committee.
The Finance Committee shall prepare a tentative budget to be submitted for approval of the Board in November or December each year. The committee shall submit the approved budget to the City Council at a meeting specified by the City Council.
Meetings
The regular meeting of the Board shall be held on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6:00 unless that Wednesday is the 1st or 2nd of the month and then it will be moved to the 2nd Wednesday of the month. If the 1st Wednesday is a Holiday, then the Board will meet the 2nd Wednesday. Special meetings shall be called by the President whenever in his/her judgment they may be necessary, at the discretion of the Library Director or by any three members of the board.
Code of Iowa 21.5 Closed session.
1. A governmental body may hold a closed session only by affirmative public vote of either two-thirds of the members of the body or all of the members present at the meeting. A governmental body may hold a closed session only to the extent a closed session is necessary for any of the following reasons:
a. To review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that governmental body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds.
b. To discuss application for letters patent.
c. To discuss strategy with counsel in matters that are presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the governmental body in that litigation.
d. To discuss the contents of a licensing examination or whether to initiate licensee disciplinary investigations or proceedings if the governmental body is a licensing or examining board.
e. To discuss whether to conduct a hearing or to conduct hearings to suspend or expel a patron, unless an open session is requested by the patron or a parent or guardian of the patron if the patron is a minor.
f. To discuss the decision to be rendered in a contested case conducted according to the provisions of chapter 17A. g. To avoid disclosure of specific law enforcement matters, such as current or proposed investigations, inspection or auditing techniques or schedules, which if disclosed would enable law violators to avoid detection.
h. To avoid disclosure of specific law enforcement matters, such as allowable tolerances or criteria for the selection, prosecution or settlement of cases, which if disclosed would facilitate disregard of requirements imposed by law.
i. To evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual's reputation and that individual requests a closed session.
j. To discuss the purchase of particular real estate only where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the governmental body would have to pay for that property. The minutes and the tape recording of a session closed under this paragraph shall be available for public examination when the transaction discussed is completed.
2. The vote of each member on the question of holding the closed session and the reason for holding the closed session by reference to a specific exemption under this section shall be announced publicly at the open session and entered in the minutes. A governmental body shall not discuss any business during a closed session which does not directly relate to the specific reason announced as justification for the closed session.
3. Final action by any governmental body on any matter shall be taken in an open session unless some other provision of the Code expressly permits such actions to be taken in closed session.
4. A governmental body shall keep detailed minutes of all discussion, persons present, and action occurring at a closed session, and shall also tape record all of the closed session. The detailed minutes and tape recording of a closed session shall be sealed and shall not be public records open to public inspection. However, upon order of the court in an action to enforce this chapter, the detailed minutes and tape recording shall be unsealed and examined by the court in camera. The court shall then determine what part, if any, of the minutes should be disclosed to the party seeking enforcement of this chapter for use in that enforcement proceeding. In determining whether any portion of the minutes or recording shall be disclosed to such a party for this purpose, the court shall weigh the prejudicial effects to the public interest of the disclosure of any portion of the minutes or recording in question, against its probative value as evidence in an enforcement proceeding. After such a determination, the court may permit inspection and use of all or portions of the detailed minutes and tape recording by the party seeking enforcement of this chapter. A governmental body shall keep the detailed minutes and tape recording of any closed session for a period of at least one year from the date of that meeting.
5. Nothing in this section requires a governmental body to hold a closed session to discuss or act upon any matter.
Quorum
Three members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the business transactions.
Expenditures
Code of Iowa 256.69 Local financial support.
Commencing July 1, 1977, each city within its corporate boundaries and each county within the unincorporated area of the county shall levy a tax of at least six and three-fourths cents per thousand dollars of assessed value on the taxable property or at least the monetary equivalent thereof when all or a portion of the funds are obtained from a source other than taxation, for the purpose of providing financial support to the public library which provides library services within the respective jurisdictions.
All Claims against the Board must be presented at a regular meeting of the board. The director shall submit all invoices for payment. Upon approval of said bills by the board, a member of the board shall sign the bill summary of the month, and the director will submit them to the City Clerk for Payment.
Utility Claims: The Library Director may submit to City Clerk the MidAmerican Energy, Griswold Communications, City of Griswold sewer, text caster, cleaning bill and Town and Country Sanitation reoccurring utility bills, text caster, prior to board meeting for payment.
Petty Cash: The Library Director will turn in receipts after board meetings on a monthly basis to the City Clerk. The petty cash drawer should balance at $60.00 minus cash receipts given for the purchases from this time frame. If needed the President can sign off on replacing cash during that month.
Cash Change: The Library Director will turn in Cash Change on a regular basis to the City Clerk. The cash change drawer should balance at $60.20 plus cash given for the time frame.
Time Cards: The Library Director will sign staff time cards. The City Manager or City Clerk will have the President sign it the Monday morning they are due. If he is unavailable the Vice President or Secretary can sign.
Recurring Purchases: The Library Director is authorized to make normal purchases of normal recurring items such as library resources, text caster, cleaning person, supplies, materials, building maintenance and other such items without Board approval so long as these purchases are within the Library Budget.
Non-Recurring Purchases: For non-recurring purchases, the Library Director shall obtain prior Board approval before (1) entering into a contracted services for a period exceeding one year, (2) obligating the library for expenses in excess of $2,000, or (3) making a purchase which will exceed the amount over all budget for the year. In addition, for purchases which exceed $2,000, quotations shall be sought from at least two, and if possible, three vendors. If an item is a proprietary product or there is only one source for the goods or services, this price quotation shall be waived.
Emergency Purchases: The Library Director is authorized to obligate the library for expenses in excess of $2,000 for emergency repairs, services, goods, or equipment without prior Board approval. If possible the Library Director shall consult with members of the Board. The Board will act on the emergency expenditure at the next appropriate meeting.
Iowa Code 384.20 Separate accounts.
1. A city shall keep separate accounts corresponding to the programs and items in its adopted or amended budget, as recommended by the committee.
2. A city shall keep accounts which show an accurate and detailed statement of all public funds collected, received, or expended for any city purpose, by any city officer, employee, or other person, and which show the receipt, use, and disposition of all city property. Public moneys may not be expended or encumbered except under an annual or continuing appropriation.
3. “Continuing appropriation” means the unexpended portion of the cost of public improvements, as defined in section 26.2, which cost was adopted through a public hearing pursuant to section 26.12 and was included in an adopted or amended budget of a city. A continuing appropriation does not expire at the conclusion of a fiscal year. A continuing appropriation continues until the public improvement is completed, but expenditures under the continuing appropriation shall not exceed the resources available for paying for the public improvement.
Iowa Code 336.3 Gifts.
When a gift for library purposes is accepted by a county or city, its use for the library may be enforced against the board of supervisors or city council by the library board by an action of mandamus or by other proper action.
CITY ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES, 392.5 Library board.
1.a. A city library board of trustees functioning on the effective date of the city code shall continue to function in the same manner until altered or discontinued as provided in this section.
b. In order for the board to function in the same manner, the council shall retain all applicable ordinances, and shall adopt as ordinances all applicable state statutes repealed by 1972 Iowa Acts, Ch. 1088.
2. A library board may accept and control the expenditure of all gifts, devises, and bequests to the library.
3. a. A proposal to alter the composition, manner of selection, or charge of a library board, or to replace it with an alternate form of administrative agency, is subject to the approval of the voters of the city.
b. The proposal may be submitted to the voters at any city election by the council on its own motion. Upon receipt of a valid petition as defined in section 362.4, requesting that a proposal be submitted to the voters, the council shall submit the proposal at the next regular city election. A proposal submitted to the voters must describe with reasonable detail the action proposed.
c. If a majority of those voting approves the proposal, the city may proceed as proposed.
d. If a majority of those voting does not approve the proposal, the same or a similar proposal may not be submitted to the voters of the city for at least four years from the date the election at which the proposal was defeated.
Library Staff
The Board has the responsibility to hire, evaluate, and dismiss the Director. The Director has the responsibility to hire, evaluate and dismiss all other library staff members. Through a personnel policy the board will adopt staff structure, etc.
Order of Business
Agenda Griswold Public Library
Date
Time
Griswold Public Library
Procedural Rules
Roberts’ Rules of Order, Revised shall be used to conduct all meetings unless otherwise provided in these by-Laws or the city ordinance pertaining to the library. Library Director will post meeting 24 hours in advance in the window of the library.
Conventions
The director and Board Members may attend meetings and/ or conventions as approved by the Board with expenses to be paid from the library budget. Expenses shall include mileage, registration, parking, lodging and meals.
Philosophy
The philosophy of the document is to set forth policies which personnel-related decisions are made by either Library Board or Employee are to be guided and express mutual expectations for conduct in the workplace. The Library’s ability to manage and provide public services with efficiency and effectiveness is dependent upon the capability and performance of its employees. The Library strives to provide a good working environment which promotes and supports diversity and inclusivity, professional development, open communication, and sensitivity to employee’s needs.
Administration
These policies generally cover all employees; however, temporary employees may not be covered by all provisions. These policies work to ensure decisions will be made consistently and in accordance with overall Library goals regarding employee relations.
Job titles and descriptions
Library Board of Trustees
The Library Board of Trustees is made up of five volunteers, appointed by the Mayor of the City of Griswold, to serve six-year terms. The City Council also designates a liaison to serve on the Library Board of Trustees. The Library Board is administrative and is responsible for hiring the Library Director and administrative details, such as paying bills, approving policies, and advocating the library to community members and leaders.
Library Director
The Library Director oversees the administration of the library, including personnel, library services, and the use of library resources. The Library Director reports to the Library Board of Trustees, who ultimately decide and approve of library services, resources, and management of the library. The Library Director supervises the library staff, provides resources and support for library staff and patron life-long learning and recreation, and promotes and advocates for the library within the community. The Library Director focuses on providing excellent customer service to library users, the Griswold community, and to the employees of the library. The Director interprets, articulates, and implements policies and procedures; evaluates policies and programs; attends all meetings of the Board except where the Director is physically unable to attend due to illness or injury or has been granted special leave by board, i.e. vacation time. The Director works with the Library board to develop a budget to submit to the City Council. The Director is responsible for the day to day operation of the library, recommends and directs overall maintenance of the building, plans and coordinates the library’s capital improvements. The Director selects library materials and evaluates the library’s collection as needed, works at being familiar with laws and regulations relating to library operations, maintains communication with City Council, Board of Supervisors, Cass County Library Association, Friends of the Library, and the State Library. The Director writes, oversees, and finds grants if needed and writes agendas for the Library Board meetings. The Library Director is required to have or receive the Public Library Director Certificate (PLM) within 2 years of employment, must have high school diploma or GED equivalency, a working knowledge of current computer software and network systems and be able to lift reasonable amounts.
Library Assistant
Under the direct supervision of the Library Director, the Assistant Librarian focuses on the youth department. The Youth Services is responsible for library services, materials, and programming for youth aged birth through eighteen. The Youth Services also guides the activities of the youth volunteers. The Youth Services provides excellent customer service at all times and works with other community agencies to promote and advocate for the library in the community. Responsibilities include assisting with checking in and out of materials, processing new materials to add to the library’s collection, and putting these materials back into the collection, in accordance with the library’s shelving system, handles interlibrary loan (ILL) requests, places books back to proper place on shelves, assists patrons to locate books and materials. The Assistant performs duties associated with opening and closing library, performs any duties that are requested by the Director, covers the vacation time, sick time, and training time of the Library Director. The Certificate of Public Library Staff is recommended in the first 2 years.
Substitute
Basic Substitute Instructions
Time Sheets
Staff are expected to fill out a time Card every other week, indicating the hours worked, vacation time, comp time, sick time, or personal holiday time taken, and comp time earned. Each time sheet will be turned into the Library Director at the end of the time for approval. The Library Director signs each time sheet and turns them in to the City Clerk. The Library Director will have time card signed by the President, Vice-President or Secretary.
City of Griswold’s Personal Handbook 6.1 Holidays
Regular full-time employees receive nine (9) holidays, including a Personal Day, off work with pay as follows:
New Year’s Day Memorial Day July 4th
Labor Day Thanksgiving Day Day after Thanksgiving
½ Day of Christmas Eve Christmas Day ½ Day of New Year’s Eve
Personal Day
The Librarian may also receive nine (9) paid holidays as determined by the Library Board.
If you are required to work on a holiday, you will be paid one and one-half (1.5) times your regular hourly pay or the holiday worked can be utilized as an additional personal "float" holiday to be used in the same calendar year. Holidays have no cash value.
Continuing Education
The Library Board supports and encourages library staff to engage in continuing education and training for library employees. The Library Director or library staff may find training or continuing education classes available. The Library Director must approve of any and all continuing education courses. The Library will pay for registration or fees relating to continuing education or training and all continuing education or training sessions must be done during scheduled work time. The Library will cover mileage and lodging, as per the City’s Personnel Policy. Work schedules can be adjusted to accommodate training sessions, with the approval of the Library Director.
Evaluations
Evaluations will be done on an annual basis, set to be completed before the staff person’s anniversary date. The Library Director will conduct the evaluations for all library staff. The Library Board Personnel Committee will perform the Library Director’s evaluation. Self-evaluation forms will be available for staff to fill out before their evaluation, to be turned in to the Library Director before the annual evaluation. Evaluations will be discussed by the Library Director with each employee.
Customer Service
Providing information and service is the most important part of any position in the library. Library staff should act in a courteous, responsive, and prompt manner with the public and their co-workers, to provide accurate responses or referrals, and to be fair and consistent in enforcing library rules.
Workplace Violence
Providing a safe work environment is essential to the Library. Acts or threats of violence against any Library employee will not be tolerated whether among employees or between one or more employees and the public. Any employee initiating a violent act against another will be subject to disciplinary action. All reports of violence must be reported in a timely manner. Each report will be reviewed in a timely manner.
Harassment
As with workplace violence, harassment, of any kind, will not be tolerated. Acts of harassment between employees or between an employee and a member of the public will not be allowed to continue. Any employee initiating harassment of any kind will be subject to disciplinary action. All reports of harassment must be reported in a timely manner. Each report will be reviewed in a timely manner.
Appearance & Behavior
Employees are expected to maintain a level of personal appearance and grooming that is considerate of other employees and inspires the confidence of community members and others the employee will address. Employees’ conduct at work shall be professional, friendly, and always with customer service in mind.
Library Closing & Inclement Weather
The library has an obligation to maintain regular hours whenever possible, and employees should report to work unless otherwise notified. When either the Director or his/her designate judges that weather conditions threaten the safety of the public or staff, the Library will close.
At the Library Directors discretion the Library will be closed when there is no power. This is for the safety of the public and employees.
To Library Board / Director
Name_________________________________________________________
Must have a name to be addressed
Address _______________________________________________________
Town________________________ State________________ Zip _________
Phone Number _________________________________________________
Email Address __________________________________________________
Please circle the appropriate word:
Compliment Comment Complaint
If you are reporting a complaint, what would you like the outcome to be?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Details of Compliment, comment, or complaint:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Please write on the back if you need to.
City of Griswold
601 2nd St. PO BOX 760
GRISWOLD, IOWA 51535
PHONE: (712) 778 - 2615
FAX: (712) 778 - 2619
APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT
It is the policy of the City of Griswold to be committed to equal employment opportunity for everyone, including applicants for employment, regardless of their age, sex, color, race, creed, national origin, religious persuasion, opinion, or affiliation, political persuasion, opinion, or affiliation, marital status, military/veteran status, disability/handicap that does not prohibit performance of essential job functions, sexual orientation, or any other classifications covered by relevant laws and regulations.
INSTRUCTIONS
Date: __________________
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Name: _______________________________________________________________
Last First Middle
Current Address: ______________________________________Apt. No. ________
City, State, ZIP: ________________________________________________________
Home Phone: (______) ______-________ Mobile Phone: (______) ______-________
Email: ______________________ Social Security Number: ______ - ____ - ______
Are you over age 18? _Yes _ No
•Complete all relevant information on this application, even if a resume is submitted.
•Please let us know if you need an accommodation as we provide reasonable accommodations to known disabilities of applicants.
•All relevant information and the applicant’s signature must be provided on this form to be considered for employment.
•This application shall be active for a period of 6 months.
•Please PRINT and sign this form; then deliver, mail or fax to: City of Griswold,
PO Box 760, Griswold, IA 51535. Fax: 712-778-2619
EMPLOYMENT DESIRED
Position Applied for: ________________________________________________
How did you learn about the position? ___________________________________
Date you can start: _____________Salary or Wage required: __________________
Are you currently employed? _Yes _ No
If yes, may we contact your current employer? _Yes _ No
What type of employment are you seeking? _Full-time _Part-time _Seasonal/Temporary
What hours are you available to work? M___________ Tu__________ W__________Th__________ F__________ Sa__________ Su__________
EDUCATION/TRAINING
RECORD OF EDUCATION
Dates Attended
Major or Degree Attained
School Name & Address
SPECIAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Typing Speed (WPM)/Office Experience: ___________________________________
Computer Applications:_________________________________________________
Do you have a: valid driver’s license _Yes
No valid chauffeur’s license _Yes No If yes, indicate type: ________
Other Licenses/Trades (type and number):_________________________________
Professional Affiliations: ________________________________________________
Circle highest grad completed: 9 10 11 H.S. Diploma GED College: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE
Start with your present or most recent job and list prior employers. If you have been employed for more than 10 years, please provide a minimum of 10 years of employment history. Include military service, job-related volunteer activities, and periods of unemployment. Please attach an additional sheet if there is not enough space below.
Position Title ____________________ Employment Dates __________ to __________
Employer _______________________Phone # _______________________________
Address _______________________City_______________ State____ Zip__________
Direct Supervisor_______________ May we contact for a reference check _Yes No
Compensation _______Hours Per Week ________ # of employees supervised ______
Primary Job Duties ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reason for wanting to leave _______________________________________________________________
Position Title _______________ Employment Dates ____________ to ____________
Employer _____________________________ Phone # ________________________
Address _____________________City_______________ State______ Zip__________
Direct Supervisor_____________ May we contact for a reference check _Yes _ No
Compensation _______Hours Per Week ________ # of employees supervised ______
Primary Job Duties ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Reason for wanting to leave _______________________________________________________________
Current or Most Recent
Position Title ____________________ Employment Dates __________ to __________
Employer _______________________ Phone # _______________________________
Address ____________________ City_______________ State______ Zip__________
Direct Supervisor_____________ May we contact for a reference check _Yes _ No
Compensation _______ Hours per Week ________ # of employees supervised ______
Primary Job Duties ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Reason for wanting to leave _______________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Have you ever been employed by the City of Griswold? _Yes _No
If yes, where, when______________________________________________________
Do you have any relative(s) currently working for the City of Griswold? _Yes _No
Name & Position: ________________________________________________________________
Are you a veteran of the US military service? _Yes _No
Have you ever been charged with a criminal violation? _Yes _No
If yes, please explain, including dates, location of incident: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES
Please provide the names of three persons not related to you, who are familiar with your work.
Name
Company Relationship
Years
Acquainted
PRE-EMPLOYMENT STATEMENT
(Please read very carefully before signing below)
I understand and voluntarily agree that the information provided on this application is true and complete to the best of my knowledge. Any misrepresentation or omission of any material fact in my application, resume or other materials, or during any interviews, can be justification for refusal of employment, or termination, if employed.
Any offer of employment I may receive from the City of Griswold is contingent upon my successful completion of the pre-employment screening process, including receiving references that the City considers satisfactory. I understand that as a condition of continued employment, I may be required to submit to an alcohol or drug screening at any time at the discretion of the City of Griswold. I give my permission for the City to verify all information provided by me, and/or to obtain or have prepared an investigative consumer report for this purpose. This report may include, but not be limited to, my prior employment and/or military record, education, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, criminal record and mode of living. I understand that upon written request to the City, I will be informed of whether an investigative consumer report was requested and given full information as to the nature and scope of this investigation.
I authorize and request that all of my present and former employers and those individuals I have listed as personal references furnish information about my employment record. This information may include the reason for the termination of my employment, work performance, abilities, and other qualities pertinent to my qualifications for employment. I release them from all liability for damages arising from furnishing the requested information. In consideration of my employment, I agree to comply with the policies, rules, regulations and procedures of the City. I understand that the City or I with or without cause or notice can terminate my employment, at any time. I further understand that no one, other than the City Council as a body, has any authority to enter into an agreement with me for employment for any specified time or to make an agreement different from or contrary to any City policy.
Signature: __________________________________________________________
Date: __________________
Library Director Interview Questions
Why does this job interest you and what qualities can you bring that would be beneficial to the library?
What role should the library play in the community?
Describe your strengths in working with the public.
Is there anything in the job description that is objectionable to you?
Do you believe in the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read documents?
Given the librarian’s work schedule, would you have any difficulty with consistent attendance?
Do you understand all the tasks involved in this position?
(Cleaning, decorating, etc.)
If a patron became angry with you because of a library policy, how would you handle the situation?
Volunteers
Teen Volunteers must have individual training. Teen volunteers must maintain the confidentiality of all of the library information. Teen volunteers should record their own time if needed for school or other purposes. Upon request, Griswold Public Library may provide letters of references for a teen volunteer. All personal information about a teen is for internal use only. Signed parental permission will be needed for a teen volunteer.
Adult Volunteers must maintain the confidentiality of all of the library information. Adult volunteers should record their own time if needed for any purposes. Upon request, Griswold Public Library may provide letters of references for a volunteer. All personal information about a volunteer is for internal use only.
Volunteers
Personal Conduct: Staff and volunteers alike are asked to speak quietly and be courteous and considerate of others. Library staff and volunteers alike are subject to the same check-out, return and overdue policies as patrons. You may not have your friends hanging out behind the desk.
Emergencies: If you should have an accident or witness an accident, please notify a staff member immediately.
Using Computers: The staff computers are not for personal use; please use patron computers when you are not working your volunteer hours.
Volunteer Forms for School/Civic Organizations: Volunteers must submit any verification forms required for school/civic organizations no later than 1 week prior to due date. This is to ensure that staff members have ample time to verify information and complete forms.
Types of Warnings: The Griswold Public Library reserves the right to terminate the association between the volunteer and the library at any time. Grounds for dismissal include, but are not limited to, failure to adhere to policies and procedures of Griswold Public Library Volunteer Program, unsatisfactory work, and inappropriate behavior.
Philosophy
Bulletin board materials may be submitted for posting by nonprofit organizations for civic, educational, or cultural purposes. Such organizations may submit literature publicizing a specific event. Limited space allows only short-term notices. The director must approve all postings and may prohibit postings that do not meet library standards. Library staff will place and remove postings promptly.
PUBLIC NOTICE BULLETIN BOARD
Displays and Exhibits
As an educational and cultural institution, the Griswold Public Library welcomes exhibits and displays of interest, information and enlightenment to the community. All exhibits must be timely, non-political, and nonprofit. They may be displayed for two weeks with an opportunity for renewal. The director shall accept or reject material offered for display based on suitability and availability.
The Library assumes no responsibility for the preservation or protection, and no liability for possible damage or theft of any item displayed or exhibited. All items placed in the Library are there at the owner’s risk.
The exhibitor must sign the following release before any item can be placed in the library:
Griswold Public Library Display and Exhibit Release
I hereby lend the following materials to the Griswold Public Library for exhibit purposes only. In consideration of the privilege of exhibiting them in the Library, I hereby release the Library from responsibility for loss, damage, or destruction while they are in the possession of the Library.
Exhibit to be displayed: ___________________________________________________
Set-up Date: _______________________ Removal Date: ________________________
Description of Materials Displayed: _______________________________________________________________________
Contact Person Signature: ________________________ Date: ____________________
Address: ______________________________________ Telephone: ________________
Philosophy
Programming is provided to appeal to all citizens, but individual programs may be designed for a specific audience based on age or other demographics.
While some programming will be generated internally by library staff using library resources or with support of the Friends of the Library, the library will also incorporate cooperative programming with other individuals, agencies, organizations, and educational institutions capitalizing on existing knowledge and expertise.
Meetings and meeting rooms:
The Griswold Library provides a meeting room to fulfill its role as a community gathering place for information, cultural, and education purposes. The primary purpose of the meeting room is for library events. When not in use for library events, these rooms can be reserved on a first come, first serve basis.
The user is financially responsible for any damage to or loss of library property while using the meeting room. No lit candles or open flames are allowed. No materials of any type may be attached to the walls or doors without permission. User must be 14 years of age or older to use the meeting room or have an adult present.
The meeting room will be kept locked. Patrons must request to use the room. Reservations can be made in person, by calling or by emailing library staff. The room can be reserved in half hour increments up to two hours. There is a maximum capacity of 8 people in the room. The Library reserves the right to deny any request to use the meeting room at any time. Anyone who is disorderly or violates library rules/policies may be asked to leave and may have future meeting room privileges revoked.
LIBRARY PROGRAMING
Individuals and groups are welcome to propose a program that they would like to provide to the library, understanding that not all will be accepted. The Library Director /Library Board will consider several factors when determining whether to hold a certain program. Availability of staff time for preparation and promotion, availability of volunteers and adequate space, and consideration of whether the program would interfere with members’ use of the library during open hours or would cause the library to remain open outside of normal hours will all be considered. The Library reserves the right to decline program offers.
Although the Library Director and/or Library Board might solicit or allow programming to be provided by representatives of commercial entities, we will not provide attendee contact information nor will we allow the program to take the stance of a “sales pitch.” Such presenters will be expected to act as an expert on a given topic in a general way and not to use the library as a means to promote their personal interests. Acceptance of a program does not constitute endorsement by the library of the individual presenter’s policies or beliefs. Library initiated programs will provide for the “interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves” as outlined in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights.
No fees will be charged to people attending library programs except with the approval of the Library Director and/or the Library Board. Items may be sold to the public during these programs by presenters. The presenter or his/her associate must handle the sale of these items. Library staff will not retain or handle for-sale items for purchase in the library before or after the program has been held.
The Griswold Public Library welcomes individual and corporate support and community partnerships in the form of monetary donations.
The Griswold Public Library will provide off-site outreach programming to local daycare centers.
Library programs or classes may be cancelled for several reasons including cases of severe weather, presenter conflict, or low registration numbers.
It is the Library’s policy that children under the age of 6 be accompanied by a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person over the age of 18. The Library reserves the right to have staff waive this requirement based upon the program being provided and the audience served. The behavior policy will still be enforced regardless of waiving the age policy.
The Freedom to Read
The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. We, as individuals devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read.
Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad. We trust Americans to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be "protected" against what others think may be bad for them. We believe they still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression.
These efforts at suppression are related to a larger pattern of pressures being brought against education, the press, art and images, films, broadcast media, and the Internet. The problem is not only one of actual censorship. The shadow of fear cast by these pressures leads, we suspect, to an even larger voluntary curtailment of expression by those who seek to avoid controversy or unwelcome scrutiny by government officials.
Such pressure toward conformity is perhaps natural to a time of accelerated change. And yet suppression is never more dangerous than in such a time of social tension. Freedom has given the United States the elasticity to endure strain. Freedom keeps open the path of novel and creative solutions, and enables change to come by choice. Every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of our society and leaves it the less able to deal with controversy and difference.
Now, as always in our history, reading is among our greatest freedoms. The freedom to read and write is almost the only means for making generally available ideas or manners of expression that can initially command only a small audience. The written word is the natural medium for the new idea and the untried voice from which come the original contributions to social growth. It is essential to the extended discussion that serious thought requires, and to the accumulation of knowledge and ideas into organized collections.
We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. We believe that these pressures toward conformity present the danger of limiting the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend. We believe that every American community must jealously guard the freedom to publish and to circulate, in order to preserve its own freedom to read. We believe that publishers and librarians have a profound responsibility to give validity to that freedom to read by making it possible for the readers to choose freely from a variety of offerings.
The freedom to read is guaranteed by the Constitution. Those with faith in free people will stand firm on these constitutional guarantees of essential rights and will exercise the responsibilities that accompany these rights.
We therefore affirm these propositions:
1. It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.
Creative thought is by definition new, and what is new is different. The bearer of every new thought is a rebel until that idea is refined and tested. Totalitarian systems attempt to maintain themselves in power by the ruthless suppression of any concept that challenges the established orthodoxy. The power of a democratic system to adapt to change is vastly strengthened by the freedom of its citizens to choose widely from among conflicting opinions offered freely to them. To stifle every nonconformist idea at birth would mark the end of the democratic process. Furthermore, only through the constant activity of weighing and selecting can the democratic mind attain the strength demanded by times like these. We need to know not only what we believe but why we believe it.
2. Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated.
Publishers and librarians serve the educational process by helping to make available knowledge and ideas required for the growth of the mind and the increase of learning. They do not foster education by imposing as mentors the patterns of their own thought. The people should have the freedom to read and consider a broader range of ideas than those that may be held by any single librarian or publisher or government or church. It is wrong that what one can read should be confined to what another thinks proper.
3. It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.
No art or literature can flourish if it is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators. No society of free people can flourish that draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may have to say.
4. There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.
To some, much of modern expression is shocking. But is not much of life itself shocking? We cut off literature at the source if we prevent writers from dealing with the stuff of life. Parents and teachers have a responsibility to prepare the young to meet the diversity of experiences in life to which they will be exposed, as they have a responsibility to help them learn to think critically for themselves. These are affirmative responsibilities, not to be discharged simply by preventing them from reading works for which they are not yet prepared. In these matters values differ, and values cannot be legislated; nor can machinery be devised that will suit the demands of one group without limiting the freedom of others.
5. It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of a label characterizing any expression or its author as subversive or dangerous.
The ideal of labeling presupposes the existence of individuals or groups with wisdom to determine by authority what is good or bad for others. It presupposes that individuals must be directed in making up their minds about the ideas they examine. But Americans do not need others to do their thinking for them.
6. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people's freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large; and by the government whenever it seeks to reduce or deny public access to public information.
It is inevitable in the give and take of the democratic process that the political, the moral, or the aesthetic concepts of an individual or group will occasionally collide with those of another individual or group. In a free society individuals are free to determine for themselves what they wish to read, and each group is free to determine what it will recommend to its freely associated members. But no group has the right to take the law into its own hands, and to impose its own concept of politics or morality upon other members of a democratic society. Freedom is no freedom if it is accorded only to the accepted and the inoffensive. Further, democratic societies are more safe, free, and creative when the free flow of public information is not restricted by governmental prerogative or self-censorship.
7. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression. By the exercise of this affirmative responsibility, they can demonstrate that the answer to a "bad" book is a good one, the answer to a "bad" idea is a good one.
The freedom to read is of little consequence when the reader cannot obtain matter fit for that reader's purpose. What is needed is not only the absence of restraint, but the positive provision of opportunity for the people to read the best that has been thought and said. Books are the major channel by which the intellectual inheritance is handed down, and the principal means of its testing and growth. The defense of the freedom to read requires of all publishers and librarians the utmost of their faculties, and deserves of all Americans the fullest of their support.
We state these propositions neither lightly nor as easy generalizations. We here stake out a lofty claim for the value of the written word. We do so because we believe that it is possessed of enormous variety and usefulness, worthy of cherishing and keeping free. We realize that the application of these propositions may mean the dissemination of ideas and manners of expression that are repugnant to many persons. We do not state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant. We believe rather that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.
This statement was originally issued in May of 1953 by the Westchester Conference of the American Library Association and the American Book Publishers Council, which in 1970 consolidated with the American Educational Publishers Institute to become the Association of American Publishers.
Adopted June 25, 1953, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee; amended January 28, 1972; January 16, 1991; July 12, 2000; June 30, 2004.
Information Resources and Access
B.4.3 Bibliographic Data Bases
The American Library Association supports open access to information, including the information contained in online data bases, and encourages data base providers and other organizations to minimize restrictions placed on their members’ use of bibliographic records maintained in their online data bases.
B.4.4 Funding for Community Access Cable Programming
Libraries should work cooperatively with other groups in promoting the widest possible access to communications and information, including community access cable casting. The American Library Association, in order to support stable sources of funding for community access channels, endorses the following principles articulated by Open Channel and Publicable, two organizations with knowledge and experience in community access cablecasting:
The accelerating mass digitization of collections in libraries and cultural heritage institutions demands a framework of principles and a body of policy to guide decision-making and to enable values-driven choices. The principles for the digitization of content will provoke a review of American Library Association policies that address the creation, access, use and preservation of digital materials and that require revision, enhancement and creation. This is critical to the advancement of ALA’s leadership role in the information society and to the support provided to members. This will also sustain the relevance and impact of libraries and librarians in their communities.
The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.
Librarians and library governing bodies have a public and professional obligation to ensure that all members of the community they serve have free, equal, and equitable access to the entire range of library resources regardless of content, approach, or format. This principle of library service applies equally to all users, minors as well as adults. Lack of access to information can be harmful to minors. Librarians and library governing bodies must uphold this principle in order to provide adequate and effective service to minors.
Adopted June 30, 1972; amended: AC 1981; AC 1991; AC 2004; AC 2008; and AC2014
B.2.1.12 Diversity in Collection Development
Library collections must represent the diversity of people and ideas in our society. There are many complex facets to any issue, and many contexts in which issues may be expressed, discussed, or interpreted. Librarians have an obligation to select and support access to content on all subjects that meet, as closely as possible, the needs, interests, and abilities of all persons in the community the library serves.
Adopted 1982, amended 1990, 2008, 2014.
B.2.1.16 Access to Library Resources and Services Regardless of Sex, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, or Sexual Orientation
The American Library Association stringently and unequivocally maintains that libraries and librarians have an obligation to resist efforts that systematically exclude materials dealing with any subject matter, including sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. The Association also encourages librarians to proactively support the First Amendment rights of all library users, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.
Adopted 1993, amended 2000, 2004, 2008, 2010
B.2.1.22 Advocating for Intellectual Freedom
Libraries of all types foster education by promoting the free expression and interchange of ideas, leading to empowered lifelong learners. Libraries use resources, programming, and services to strengthen intellectual and physical access to information and thus build a foundation of intellectual freedom: developing collections (both real and virtual) with multiple perspectives and individual needs of users in mind; providing programming and instructional services framed around equitable access to information and ideas; and teaching information skills and intellectual freedom rights integrated appropriately throughout the spectrum of library programming.
Adopted 2009, amended 2014.
B.2.1.26 Religion in Libraries
The First Amendment guarantees the right of individuals to believe and practice their religion or to practice no religion at all, and prohibits government from establishing or endorsing a religion or religions. Thus the freedom of, for and from religion, are similarly guaranteed. The First Amendment also guarantees the corollary right of individuals to receive information on religious topics. Libraries support this right by providing access to diverse religious thought without becoming a proponent of any of them.
Adopted AC 2016.
B.2.3 Freedom to Read
The American Library Association endorses Freedom to Read, a joint statement by the American Library Association and the Association of American Publishers.
Adopted 1953, revised 1972, 1991, 2000, and 2004.
B.2.12 Threats to Library Materials Related to Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation
The American Library Association supports the inclusion in library collections of materials that reflect the diversity of our society, including those related to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression. ALA encourages all American Library Association chapters to take active stands against all legislative or other government attempts to proscribe materials related to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression; and encourages all libraries to acquire and make available materials representative of all the people in our society.
Adopted 2005, Amended 2009, 2010.
Access to Electronic Information, Services, and Networks
B.2.1.20 Access to Digital Information, Services, and Networks
Freedom of expression is an inalienable human right and the foundation for self-government. Freedom of expression encompasses the freedom of speech and the corollary right to receive information. Libraries and librarians protect and promote these rights regardless of the format or technology employed to create and disseminate information.
Adopted 1996, amended 2005, 2009.
B.2.1.23 Minors and Internet Activity
The First Amendment applies to speech created by minors on interactive sites. Use of these social networking sites in a school or library allows minors to access and create resources that fulfill their interests and needs for information, for social connection with peers, and for participation in a community of learners. Restricting expression and access to interactive web sites because the sites provide tools for sharing information with others violates the tenets of the Library Bill of Rights. It is the responsibility of librarians and educators to monitor threats to the intellectual freedom of minors and to advocate for extending access to interactive applications on the Internet.
Adopted 2009, amended 2014.
B.2.1.18 Use of Filtering Software in Libraries
The ALA affirms that the use of filtering software by libraries to block access to constitutionally protected speech violates the Library Bill of Rights.
B.2.1.14 Access for Children and Young Adults to Non-print Materials
Recognizing that librarians cannot act in loco parentis, policies which set minimum age limits for access to non-print materials and equipment with or without parental permission abridge library use for minors. Nevertheless, the ALA acknowledges and supports the exercise by parents of their responsibility to guide their own children’s viewing, using published reviews of films and videotapes and reference works that provide information about the content, subject matter, and recommended audiences.
Adopted 1989, revised 1991 and 2004.
Equity of Access
B.4.2 Free Access to Information
The American Library Association asserts that the charging of fees and levies for information services, including those services utilizing the latest information technology, is discriminatory in publicly supported institutions providing library and information services.
The American Library Association shall seek to make it possible for library and information service agencies which receive their major support from public funds to provide service to all people without additional fees and to utilize the latest technological developments to insure the best possible access to information, and ALA will actively promote its position on equal access to information.
B.2.1 Library Bill of Rights
Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
TITLE V HUMAN DEVELOPMENT - EDUCATION AND CULTURE
CHAPTER 1 LIBRARY SERVICES
5-1-1 Public Library
5-1-2 Library Trustees
5-1-3 Qualifications of Trustees
5-1-4 Organization of the Board
5-1-5 Powers and Duties
5-1-6 Power to Contract with Others for the Use of the Library
5-1-7 Non-Resident Use of the Library
5-1-8 Library Accounts
5-1-9 Annual Report
5-1-1 PUBLIC LIBRARY
There is hereby established a free public library for the City, to be known as the Griswold Public Library.
5-1-2 LIBRARY TRUSTEES
The board of trustees of the Griswold Public Library, hereinafter referred to as the board, consists of four (4) resident members and one (1) nonresident member. All resident board members shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council. The nonresident board member shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the County Board of Supervisors. (Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.5)
5-1-3 QUALIFICATIONS OF TRUSTEES
All of the members of the board shall be bona fide citizens and residents of the City. The nonresident member of the board shall be bona fide citizens and residents of the unincorporated county, and all shall be over the age of eighteen (18).
5-1-4 ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD
5-1-5 POWERS AND DUTIES
The board shall have and exercise the following powers and duties:
5-1-7 NON-RESIDENT USE OF THE LIBRARY
The board may authorize the use of the library by non-residents in any one or more of the following ways:
All money appropriated by the City Council from the general fund for the operation and maintenance of the library shall be set aside in an account for the library. Expenditures shall be paid for only on orders of the board, signed by its president and secretary. The warrant writing officer is the City Clerk.
5-1-9 ANNUAL REPORT
The board shall make a report to the City Council immediately after the close of the municipal fiscal year. This report shall contain statements of the condition of the library, the number of books added thereto, the number circulated, the amount of funds collected, and the amount of money expended in the maintenance of the library during the year, together with such further information required by the City Council.
Index:
Long Range Plan Page 1
Circulation Policy Page 6
Computer and Internet Policy Page 11
Makerspace Policy Page 13
Collection Policy Page 15
Gift & Memorial Policy Page 17
Behavior Policy Page 18
Bylaws Page 20
Personnel Policy Page 28
Volunteer/Community Service Policy Page 37
Displays Policy Page 38
Programs Policy Page 39
Freedom to Read Page 40
Information Resources and Access Page 44
Access to Electronic Information,
Services, and Networks Page 48
Equity of Access Page 49
City Ordinances Page 49
Griswold Public Library
Long-Range Plan
2017-2021
Approved by the Board of Trustees March 2017
Community
Griswold is located in Cass County in Southwest Iowa. The population of Griswold has remained fairly stable since the 2010 Federal Census. The current population is 1,182. The community is fairly balanced with no significantly large population of any particular age group. The residents of Griswold are predominantly white. A small Hispanic population is present as well. English is the principal language spoken in the community.
There are 3 in-home daycare providers in Griswold. The children of Griswold attend school in the Griswold Community School District. The middle school / high school /elementary building is located in town. It is estimated that there are 10 homeschool families in the community which is more than would typically be expected for a community of this size. Excluding preschoolers, approximately 21 percent of the population is school age.
The community’s main employers include Griswold Community School District, Griswold Care Center, and Farm Service Co-Op. Because of the close proximity of larger communities, such as Council Bluffs and Omaha, a number of residents choose to commute. Median income in this community is slightly below the national average. Unemployment is significantly higher than the national average.
The community boasts many amenities. Local organizations include the American Legion, Friends of the Library, Country Club, 4H, and Griswold Betterment. The citizens take pride in the local museums, varied community groups, and a dedicated school district among other things.
The library staff and trustees wish to extend a generous thank you to the community members that took the time to participate in the Community Committee portion of this planning process.
Introduction
In October 2016, the Board of Trustees of the Griswold Public Library invited community members to serve on a Strategic Planning Committee that would envision the city’s future and explore the role the library would play to make that vision reality.
Misty Gray of the State Library of Iowa facilitated a community meeting that used the Strategic Planning for Results process, as developed by Sandra Nelson and June Garcia. Committee members participated in a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of Griswold. Then, they focused on services the library could provide to improve the community. Each participant voted, identifying which of the eighteen service responses would be most beneficial to Griswold. The Library Board then analyzed these results and identified the following service responses to focus on for strategic planning:
- Create young readers: Emergent Literacy
- Discover your roots: Genealogy and local history
- Know your community: Community resources and services
- Make informed decisions: health, wealth and other life choices
The Trustees used these service responses as the foundation for the strategic plan. This plan outlines goals, objectives, and activities that will help library staff meet the needs identified during the committee meeting. The Griswold Public Library Strategic Plan is submitted as a written endeavor to accomplish the goals set forth by the community committee members.
Community Planning Committee Members
Faith Beebe, Adam Bierbaum, Lisa Buchanan, Amy Carlisle, Bry Carlisle, Krisi Keiser, Erika Kirchhoff, Dana Kunze, Greg Lightner, Lisa Metheny, Susan Petersen, Jerry Putnam, Joy Smith, Cathy Vannausdle, Richard Witt
Library Board
Ben Greiman, President
Linda McLaren, Vice President
Shiona Putnam, Secretary
Krisi Keiser
Richard Witt
Library Staff
Lisa Metheny, Director
Caitlin Mueller, Assistant Librarian
Sue Petersen, Grant Writer
Monica Taylor, Sub
Mission Statement
The Griswold Public Library provides community members and visitors a collection of information in a variety of formats and resources. The library promotes personal growth to people of all ages by providing materials that support cultural, social, and other recreational needs. Within the next five years, the Griswold Public Library will strive to provide parents of young children programs and services designed to prepare children for school, provide electronic historical newspapers and information, establish a central source of community information for new and existing community members, and provide resources to encourage positive life choices.
Service Responses, Goals, and Objectives
Create Young Readers: Emergent Literacy
Children from birth to five will have programs and services designed to ensure that they will enter school ready to learn to read, write, and listen.
GOAL 1: Parents of young children will have access to programs and services designed to prepare their children for school.
- Provide parent education opportunities, such as Every Child Reads, at least once a year (2017)
- Improve parenting print collection by adding a minimum of 3 books per year on specific topics (Autism, behavior, activities, sign language, potty training, etc.)(2018)
- Provide a parenting magazine each year. (2019)
GOAL 2: Griswold community members will have support systems available which enhance emergent literacy.
- Library staff will attend training specifically related to youth literacy development at least once per year (2018)
- Focus one article per month of weekly column on a topic related to children’s literacy (2017)
- Prepare and distribute “New Parent Kit” to parents of newborns in the community (2019)
Discover your roots: Genealogy and local history
Residents and visitors will have the resources they need to connect the past with the present through their family histories and to understand the history and traditions of the community.
GOAL 1: Griswold community members will have access to digitized newspapers for Griswold, Lewis, and Elliott.
- Research and apply for grants to digitize local newspapers (2017)
- Seek other funding sources to assist in funding a digitization project (fundraising, sponsorships, etc.) (2019)
- Begin digitization in steps as funding allows (2020)
GOAL 2: Griswold community members will have activities available to them to connect to local history.
- Partner with at least one local historical agency (Ferry House, Hitchcock House, Cass County Museum and other local museum) per year. Possible partnerships include Music Days, Hitchcock House tours, local museums, etc. (2018)
- Host a presenter on a historical aspect once a year (2018)
- Investigate purchasing a genealogy database (like Ancestry Library) with countywide partners (2021)
- Provide biannual local history programming at the nursing home (2019)
Know your community: Community resources and services
Residents will have a central source for information about the wide variety of programs, services, and activities provided by community agencies and organizations.
GOAL 1: Griswold residents will have the information they need regarding access to community resources.
- Partner with city hall to provide resource information about the community (2020)
- Add information to library / city website with information on how to get started in the community (trash, gas, electric, etc.) (2021)
- Provide a program reflecting local interests once a year (2017)
- Provide resources for various community resources in print and on web page (i.e. heat assistance) (2019)
- Provide college resources in print and on web page (2020)
Make informed decisions: health, wealth and other life choices
Residents will have the resources they need to identify and analyze risks, benefits, and alternatives before making decisions that affect their lives.
GOAL 1: Griswold residents will have access to programs and materials that allow them to make decisions that positively impact their lives.
- Purchase at least 2 specialized cookbooks (diabetic, gluten free, etc.) per year (2019)
- Expand exercise collection by purchasing at least 1 DVD per year) (2019)
- Host a money-related presentation once a year (Money Smart week) (2021)
- Host a health-related presentation once a year (2019)
- Host a life choices program once a year (3 Bees, organic farming, master gardener, seed library, community garden, etc.) (2018)
Philosophy
The Library collection consists of approximately 14,463 books and serials, 756 CD’s, 1,554 Blu-ray/DVD, games, 49 cake pans, seeds and electronic software for a total collection. The library occupies 2500 square feet with 11 public access computer stations, 2 laptops, 1 public access catalog, 2 children’s computer, 1 Job Service computer, 6 kindles, 1 treadmill with computer, 2 gaming devices, 2 TV for movies and 3 staff computers. All computers are networked and have access to the Internet except for the children’s computers.
Regulations:
Library Materials and Services
All customers may have access to library materials while in the building. Some library services require having a valid library account. To be eligible to check out Library materials, customers must have a library account in good standing.
LIBRARY ACCOUNTS
Individual Account
Account Application and Activity:
Residents of Griswold and rural Cass County are eligible for a library card account.
Residents of the state of Iowa are eligible to register for a library card account through the State Library’s Open Access system. Residents in cities not participating in Open Access can apply for a non-resident card.
Residents of other states are eligible to register for a non-resident library card account, with fees. The fee for a non-resident card is $40.00 per year.
- To open an account, patron must give information to the Librarian and present proof of current address.
- Proof of current address may include a valid driver’s license, recent utility bill, lease, car registration, or a piece of mail received at their current address within the last 30 days.
- Must be 6 years old to get your own library card.
- Accounts are active for a period of one year and must be renewed by verifying/updating account information and paying all fines/fees on the account.
- By setting up a library card account with the Griswold Public Library, an individual accepts full responsibility for the use and return of all materials borrowed on this account. The individual whose name appears on the account will be charged fees by the Griswold Public Library for any items that are lost or damaged during their use by the account holder.
- The account holder is responsible for their contact information with the library.
- Parents/guardians are financially responsible for the items checked out on their minor child’s library account.
- Parents/guardians are responsible for guiding the selection of library materials by their children.
Homebound Patrons
- Homebound patrons include homebound individuals, nursing home or retirement home residents.
- An authorized person can set up a library card account for a homebound individual.
- Volunteers or employees deliver materials to homebound individuals and return their materials.
Special Needs Account
- Must follow all Individual Account Guidelines plus show a reason for 30 day check outs. Examples: Teachers, Daycare, Homebound, Truck Driver, etc.
Patron Responsibilities:
- Patrons are expected to comply with the library’s policies and procedures.
- Patrons are expected to comply with copyright laws, and the library assumes no responsibility for customer infractions of copyright laws while using library materials.
- Patrons with valid library borrower accounts may request that circulating items be held for them; requests will be added to queue lists in the order they are received.
- Patrons must notify the library of changes in account information (name, address, telephone numbers, etc.).
- Patrons must not tamper with or alter library materials in any way.
- Patrons must return library materials, including all parts and packaging, in good condition.
- The responsible party on a borrower account must manage that account and pay any fines or fees accrued.
CIRCULATION PERIOD
The library sets loan periods and limits in order to provide patrons with fair and reasonable access to the library’s resources.
- Items will not be due back on a day the library is closed.
- Materials may be borrowed for two weeks.
- Cake pans & DVD’s for two weeks with no more than two per patron checked out.
- Only 1 Kindle checked out per family.
Interlibrary Loan
- Interlibrary loan is available to Griswold and rural Cass County residents.
- Patrons can request up to five items at any given time.
- Request may be made in person, by phone or by email.
- Patron must have a library account in good standing.
- Titles owned by the Griswold Public Library cannot be requested through Interlibrary loan unless for a book club or at the discretion of the Library Director.
- Interlibrary loan requests will only be made to libraries in the continental United States.
- There is a $3.00 charge per item received by the Griswold Public Library, whether the patron picks up the item or not. This charge helps to cover the cost of postage. This must be paid when the item is checked out. This fee may be waived by the Library Staff if the book is available to go through the new state delivery system.
- Interlibrary loan item due dates are set by the loaning library, not the Griswold Public Library. Items may or may not be available for renewal.
- Any and all fines or fees the loaning library charges the Griswold Public Library will be passed on to the patron.
RENEWALS
- Library materials can be renewed
- By phone
- By accessing your account on the library’s online catalog
- By email, the item will be renewed during regular library hours.
- In person, during regular library hours
- Library materials are not available for renewal if:
- The item is on hold for another patron
- The item is considered lost by the system
- Exceptions to this will be made at the discretion of the library staff, on a case by case basis.
RESERVES
- A hold is a request that places a patron in a line for a specific title from the library catalog.
- Cardholders must be in good standing to place holds.
- Patrons can place a hold on most items in the library collection.
Returning Items
- Items can be returned:
- In the eagle drop box located at the entrance of the library.
- Hand to a staff at the service desk.
- At the service desk
- Library Staff reserves the right to switch to eagle drop off only.
- Items can be returned to another library participating in Open Access
- The items will not be checked in before being sent back to the Griswold Public Library. Patrons are still responsible if an item gets lost before it is returned.
- Items from other Open Access libraries can be returned to the Griswold Public Library. The Griswold Public Library is not responsible for any lost or damaged items during the return to the lending library.
OVERDUES, LOST, OR DAMAGED MATERIALS
- Overdue Items
- The library does not charge a fine for overdue materials. However, patrons are encouraged to return or renew materials by their due date.
- Overdue notices are set to notify patrons of overdue items at 7 and 14 days after the due date.
- Overdue items automatically become lost at 30 days overdue.
- Due date warnings can be sent via text or email.
- Library staff may make exceptions to lengthen time.
- Items missing pieces
- Patrons who return items with missing pieces will be contacted. If the missing pieces are not returned, the patron will be charged for the cost of replacing the piece or the entire item.
- The item will remain checked out to the patron until the pieces or entire item are returned or paid for.
- Damaged Items
- Damaged Items includes, but is not limited to:
- Ripped pages
- Damaged spines
- Liquid damage
- Excessive markings
- Broken Cases
- Broken Discs
- Costs for damaged items will vary, depending on the item.
- Normal wear and tear is expected.
- The Library recognizes that reporting all sightings and destroying bed bugs and eggs immediately is one of the most important actions we can take toward mitigating bed bugs in our environment. If you return books with bugs we suspend your account until we get a receipt from an exterminator that they have been taken care of at the house.
- Damaged Items includes, but is not limited to:
- Lost items
- Lost items are those items checked out to a patron and never returned.
- Lost items will be considered lost after 30 days overdue.
- The cost of the item will be charged to the patron’s account.
- Patrons with a lost item on their card will be blocked from checking out & may lose online resources.
- Refunds
- Refunds are available for paid lost items within 30 days if the library has not already replaced the item.
- The lost item must be in good condition.
- Payment will come from the City of Griswold as a check, following the next Board Meeting.
Confidentiality
- Patron records are confidential. No information, including items checked out, check out history, electronic usage or contact information should be shared with any of the public by the library staff or trustees.
- Patron information shall be used for library use only.
22.7 (13)
Confidential records.
The following public records shall be kept confidential, unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records, or by another person duly authorized to release such information:
- The records of a library which, by themselves or when examined with other public records, would reveal the identity of the library patron checking out or requesting an item or information from the library.
- The records shall be released to a criminal or juvenile justice agency only pursuant to an investigation of a particular person or organization suspected of committing a known crime.
- The records shall be released only upon a judicial determination that a rational connection exists between the requested release of information and a legitimate end and that the need for the information is cogent and compelling.
DELINQUENT BORROWERS
Borrowing privileges are suspended when unpaid fines or other charges total $10 or more. If habitually late or materials are continually damaged, at the Library Director’s discretion, there may be a limit on the amount of items that may be checked out at one time.
Philosophy
The Griswold Public Library provides computers and Internet access, as part of our mission to make information available to meet the needs and interests of all members of our community. The Board of Trustees has established the following Internet Use Policy to assure effective use of this resource.
The Library has no control over the information accessed through the Internet, assumes no responsibility, and shall have no liability for any damages arising from the use of information found on the Internet, or any communications sent through the library’s networks, equipment, or social media sites. Users are responsible for evaluating material for accuracy and suitability and may encounter material that they consider offensive. The availability of information on the Internet or on the Library’s social media sites does not constitute an endorsement by the Griswold Public Library.
LIBRARY COMPUTER AND INTERNET USE
Internet usage is not monitored. It is the responsibility of the user and of the parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated individual of minors to determine what is appropriate.
Misuse of the computer or internet access will result in the loss of computer privileges as determined by the Library staff. The length of suspension of computer privileges is at the discretion of the Library Director. To best utilize and preserve the computer hardware, the following general guidelines are to be observed:
- Patrons are responsible for any physical damage to equipment or library materials incurred while using and will be billed for full repair or replacement. The library is not responsible for damage to personal materials which include laptop computers. Staff will be glad to give basic training to users. The library also provides tutoring videos through the library web page.
- The library board and staff encourage parental involvement in all minor children’s computer/internet activities. It is the responsibility of parents to provide oversight to ensure their children’s use of the internet in an appropriate and safe manner, including the proper use of the equipment, electronic mail, social networks, and other forms of direct electronic communications. Library staff cannot act in place of a parent/guardian/care giver/designated person in providing care or supervision for children on the internet.
- It is the patron’s responsibility to comply with all local, state, and federal laws including but not limited to those concerning copyright, fraud, privacy, or obscenity.
- The computers/internet is available during normal library hours and is offered in thirty-minute sessions on a first-come basis; each user is allowed one session—if there is no patron waiting for the service at the end of the session, the user may have another session.
- Patrons cannot install or download any software or save files to the hard-drive but are welcome to use a USB drive. These are public computers and patrons are encouraged to not save user names and passwords.
- The Library reserves the right to end a computer session at any time for any reason.
- Printing is available at 10 cents B & W for 8x10 copy, 15 cents for 2 sided copy, 25 cents B&W for a 8 ½ x 11 copy, 25 cents for a 8 ½ x 11 copy for color copy, 50 cents for a color 11x17 or 8 ½ x 12 color, $8.00 per poster size.
- The library provides free, unsecured, wireless Internet access for public use:
- The library does not provide support for privately owned personal wireless devices, nor is it responsible for lost or damaged equipment.
- If using a personal laptop computer, it will need to have built-in Wi-Fi to connect to the Library’s Wi-Fi.
- Security for personal wireless devices rests solely with the owner of the wireless device.
- Personal use of the library’s public space while using personal electronic devices will conform to policies regulating other types of public internet access provided by the library as well as library’s conduct policies.
- Patrons may use any available electrical outlet that is not directly connected to the library-networked computers.
FILTERS
Software is used to filter inappropriate content. This software may not filter all information that may be harmful to minors, as well as visual depictions of materials deemed obscene or child pornography. In addition, software may filter content that is deemed appropriate. Patrons may submit a request to have sites unfiltered.
Procedures
Governing the Use of
Computers/Internet:
- Read policies.
- Use Beverages with a tight lid at the computers.
- Notify staff if you need assistance or there is a problem.
- To make sure all of your information is wiped off do not save in memory and log off. Users of library computers that create, store, and use personal files on library computers do so at their own risk. Laptops and Chrome boxes must be logged off Google to wipe the information.
- Printing is available at 10 cents B & W for 8x10 copy, 15 cents for 2 sided copy, 25 cents B&W for an 8 ½ x 11 copy, 25 cents for a 8 ½ x 11 copy for color copy, 50 cents for a color 11x17 or 8 ½ x 12 color, $8.00 per poster size.
- Up to two people may be at the same computer station at one time. Only 30-minute sessions if others are waiting.
Philosophy
The Griswold Public Library’s goal is to provide learning in not only book and web based learning but through experiences. The makerspace provides many different pieces of equipment to explore.
Eligibility
To be eligible, users must have a Griswold Public Library card in good standing, not have any past abuses of this policy or any other Library policies.
Duration
Eligible equipment may be checked out for up to three days.
Hours
During school operating days:
Monday- Friday 10-12:00
Wednesdays that a volunteer is available from 4-6
There will also be classes for all ages that will be available.
Exceptions can be made at the discretion of the director.
Fees
We are using these fees to help replace and maintain this area.
- There is a $2.00 deposit to use the area in front of the blue wall. When cleaned the $2.00 fee will be returned.
- There is a $20 deposit to check out equipment; $20 will be returned at the same time equipment is returned.
- There will be a $.70 per ounce fee for most items. (Jewelry, felting, 3-D pen, soldering, etc.)
- Other fees may be assessed based on items used.
Replacement Fee for broken equipment will be assessed at replacement costs.
Patron Responsibilities
- The patron using the equipment must complete a training.
- Equipment must be returned in the condition it was checked out as judged by staff.
- The patron must check out a pass at the front desk to use the makerspace. Space is limited.
- All equipment must be cleaned and put away.
Waivers
- The Griswold Public Library and City of Griswold is not responsible for any injury or damage caused by the use of any equipment.
- Those using the equipment should comply with all copyright, rights, and other information regarding the use, display, and public viewing of equipment and materials.
Check Outs Available
Equipment may be borrowed at a $20.00 deposit for use outside the library. To be eligible to check-out equipment, the borrower must be at least 18 years of age, have a Griswold Public Library card in good standing, and have a picture identification. Before checking out, all borrowers must read and sign an equipment agreement. Upon request, the check-out time may be extended. Whether an extension is granted is at the discretion of the library staff, who will take into consideration not only the need of the borrower, but public demand. Equipment is assumed to be in good working condition at the time of check-out. Equipment will be inspected and inventoried after each use and the borrower shall be responsible for the cost of any repair or replacement parts, up to the cost of replacement. If the equipment is lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair the borrower is responsible for the full replacement cost. Failure to pay will result in suspension of check-out privileges and possible revocation. Borrowers may also be subject to criminal prosecution under Iowa.
Iowa Code: Section: 714.5 Library materials and equipment--unpurchased merchandise--evidence of intention.
The fact that a person has concealed library materials or equipment as defined in section 702.22 or unpurchased property of a store or other mercantile establishment, either on the premises or outside the premises, is material evidence of intent to deprive the owner, and the finding of library materials or equipment or unpurchased property concealed upon the person or among the belongings of the person, is material evidence of intent to deprive and, if the person conceals or causes to be concealed library materials or equipment or unpurchased property, upon the person or among the belongings of another, the finding of the concealed materials, equipment or property is also material evidence of intent to deprive on the part of the person concealing the library materials, equipment or goods.
The fact that a person fails to return library materials for two months or more after the date the person agreed to return the library materials, or fails to return library equipment for one month or more after the date the person agreed to return the library equipment, is evidence of intent to deprive the owner, provided a reasonable attempt, including the mailing by restricted certified mail of notice that such material or equipment is overdue and criminal actions will be taken, has been made to reclaim the materials or equipment. Notices stating the provisions of this section and of section 808.12 with regard to library materials or equipment shall be posted in clear public view in all public libraries, in all libraries of educational, historical or charitable institutions, organizations or societies, in all museums and in all repositories of public records.
After the expiration of three days following the due date, the owner of borrowed library equipment may request the assistance of a dispute resolution center, mediation center or appropriate law enforcement agency in recovering the equipment from the borrower.
The owner of library equipment may require deposits by borrowers and in the case of late returns the owner may impose graduated penalties of up to twenty-five percent of the value of the equipment, based upon the lateness of the return. In the case of lost library materials or equipment, arrangements may be made to make a monetary settlement.
Philosophy
The Library collection consists of approximately 14,463 books and serials, 756 CD’s, 1,554 videos/DVD, games, 49 cake pans, seeds and electronic software for a total collection of 17,020. The library occupies 2500 square feet with 10 public access computer stations, 1 public access catalog, 2 children’s computer, 1 Job Service computer, 1 treadmill and laptop, 2 gaming devices, a TV for movies and 3 staff computers. All are networked and have access to the Internet except for the children’s computer.
The Griswold Public Library provides materials, technology, and services to support all ages represented within the community.
SELECTION
Selection and purchase of library materials is the responsibility of the library director. Yearly budget and monthly reports are provided to the board for their approval. Allocations of funds are determined based upon circulation statistics.
Selections are made so as to supply materials to encourage reading and hopefully foster a life-long habit of recreational reading and learning.
The responsibility of the library is to serve all of the community, not to promote or censor any particular political, moral, philosophical, or religious convictions or opinions. It is not the purpose of the library to stimulate interest in, nor cater to trivial, antisocial, or immoral interests. A free public library does not have the right to judge what another may or may not read or hear.
PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES CONCERNING WEEDING AND INVENTORIES
Weeding occurs when: (1) materials are damaged beyond repair, (2) materials have not been checked out for a period of 3 years, (3) materials are deemed irrelevant by the Library Director.
Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials
Title Book Periodical Other
Author
Publisher
Request initiated by
Address
City State Zip Telephone
Do you represent:
Yourself
An Organization (name)
Other group (name)
- To what in the work do you object? (Please be specific. Cite pages.)
- What do you feel might be the result of reading this work?
- What do you believe is the theme of this work?
- Are you aware of judgments of this work by literary critics?
- What would you like your library to do about this work? ____________________________________________________________
Return it to the staff selection committee for reevaluation.
Other. Explain
- In its place, what work would you recommend that would convey as valuable a picture and perspective of the subject treated?
Signature
Date
Philosophy
The philosophy of this procedure is to set forth policies which gift and donation decisions are made by either Library Board or Employee. The Griswold Public Library welcomes gifts of new and used books, audio CD’s, videos/DVD, and similar materials.
Gifts and Memorials
Memorial and donated monetary gifts given to the library are given to the City Clerk in Griswold. If the purpose is not designated, funds are used at the discretion of the Library Director and the Library Trustees. Materials donated and deemed inappropriate are handled at the discretion of the Library Director. The Griswold Public Library welcomes gifts of new and used books, audio CD’s, videos/DVD, and similar materials. Items will be added to the collection in accordance with the selection policy of the Library, and may be given to other libraries and non-profit agencies, sold, traded, or discarded if they are not added to the collection. Donated items will not be returned to the donor and the Library will not accept any item that is not an outright gift. The following form is given to each donor upon request acknowledging their contributions to the Library.
Friends of the Griswold Public Library
Monetary gifts may be designated to go to the Friends of the Griswold Public Library. The Friends group is a 501(c)3 organization and is tax deductible. Funds given to the Friends may be given a designation or it will be decided by the Friend’s Board.
GRISWOLD PUBLIC LIBRARY
DATE__________________________
NAME___________________________
ADDRESS____________________________________________________
Donated the following to the Griswold Public Library:
___Paperback Books
___Hardcover Books
___Magazines
___Audio-Visual
___Other
The Library Trustees, staff, and Friends thank you for supporting the Griswold Public Library. The Library is a non-profit institution and this donation may be tax deductible. The Library staff does not assign a value to items donated. Items donated to the Library may or may not be added to the collection.
_____Staff Initials
Philosophy
The Griswold Public Library is designed for the use of all members of the public. Patrons are expected to respect the rights of other patrons and staff and use the library for its intended use. Therefore, the Library has established the following rules of conduct to protect the rights and safety of Library patrons, volunteers, and staff, and for preserving and protecting the Library’s materials, equipment, facilities, and grounds. If a patron has a problem that needs addressed, the board asks the patron to bring the issue to the librarian to be handled as policy directs. The library director has the responsibility to enforce discipline within the library and determines when the behavior is inappropriate.
Rules
Forms of behavior, which will not be allowed in the library, include:
- Violation of any local, state, or federal laws within the library.
- Any behavior that endangers the safety or health of others.
- Vandalism or deliberate destruction of library material or property.
- Theft of library materials or personal property of others.
- Disruption of library procedures.
- Use of abusive language at other patrons or staff.
- Use of library for inappropriate purposes.
- Loudness, which disturbs or could disturb patrons or staff.
- Other kinds of behavior deemed inappropriate by the library staff.
- Using or charging e-cigarettes, vaping, juuling , smoking or chewing.
Young children:
The Griswold Public Library encourages visits by young children and it is our desire to make this important visit both memorable and enjoyable for the child. While staff members will act with care and concern, responsibility for the welfare, behavior, and supervision of children using the Library and computer work stations rests with parents, guardians, caregivers, or designated person. The Library defines a caregiver as an individual over the age of 18.
Therefore, it is library policy that all children under age six must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person while in the library.
A child may be asked to leave the Library due to inappropriate behavior. If a child is not able to leave the library without a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person then the child should not be in the library without a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person present.
The library is not an appropriate place to leave children and dependent adults with obvious medical conditions that require close monitoring. If the staff determines that a child or dependent adult needs a parent, caregiver, guardian, or designated person’s attention, staff will attempt to reach the parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person by telephone. If the parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person cannot be reached or is reached but does not come within a reasonable period of time to pick up the child or dependent adult, the staff may report the circumstances to either law enforcement or the appropriate social services agency. Parents, guardians, caregivers, or designated people who disregard this policy risk losing library privileges for a period of time to be determined by the director.
Disruptive children:
Children of all ages are encouraged to use the library for homework, recreational reading, table activities, internet, and program attendance. The library staff realizes that the library will be noisier at busy times and that children by nature can cause more commotion. However, children (whether with parents, guardian, caregiver or designated person or not) who are being continually disruptive will be given a warning to settle down or will be asked to leave the library. If after a second warning the child continues to be disruptive, he/she will be asked to leave the library. If the child needs to contact a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person, they may do so and then wait with a staff person until the parent arrives.
Revised Behavior Policy: Adopted 05-05-2014
SEX OFFENDERS AGAINST MINORS POLICY
In accordance with Chapter 692A of Subtitle 1 of Title 16 of the Code of Iowa (It is now 692A.113 as of 11-10), the Board of Trustees for the Griswold Public Library prohibits the presence of sex offenders convicted of sex offenses against minors upon or within 300 feet of library property without written permission of the Library Director. The Iowa Code, section 692A prohibits a sex offender (defined as a person who is required to be registered in the Iowa Sex Offender Registry) and who has been convicted of a sex offense against a minor from being present upon the real property of a public library without the written permission of the library administrator, nor to loiter within three hundred feet of the real property boundary of a public library.
- The sex offender may write the Library Director may give written permission.
- A sex offender who has been convicted of a sex offense against a minor may be present: 1) during the period of time reasonably necessary to transport the offender’s own minor child or ward to or from the library
- Persons barred from library property under the law remain entitled to library service. It is the responsibility of the library user to arrange for a courier to select, check out, and return materials to the library through possession of the library user’s card.
- Persons barred from library property under the law will not be served by the library’s homebound delivery service.
- The issuance of a library card to individuals who have been convicted of a sex offense involving a minor does not grant those individuals permission to enter the library or to be present on library property. Individuals convicted of a sex offense against a minor must follow proper library procedures and policies to request and obtain written permission to be on library property, regardless of whether or not they possess a valid library card.
- Definition of “Loiter” means remaining in a place or circulating around a place under circumstances that would warrant a reasonable person to believe that the purpose or effect of the behavior is to enable a sex offender to become familiar with a location where a potential victim may be found, or to satisfy an unlawful sexual desire, or to locate, lure or harass a potential victim.
- Suspicious person or persons who appear to be “loitering” will be reported to the police to be checked out and investigated.
- Background checks will be performed using the National Sex Offender Registry on all employees, potential employees, and volunteers, including library board members or potential library board members, who are or will be working on library property.
- Violations of this policy will be immediately reported to law enforcement.
Philosophy
The Board is an independent organization within the structure of the City of Griswold. By Iowa law the Board has complete authority over the line-item library budget once it is approved by the City Council. The City has approval of the bottom line only within the library budget. The Board recognizes the importance of the library within the structure of the City of Griswold and seeks support and cooperation at every opportunity. As a Board we may seek information from other libraries but will respect the information given and keep all confidentialities. The main purposes of the Board are to establish library policy and budget, to hire a Director to administer that policy and budget, and to advocate for the library at all times.
General Statement
The Griswold Public Library Board of Trustees hereafter referred to as the board.
City 5-1-2 Library trustees.
The board of trustees of the Griswold Public Library, hereinafter referred to as the board, consists of four (4) resident members and one (1) nonresident member. All resident board members shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council. The nonresident board member shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the County Board of Supervisors.
(Code of Iowa) 336.2 Library districts formed.
1. A library district may be established composed of one or more counties, one or more cities, or any combination of cities and counties.
2. a. Eligible electors residing within the proposed district in a number not less than five percent of those voting for president of the United States or governor, as the case may be, within the district at the last general election may petition the board of supervisors of the county, or the city council, for the establishment of the library district. The petition shall clearly designate the area to be included in the district, the total number of board members, and how representation on the board shall be divided among the jurisdictions.
b. The board of supervisors of each county and the city council of each city containing area within the proposed district shall submit the question to the registered voters within their respective counties and cities at the next general election. The petition shall be filed not less than eighty-two days before the election.
3. a. A library district shall be established if a majority of the electors voting on the question and residing in the proposed library district favor its establishment.
b. The result of the election within cities maintaining a free public library shall be considered separately, and no city shall be included within the library district unless a majority of its electors voting on the question favor its inclusion. In such cases the boundaries of an established district may vary from those of the proposed district.
4. After the establishment of a library district, other areas may be included subject to the approval of the board of trustees of the library district and the passage of a referendum by the electors of the area sought to be included.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.5) Library board.
1. a. A city library board of trustees functioning on the effective date of the city code shall continue to function in the same manner until altered or discontinued as provided in this section.
b. In order for the board to function in the same manner, the council shall retain all applicable ordinances, and shall adopt as ordinances all applicable state statutes repealed by 1972 Iowa Acts, Ch. 1088.
2. A Library board may accept and control the expenditure of all gifts, devises, and bequests to the library.
3. a. A proposal to alter the composition, manner of selection, or charge of a library board, or to replace it with an alternate form of administrative agency, is subject to the approval of the voters of the city.
b. The proposal may be submitted to the voters at any city election by the council on its own motion. Upon receipt of a valid petition as defined in section 362.4, requesting that a proposal be submitted to the voters, the council shall submit the proposal at the next regular city election. A proposal submitted to the voters must describe with reasonable detail the action proposed.
c. If a majority of those voting approves the proposal, the city may proceed as proposed.
d. If a majority of those voting does not approve the proposal, the same or a similar proposal may not be submitted to the voters of the city for at least four years from the date of the election at which the proposal was defeated.
City 5-1-3 Qualifications of trustees. All of the members of the board shall be bona fide citizens and residents of the City. The nonresident member of the board shall be bona fide citizens and residents of the unincorporated county, and all shall be over the age of eighteen (18).
City 5-1-4 Organization of the board.
1. Terms of office. All appointments to the board shall be for six (6) years, except to fill vacancies. Each term shall commence on July first. Appointments shall be made every two (2) years of one-third the total number as near as possible, to stagger the terms.
2. Vacancies. The position of any trustee shall be declared vacant if said trustee moves permanently from the City or if said trustee is absent from six (6) consecutive regular meetings of the board, except in the case of sickness or temporary absence from the City. Vacancies in the board shall be filled by the City Council, and the new trustee shall fill out the unexpired term for which the appointment is made.
(Code of Iowa Sec. 336.6) 336.5 Terms — vacancies.
1. Of the trustees appointed in accordance with section 336.4 on boards consisting of nine members, three shall hold office for two years, three for four years, and three for six years; on boards consisting of seven members, two shall hold office for two years, two for four years, and three for six years; and on boards consisting of five members, one shall hold office for two years, two for four years, and two for six years, from the first day of July following their appointment in each case. At the first meeting of the board, members shall cast lots for their respective terms, reporting the result of such lot to the governing body of each jurisdiction forming the library district. All subsequent appointments, whatever the size of the board, shall be for terms of six years each.
2. A vacancy exists when a member ceases to be a resident of the jurisdiction the member represents or is absent for six consecutive regular meetings of the board.
3. Vacancies shall be filled for unexpired terms by the governing body of the jurisdiction represented by the vacancy.
Code of Iowa Sec. 336.7
Compensation. Trustees shall receive no compensation for their service.
City 5-1-5 Powers and duties.
The board shall have and exercise the following powers and duties:
1. To meet and elect from its members a president, a secretary, and such other officers as it deems necessary. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(1)
2. To have charge, control and supervision of the public library, its appurtenances, fixtures and rooms containing the same. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(2)
3. To direct and control all the affairs of the library.
4. To employ a librarian, and authorize the librarian to employ such assistants and employees as may be necessary for the proper management of the library, and fix their compensation; provided, however, that prior to such employment, the compensation of the librarian, assistants and employees shall have been fixed and approved by a majority of the members of the board voting in favor thereof. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(3)
5. To remove by a two-thirds vote of the board the librarian and provide procedures for the removal of assistants or employees for misdemeanor, incompetency or inattention to duty, subject, however, to the provisions of Chapter 35C, Code of Iowa. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(4)
6. To select, or authorize the librarian to select, and make purchases of books, pamphlets, magazines, periodicals, papers, maps, journals, other library materials, furniture, fixtures, stationery and supplies for the library within budgetary limits set by the board. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(5)
7. To authorize the use of the library by non-residents of the City and to fix charges therefor. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(6)
8. To make and adopt, amend, modify or repeal rules and regulations, not inconsistent with Ordinances and the law, for the care, use, government and management of the library and the business of the board, fixing and enforcing penalties for violations. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(7)
9. To have exclusive control of the expenditure of all funds allocated for library purposes by the City Council, and of all monies available by gift or otherwise for the erection of library buildings, and of all other monies belonging to the library including fines and rentals collected, under the rules of the board. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(8)
10. To accept gifts of real property, personal property, or mixed property, and devises and bequests, including trust funds; to take the title to said property in the name of the library; to execute deeds and bills of sale for the conveyance of said property; and to expend the funds received by them from such gifts, for the improvement of the library. (Code of Iowa, Sec. 336.8(9)
11. To keep a record of its proceedings.
12. To enforce the performance of conditions of gifts, donations, devises and bequests accepted by the City. The board shall enforce performance by taking action against the City Council.
13. To have authority to make agreements with the local County historical associations, where such exists, and to set apart the necessary room and to care for such articles as may come into the possession of the association. The trustees are further authorized to purchase necessary receptacles and materials for the preservation and protection of such articles as are in their judgment of a historical and educational nature and pay for the same out of funds allocated for library purposes. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.17)
Code of Iowa 69.16A Gender balance.
All appointive boards, commissions, committees and councils of the state established by the Code if not otherwise provided by law shall be gender balanced. No person shall be appointed or reappointed to any board, commission, committee, or council established by the Code if that appointment or reappointment would cause the number of members of the board, commission, committee, or council of one gender to be greater than one- half the membership of the board, commission, committee, or council plus one if the board, commission, committee, or council is composed of an odd number of members. If the board, commission, committee, or council is composed of an even number of members, not more than one-half of the membership shall be of one gender. If there are multiple appointing authorities for a board, commission, committee, or council, they shall consult each other to avoid a violation of this section. This section shall not prohibit an individual from completing a term being served on June 30, 1987.
Officers
The officers shall be President, Vice-President and Secretary. All shall be elected by and from the membership of the board and shall be elected annually at the first meeting of the Board in July of each year. All officers shall take office at the first meeting in August following their election. An election of new officers can be requested by 3 board members.
The President shall preside at all meetings and appoint all committees. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall assume the President’s duties. The Secretary shall record all the proceedings of the Board, submit the minutes to the Director following the monthly or special meeting, answer any correspondence, and perform such duties as the Board may require. If the Secretary is absent the Vice-President shall assume the Secretary’s duties.
Committees
At the first regular meeting in July, the president may appoint standing committees: Finance Committee, Personnel Committee and Policy Committee.
The Finance Committee shall prepare a tentative budget to be submitted for approval of the Board in November or December each year. The committee shall submit the approved budget to the City Council at a meeting specified by the City Council.
Meetings
The regular meeting of the Board shall be held on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6:00 unless that Wednesday is the 1st or 2nd of the month and then it will be moved to the 2nd Wednesday of the month. If the 1st Wednesday is a Holiday, then the Board will meet the 2nd Wednesday. Special meetings shall be called by the President whenever in his/her judgment they may be necessary, at the discretion of the Library Director or by any three members of the board.
Code of Iowa 21.5 Closed session.
1. A governmental body may hold a closed session only by affirmative public vote of either two-thirds of the members of the body or all of the members present at the meeting. A governmental body may hold a closed session only to the extent a closed session is necessary for any of the following reasons:
a. To review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that governmental body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds.
b. To discuss application for letters patent.
c. To discuss strategy with counsel in matters that are presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the governmental body in that litigation.
d. To discuss the contents of a licensing examination or whether to initiate licensee disciplinary investigations or proceedings if the governmental body is a licensing or examining board.
e. To discuss whether to conduct a hearing or to conduct hearings to suspend or expel a patron, unless an open session is requested by the patron or a parent or guardian of the patron if the patron is a minor.
f. To discuss the decision to be rendered in a contested case conducted according to the provisions of chapter 17A. g. To avoid disclosure of specific law enforcement matters, such as current or proposed investigations, inspection or auditing techniques or schedules, which if disclosed would enable law violators to avoid detection.
h. To avoid disclosure of specific law enforcement matters, such as allowable tolerances or criteria for the selection, prosecution or settlement of cases, which if disclosed would facilitate disregard of requirements imposed by law.
i. To evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual's reputation and that individual requests a closed session.
j. To discuss the purchase of particular real estate only where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the governmental body would have to pay for that property. The minutes and the tape recording of a session closed under this paragraph shall be available for public examination when the transaction discussed is completed.
2. The vote of each member on the question of holding the closed session and the reason for holding the closed session by reference to a specific exemption under this section shall be announced publicly at the open session and entered in the minutes. A governmental body shall not discuss any business during a closed session which does not directly relate to the specific reason announced as justification for the closed session.
3. Final action by any governmental body on any matter shall be taken in an open session unless some other provision of the Code expressly permits such actions to be taken in closed session.
4. A governmental body shall keep detailed minutes of all discussion, persons present, and action occurring at a closed session, and shall also tape record all of the closed session. The detailed minutes and tape recording of a closed session shall be sealed and shall not be public records open to public inspection. However, upon order of the court in an action to enforce this chapter, the detailed minutes and tape recording shall be unsealed and examined by the court in camera. The court shall then determine what part, if any, of the minutes should be disclosed to the party seeking enforcement of this chapter for use in that enforcement proceeding. In determining whether any portion of the minutes or recording shall be disclosed to such a party for this purpose, the court shall weigh the prejudicial effects to the public interest of the disclosure of any portion of the minutes or recording in question, against its probative value as evidence in an enforcement proceeding. After such a determination, the court may permit inspection and use of all or portions of the detailed minutes and tape recording by the party seeking enforcement of this chapter. A governmental body shall keep the detailed minutes and tape recording of any closed session for a period of at least one year from the date of that meeting.
5. Nothing in this section requires a governmental body to hold a closed session to discuss or act upon any matter.
Quorum
Three members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the business transactions.
Expenditures
Code of Iowa 256.69 Local financial support.
Commencing July 1, 1977, each city within its corporate boundaries and each county within the unincorporated area of the county shall levy a tax of at least six and three-fourths cents per thousand dollars of assessed value on the taxable property or at least the monetary equivalent thereof when all or a portion of the funds are obtained from a source other than taxation, for the purpose of providing financial support to the public library which provides library services within the respective jurisdictions.
All Claims against the Board must be presented at a regular meeting of the board. The director shall submit all invoices for payment. Upon approval of said bills by the board, a member of the board shall sign the bill summary of the month, and the director will submit them to the City Clerk for Payment.
Utility Claims: The Library Director may submit to City Clerk the MidAmerican Energy, Griswold Communications, City of Griswold sewer, text caster, cleaning bill and Town and Country Sanitation reoccurring utility bills, text caster, prior to board meeting for payment.
Petty Cash: The Library Director will turn in receipts after board meetings on a monthly basis to the City Clerk. The petty cash drawer should balance at $60.00 minus cash receipts given for the purchases from this time frame. If needed the President can sign off on replacing cash during that month.
Cash Change: The Library Director will turn in Cash Change on a regular basis to the City Clerk. The cash change drawer should balance at $60.20 plus cash given for the time frame.
Time Cards: The Library Director will sign staff time cards. The City Manager or City Clerk will have the President sign it the Monday morning they are due. If he is unavailable the Vice President or Secretary can sign.
Recurring Purchases: The Library Director is authorized to make normal purchases of normal recurring items such as library resources, text caster, cleaning person, supplies, materials, building maintenance and other such items without Board approval so long as these purchases are within the Library Budget.
Non-Recurring Purchases: For non-recurring purchases, the Library Director shall obtain prior Board approval before (1) entering into a contracted services for a period exceeding one year, (2) obligating the library for expenses in excess of $2,000, or (3) making a purchase which will exceed the amount over all budget for the year. In addition, for purchases which exceed $2,000, quotations shall be sought from at least two, and if possible, three vendors. If an item is a proprietary product or there is only one source for the goods or services, this price quotation shall be waived.
Emergency Purchases: The Library Director is authorized to obligate the library for expenses in excess of $2,000 for emergency repairs, services, goods, or equipment without prior Board approval. If possible the Library Director shall consult with members of the Board. The Board will act on the emergency expenditure at the next appropriate meeting.
Iowa Code 384.20 Separate accounts.
1. A city shall keep separate accounts corresponding to the programs and items in its adopted or amended budget, as recommended by the committee.
2. A city shall keep accounts which show an accurate and detailed statement of all public funds collected, received, or expended for any city purpose, by any city officer, employee, or other person, and which show the receipt, use, and disposition of all city property. Public moneys may not be expended or encumbered except under an annual or continuing appropriation.
3. “Continuing appropriation” means the unexpended portion of the cost of public improvements, as defined in section 26.2, which cost was adopted through a public hearing pursuant to section 26.12 and was included in an adopted or amended budget of a city. A continuing appropriation does not expire at the conclusion of a fiscal year. A continuing appropriation continues until the public improvement is completed, but expenditures under the continuing appropriation shall not exceed the resources available for paying for the public improvement.
Iowa Code 336.3 Gifts.
When a gift for library purposes is accepted by a county or city, its use for the library may be enforced against the board of supervisors or city council by the library board by an action of mandamus or by other proper action.
CITY ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES, 392.5 Library board.
1.a. A city library board of trustees functioning on the effective date of the city code shall continue to function in the same manner until altered or discontinued as provided in this section.
b. In order for the board to function in the same manner, the council shall retain all applicable ordinances, and shall adopt as ordinances all applicable state statutes repealed by 1972 Iowa Acts, Ch. 1088.
2. A library board may accept and control the expenditure of all gifts, devises, and bequests to the library.
3. a. A proposal to alter the composition, manner of selection, or charge of a library board, or to replace it with an alternate form of administrative agency, is subject to the approval of the voters of the city.
b. The proposal may be submitted to the voters at any city election by the council on its own motion. Upon receipt of a valid petition as defined in section 362.4, requesting that a proposal be submitted to the voters, the council shall submit the proposal at the next regular city election. A proposal submitted to the voters must describe with reasonable detail the action proposed.
c. If a majority of those voting approves the proposal, the city may proceed as proposed.
d. If a majority of those voting does not approve the proposal, the same or a similar proposal may not be submitted to the voters of the city for at least four years from the date the election at which the proposal was defeated.
Library Staff
The Board has the responsibility to hire, evaluate, and dismiss the Director. The Director has the responsibility to hire, evaluate and dismiss all other library staff members. Through a personnel policy the board will adopt staff structure, etc.
Order of Business
Agenda Griswold Public Library
Date
Time
Griswold Public Library
- Open Business
- Call meeting to order
- Roll call
- Approval of agenda
- Consent Agenda
- Public Comments
- Committee Reports
- Old Business
- New Business
- Message and remarks from the Library Director
- Messages and papers from the Library Board President
- Propositions and remarks from Board Members
Procedural Rules
Roberts’ Rules of Order, Revised shall be used to conduct all meetings unless otherwise provided in these by-Laws or the city ordinance pertaining to the library. Library Director will post meeting 24 hours in advance in the window of the library.
Conventions
The director and Board Members may attend meetings and/ or conventions as approved by the Board with expenses to be paid from the library budget. Expenses shall include mileage, registration, parking, lodging and meals.
Philosophy
The philosophy of the document is to set forth policies which personnel-related decisions are made by either Library Board or Employee are to be guided and express mutual expectations for conduct in the workplace. The Library’s ability to manage and provide public services with efficiency and effectiveness is dependent upon the capability and performance of its employees. The Library strives to provide a good working environment which promotes and supports diversity and inclusivity, professional development, open communication, and sensitivity to employee’s needs.
Administration
These policies generally cover all employees; however, temporary employees may not be covered by all provisions. These policies work to ensure decisions will be made consistently and in accordance with overall Library goals regarding employee relations.
Job titles and descriptions
Library Board of Trustees
The Library Board of Trustees is made up of five volunteers, appointed by the Mayor of the City of Griswold, to serve six-year terms. The City Council also designates a liaison to serve on the Library Board of Trustees. The Library Board is administrative and is responsible for hiring the Library Director and administrative details, such as paying bills, approving policies, and advocating the library to community members and leaders.
Library Director
The Library Director oversees the administration of the library, including personnel, library services, and the use of library resources. The Library Director reports to the Library Board of Trustees, who ultimately decide and approve of library services, resources, and management of the library. The Library Director supervises the library staff, provides resources and support for library staff and patron life-long learning and recreation, and promotes and advocates for the library within the community. The Library Director focuses on providing excellent customer service to library users, the Griswold community, and to the employees of the library. The Director interprets, articulates, and implements policies and procedures; evaluates policies and programs; attends all meetings of the Board except where the Director is physically unable to attend due to illness or injury or has been granted special leave by board, i.e. vacation time. The Director works with the Library board to develop a budget to submit to the City Council. The Director is responsible for the day to day operation of the library, recommends and directs overall maintenance of the building, plans and coordinates the library’s capital improvements. The Director selects library materials and evaluates the library’s collection as needed, works at being familiar with laws and regulations relating to library operations, maintains communication with City Council, Board of Supervisors, Cass County Library Association, Friends of the Library, and the State Library. The Director writes, oversees, and finds grants if needed and writes agendas for the Library Board meetings. The Library Director is required to have or receive the Public Library Director Certificate (PLM) within 2 years of employment, must have high school diploma or GED equivalency, a working knowledge of current computer software and network systems and be able to lift reasonable amounts.
Library Assistant
Under the direct supervision of the Library Director, the Assistant Librarian focuses on the youth department. The Youth Services is responsible for library services, materials, and programming for youth aged birth through eighteen. The Youth Services also guides the activities of the youth volunteers. The Youth Services provides excellent customer service at all times and works with other community agencies to promote and advocate for the library in the community. Responsibilities include assisting with checking in and out of materials, processing new materials to add to the library’s collection, and putting these materials back into the collection, in accordance with the library’s shelving system, handles interlibrary loan (ILL) requests, places books back to proper place on shelves, assists patrons to locate books and materials. The Assistant performs duties associated with opening and closing library, performs any duties that are requested by the Director, covers the vacation time, sick time, and training time of the Library Director. The Certificate of Public Library Staff is recommended in the first 2 years.
Substitute
Basic Substitute Instructions
- Lights will come on and off with motion.
- Unlock front door with hexagon key. Push in the bar and turn the key.
- At the front desk turn on the screen. (Bottom right hand corner under the picture of a circle with a line through.
- A picture of NComputing with a couple of boxes will come up.
- Click Refresh
- Then Click GPL-Host-2017
- Then click Connect
- Two boxes will come up. Type under the one that says --------- you will need to type in --------
- Click on Firefox
- Our Card Catalog Apollo will come up click on it. The password should come up automatically. Click on it.
- On catalog you can see what books we have
- Check in type the T# or scan the book and that should check the book in.
- Check out type the T# or scan the book and that should check it out.
- You should be able to override almost anything. You can renew books from the check out.
- If someone needs to reserve a book go to Members
- Click edit member
- Type in their name
- Click on their name
- Click on Reserves
- Type in the T# of the book (you can get that from the card Catalog)
- Rules …
- If the siren (from stop light) goes off three times they are asked to leave for the day
- If they read they do get the treat from the treasure box.
- They can read for 2 times at 20 minutes a piece. They can have 1 snack per 20 minutes.
- No running. One warning then ask them to leave
- Clean up after yourself.
- No long distance calls. I reluctantly allow one time calls that are Local.
- Please tally
- amount here for program
- Amount of patrons using the computers
- Amount of times read for 20 minutes
- Print costs amounts paid. The prices are on the wall.
- Reminder
- You may not tell a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person what a child has checked out
Time Sheets
Staff are expected to fill out a time Card every other week, indicating the hours worked, vacation time, comp time, sick time, or personal holiday time taken, and comp time earned. Each time sheet will be turned into the Library Director at the end of the time for approval. The Library Director signs each time sheet and turns them in to the City Clerk. The Library Director will have time card signed by the President, Vice-President or Secretary.
City of Griswold’s Personal Handbook 6.1 Holidays
Regular full-time employees receive nine (9) holidays, including a Personal Day, off work with pay as follows:
New Year’s Day Memorial Day July 4th
Labor Day Thanksgiving Day Day after Thanksgiving
½ Day of Christmas Eve Christmas Day ½ Day of New Year’s Eve
Personal Day
The Librarian may also receive nine (9) paid holidays as determined by the Library Board.
If you are required to work on a holiday, you will be paid one and one-half (1.5) times your regular hourly pay or the holiday worked can be utilized as an additional personal "float" holiday to be used in the same calendar year. Holidays have no cash value.
Continuing Education
The Library Board supports and encourages library staff to engage in continuing education and training for library employees. The Library Director or library staff may find training or continuing education classes available. The Library Director must approve of any and all continuing education courses. The Library will pay for registration or fees relating to continuing education or training and all continuing education or training sessions must be done during scheduled work time. The Library will cover mileage and lodging, as per the City’s Personnel Policy. Work schedules can be adjusted to accommodate training sessions, with the approval of the Library Director.
Evaluations
Evaluations will be done on an annual basis, set to be completed before the staff person’s anniversary date. The Library Director will conduct the evaluations for all library staff. The Library Board Personnel Committee will perform the Library Director’s evaluation. Self-evaluation forms will be available for staff to fill out before their evaluation, to be turned in to the Library Director before the annual evaluation. Evaluations will be discussed by the Library Director with each employee.
Customer Service
Providing information and service is the most important part of any position in the library. Library staff should act in a courteous, responsive, and prompt manner with the public and their co-workers, to provide accurate responses or referrals, and to be fair and consistent in enforcing library rules.
Workplace Violence
Providing a safe work environment is essential to the Library. Acts or threats of violence against any Library employee will not be tolerated whether among employees or between one or more employees and the public. Any employee initiating a violent act against another will be subject to disciplinary action. All reports of violence must be reported in a timely manner. Each report will be reviewed in a timely manner.
Harassment
As with workplace violence, harassment, of any kind, will not be tolerated. Acts of harassment between employees or between an employee and a member of the public will not be allowed to continue. Any employee initiating harassment of any kind will be subject to disciplinary action. All reports of harassment must be reported in a timely manner. Each report will be reviewed in a timely manner.
Appearance & Behavior
Employees are expected to maintain a level of personal appearance and grooming that is considerate of other employees and inspires the confidence of community members and others the employee will address. Employees’ conduct at work shall be professional, friendly, and always with customer service in mind.
Library Closing & Inclement Weather
The library has an obligation to maintain regular hours whenever possible, and employees should report to work unless otherwise notified. When either the Director or his/her designate judges that weather conditions threaten the safety of the public or staff, the Library will close.
At the Library Directors discretion the Library will be closed when there is no power. This is for the safety of the public and employees.
To Library Board / Director
Name_________________________________________________________
Must have a name to be addressed
Address _______________________________________________________
Town________________________ State________________ Zip _________
Phone Number _________________________________________________
Email Address __________________________________________________
Please circle the appropriate word:
Compliment Comment Complaint
If you are reporting a complaint, what would you like the outcome to be?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Details of Compliment, comment, or complaint:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Please write on the back if you need to.
City of Griswold
601 2nd St. PO BOX 760
GRISWOLD, IOWA 51535
PHONE: (712) 778 - 2615
FAX: (712) 778 - 2619
APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT
It is the policy of the City of Griswold to be committed to equal employment opportunity for everyone, including applicants for employment, regardless of their age, sex, color, race, creed, national origin, religious persuasion, opinion, or affiliation, political persuasion, opinion, or affiliation, marital status, military/veteran status, disability/handicap that does not prohibit performance of essential job functions, sexual orientation, or any other classifications covered by relevant laws and regulations.
INSTRUCTIONS
Date: __________________
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Name: _______________________________________________________________
Last First Middle
Current Address: ______________________________________Apt. No. ________
City, State, ZIP: ________________________________________________________
Home Phone: (______) ______-________ Mobile Phone: (______) ______-________
Email: ______________________ Social Security Number: ______ - ____ - ______
Are you over age 18? _Yes _ No
•Complete all relevant information on this application, even if a resume is submitted.
•Please let us know if you need an accommodation as we provide reasonable accommodations to known disabilities of applicants.
•All relevant information and the applicant’s signature must be provided on this form to be considered for employment.
•This application shall be active for a period of 6 months.
•Please PRINT and sign this form; then deliver, mail or fax to: City of Griswold,
PO Box 760, Griswold, IA 51535. Fax: 712-778-2619
EMPLOYMENT DESIRED
Position Applied for: ________________________________________________
How did you learn about the position? ___________________________________
Date you can start: _____________Salary or Wage required: __________________
Are you currently employed? _Yes _ No
If yes, may we contact your current employer? _Yes _ No
What type of employment are you seeking? _Full-time _Part-time _Seasonal/Temporary
What hours are you available to work? M___________ Tu__________ W__________Th__________ F__________ Sa__________ Su__________
EDUCATION/TRAINING
RECORD OF EDUCATION
Dates Attended
Major or Degree Attained
School Name & Address
SPECIAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Typing Speed (WPM)/Office Experience: ___________________________________
Computer Applications:_________________________________________________
Do you have a: valid driver’s license _Yes
No valid chauffeur’s license _Yes No If yes, indicate type: ________
Other Licenses/Trades (type and number):_________________________________
Professional Affiliations: ________________________________________________
Circle highest grad completed: 9 10 11 H.S. Diploma GED College: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE
Start with your present or most recent job and list prior employers. If you have been employed for more than 10 years, please provide a minimum of 10 years of employment history. Include military service, job-related volunteer activities, and periods of unemployment. Please attach an additional sheet if there is not enough space below.
Position Title ____________________ Employment Dates __________ to __________
Employer _______________________Phone # _______________________________
Address _______________________City_______________ State____ Zip__________
Direct Supervisor_______________ May we contact for a reference check _Yes No
Compensation _______Hours Per Week ________ # of employees supervised ______
Primary Job Duties ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reason for wanting to leave _______________________________________________________________
Position Title _______________ Employment Dates ____________ to ____________
Employer _____________________________ Phone # ________________________
Address _____________________City_______________ State______ Zip__________
Direct Supervisor_____________ May we contact for a reference check _Yes _ No
Compensation _______Hours Per Week ________ # of employees supervised ______
Primary Job Duties ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Reason for wanting to leave _______________________________________________________________
Current or Most Recent
Position Title ____________________ Employment Dates __________ to __________
Employer _______________________ Phone # _______________________________
Address ____________________ City_______________ State______ Zip__________
Direct Supervisor_____________ May we contact for a reference check _Yes _ No
Compensation _______ Hours per Week ________ # of employees supervised ______
Primary Job Duties ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Reason for wanting to leave _______________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Have you ever been employed by the City of Griswold? _Yes _No
If yes, where, when______________________________________________________
Do you have any relative(s) currently working for the City of Griswold? _Yes _No
Name & Position: ________________________________________________________________
Are you a veteran of the US military service? _Yes _No
Have you ever been charged with a criminal violation? _Yes _No
If yes, please explain, including dates, location of incident: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES
Please provide the names of three persons not related to you, who are familiar with your work.
Name
Company Relationship
Years
Acquainted
PRE-EMPLOYMENT STATEMENT
(Please read very carefully before signing below)
I understand and voluntarily agree that the information provided on this application is true and complete to the best of my knowledge. Any misrepresentation or omission of any material fact in my application, resume or other materials, or during any interviews, can be justification for refusal of employment, or termination, if employed.
Any offer of employment I may receive from the City of Griswold is contingent upon my successful completion of the pre-employment screening process, including receiving references that the City considers satisfactory. I understand that as a condition of continued employment, I may be required to submit to an alcohol or drug screening at any time at the discretion of the City of Griswold. I give my permission for the City to verify all information provided by me, and/or to obtain or have prepared an investigative consumer report for this purpose. This report may include, but not be limited to, my prior employment and/or military record, education, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, criminal record and mode of living. I understand that upon written request to the City, I will be informed of whether an investigative consumer report was requested and given full information as to the nature and scope of this investigation.
I authorize and request that all of my present and former employers and those individuals I have listed as personal references furnish information about my employment record. This information may include the reason for the termination of my employment, work performance, abilities, and other qualities pertinent to my qualifications for employment. I release them from all liability for damages arising from furnishing the requested information. In consideration of my employment, I agree to comply with the policies, rules, regulations and procedures of the City. I understand that the City or I with or without cause or notice can terminate my employment, at any time. I further understand that no one, other than the City Council as a body, has any authority to enter into an agreement with me for employment for any specified time or to make an agreement different from or contrary to any City policy.
Signature: __________________________________________________________
Date: __________________
Library Director Interview Questions
Why does this job interest you and what qualities can you bring that would be beneficial to the library?
What role should the library play in the community?
Describe your strengths in working with the public.
Is there anything in the job description that is objectionable to you?
Do you believe in the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read documents?
Given the librarian’s work schedule, would you have any difficulty with consistent attendance?
Do you understand all the tasks involved in this position?
(Cleaning, decorating, etc.)
If a patron became angry with you because of a library policy, how would you handle the situation?
Volunteers
Teen Volunteers must have individual training. Teen volunteers must maintain the confidentiality of all of the library information. Teen volunteers should record their own time if needed for school or other purposes. Upon request, Griswold Public Library may provide letters of references for a teen volunteer. All personal information about a teen is for internal use only. Signed parental permission will be needed for a teen volunteer.
Adult Volunteers must maintain the confidentiality of all of the library information. Adult volunteers should record their own time if needed for any purposes. Upon request, Griswold Public Library may provide letters of references for a volunteer. All personal information about a volunteer is for internal use only.
Volunteers
- Volunteers must wear a volunteer badge while volunteering at the library. For Community service it will be at the Library Directors discretion.
- Volunteers must attend an individual orientation.
- Volunteers should record their time in the Volunteer Notebook if needed for school or other purpose.
- Volunteers must maintain the confidentiality of ALL library information.
- Upon request, Griswold Public Library may provide letters of reference for the volunteer.
- Volunteers are registered by completing an application form.
- All personal information about the volunteer is for internal use only.
- To be a teen volunteer you must fill out all of the paperwork and have your parent’s signature.
Personal Conduct: Staff and volunteers alike are asked to speak quietly and be courteous and considerate of others. Library staff and volunteers alike are subject to the same check-out, return and overdue policies as patrons. You may not have your friends hanging out behind the desk.
Emergencies: If you should have an accident or witness an accident, please notify a staff member immediately.
Using Computers: The staff computers are not for personal use; please use patron computers when you are not working your volunteer hours.
Volunteer Forms for School/Civic Organizations: Volunteers must submit any verification forms required for school/civic organizations no later than 1 week prior to due date. This is to ensure that staff members have ample time to verify information and complete forms.
Types of Warnings: The Griswold Public Library reserves the right to terminate the association between the volunteer and the library at any time. Grounds for dismissal include, but are not limited to, failure to adhere to policies and procedures of Griswold Public Library Volunteer Program, unsatisfactory work, and inappropriate behavior.
Philosophy
Bulletin board materials may be submitted for posting by nonprofit organizations for civic, educational, or cultural purposes. Such organizations may submit literature publicizing a specific event. Limited space allows only short-term notices. The director must approve all postings and may prohibit postings that do not meet library standards. Library staff will place and remove postings promptly.
PUBLIC NOTICE BULLETIN BOARD
Displays and Exhibits
As an educational and cultural institution, the Griswold Public Library welcomes exhibits and displays of interest, information and enlightenment to the community. All exhibits must be timely, non-political, and nonprofit. They may be displayed for two weeks with an opportunity for renewal. The director shall accept or reject material offered for display based on suitability and availability.
The Library assumes no responsibility for the preservation or protection, and no liability for possible damage or theft of any item displayed or exhibited. All items placed in the Library are there at the owner’s risk.
The exhibitor must sign the following release before any item can be placed in the library:
Griswold Public Library Display and Exhibit Release
I hereby lend the following materials to the Griswold Public Library for exhibit purposes only. In consideration of the privilege of exhibiting them in the Library, I hereby release the Library from responsibility for loss, damage, or destruction while they are in the possession of the Library.
Exhibit to be displayed: ___________________________________________________
Set-up Date: _______________________ Removal Date: ________________________
Description of Materials Displayed: _______________________________________________________________________
Contact Person Signature: ________________________ Date: ____________________
Address: ______________________________________ Telephone: ________________
Philosophy
Programming is provided to appeal to all citizens, but individual programs may be designed for a specific audience based on age or other demographics.
While some programming will be generated internally by library staff using library resources or with support of the Friends of the Library, the library will also incorporate cooperative programming with other individuals, agencies, organizations, and educational institutions capitalizing on existing knowledge and expertise.
Meetings and meeting rooms:
The Griswold Library provides a meeting room to fulfill its role as a community gathering place for information, cultural, and education purposes. The primary purpose of the meeting room is for library events. When not in use for library events, these rooms can be reserved on a first come, first serve basis.
The user is financially responsible for any damage to or loss of library property while using the meeting room. No lit candles or open flames are allowed. No materials of any type may be attached to the walls or doors without permission. User must be 14 years of age or older to use the meeting room or have an adult present.
The meeting room will be kept locked. Patrons must request to use the room. Reservations can be made in person, by calling or by emailing library staff. The room can be reserved in half hour increments up to two hours. There is a maximum capacity of 8 people in the room. The Library reserves the right to deny any request to use the meeting room at any time. Anyone who is disorderly or violates library rules/policies may be asked to leave and may have future meeting room privileges revoked.
LIBRARY PROGRAMING
Individuals and groups are welcome to propose a program that they would like to provide to the library, understanding that not all will be accepted. The Library Director /Library Board will consider several factors when determining whether to hold a certain program. Availability of staff time for preparation and promotion, availability of volunteers and adequate space, and consideration of whether the program would interfere with members’ use of the library during open hours or would cause the library to remain open outside of normal hours will all be considered. The Library reserves the right to decline program offers.
Although the Library Director and/or Library Board might solicit or allow programming to be provided by representatives of commercial entities, we will not provide attendee contact information nor will we allow the program to take the stance of a “sales pitch.” Such presenters will be expected to act as an expert on a given topic in a general way and not to use the library as a means to promote their personal interests. Acceptance of a program does not constitute endorsement by the library of the individual presenter’s policies or beliefs. Library initiated programs will provide for the “interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves” as outlined in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights.
No fees will be charged to people attending library programs except with the approval of the Library Director and/or the Library Board. Items may be sold to the public during these programs by presenters. The presenter or his/her associate must handle the sale of these items. Library staff will not retain or handle for-sale items for purchase in the library before or after the program has been held.
The Griswold Public Library welcomes individual and corporate support and community partnerships in the form of monetary donations.
The Griswold Public Library will provide off-site outreach programming to local daycare centers.
Library programs or classes may be cancelled for several reasons including cases of severe weather, presenter conflict, or low registration numbers.
It is the Library’s policy that children under the age of 6 be accompanied by a parent, guardian, caregiver, or designated person over the age of 18. The Library reserves the right to have staff waive this requirement based upon the program being provided and the audience served. The behavior policy will still be enforced regardless of waiving the age policy.
The Freedom to Read
The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. We, as individuals devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read.
Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad. We trust Americans to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be "protected" against what others think may be bad for them. We believe they still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression.
These efforts at suppression are related to a larger pattern of pressures being brought against education, the press, art and images, films, broadcast media, and the Internet. The problem is not only one of actual censorship. The shadow of fear cast by these pressures leads, we suspect, to an even larger voluntary curtailment of expression by those who seek to avoid controversy or unwelcome scrutiny by government officials.
Such pressure toward conformity is perhaps natural to a time of accelerated change. And yet suppression is never more dangerous than in such a time of social tension. Freedom has given the United States the elasticity to endure strain. Freedom keeps open the path of novel and creative solutions, and enables change to come by choice. Every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of our society and leaves it the less able to deal with controversy and difference.
Now, as always in our history, reading is among our greatest freedoms. The freedom to read and write is almost the only means for making generally available ideas or manners of expression that can initially command only a small audience. The written word is the natural medium for the new idea and the untried voice from which come the original contributions to social growth. It is essential to the extended discussion that serious thought requires, and to the accumulation of knowledge and ideas into organized collections.
We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. We believe that these pressures toward conformity present the danger of limiting the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend. We believe that every American community must jealously guard the freedom to publish and to circulate, in order to preserve its own freedom to read. We believe that publishers and librarians have a profound responsibility to give validity to that freedom to read by making it possible for the readers to choose freely from a variety of offerings.
The freedom to read is guaranteed by the Constitution. Those with faith in free people will stand firm on these constitutional guarantees of essential rights and will exercise the responsibilities that accompany these rights.
We therefore affirm these propositions:
1. It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.
Creative thought is by definition new, and what is new is different. The bearer of every new thought is a rebel until that idea is refined and tested. Totalitarian systems attempt to maintain themselves in power by the ruthless suppression of any concept that challenges the established orthodoxy. The power of a democratic system to adapt to change is vastly strengthened by the freedom of its citizens to choose widely from among conflicting opinions offered freely to them. To stifle every nonconformist idea at birth would mark the end of the democratic process. Furthermore, only through the constant activity of weighing and selecting can the democratic mind attain the strength demanded by times like these. We need to know not only what we believe but why we believe it.
2. Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated.
Publishers and librarians serve the educational process by helping to make available knowledge and ideas required for the growth of the mind and the increase of learning. They do not foster education by imposing as mentors the patterns of their own thought. The people should have the freedom to read and consider a broader range of ideas than those that may be held by any single librarian or publisher or government or church. It is wrong that what one can read should be confined to what another thinks proper.
3. It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.
No art or literature can flourish if it is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators. No society of free people can flourish that draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may have to say.
4. There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.
To some, much of modern expression is shocking. But is not much of life itself shocking? We cut off literature at the source if we prevent writers from dealing with the stuff of life. Parents and teachers have a responsibility to prepare the young to meet the diversity of experiences in life to which they will be exposed, as they have a responsibility to help them learn to think critically for themselves. These are affirmative responsibilities, not to be discharged simply by preventing them from reading works for which they are not yet prepared. In these matters values differ, and values cannot be legislated; nor can machinery be devised that will suit the demands of one group without limiting the freedom of others.
5. It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of a label characterizing any expression or its author as subversive or dangerous.
The ideal of labeling presupposes the existence of individuals or groups with wisdom to determine by authority what is good or bad for others. It presupposes that individuals must be directed in making up their minds about the ideas they examine. But Americans do not need others to do their thinking for them.
6. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people's freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large; and by the government whenever it seeks to reduce or deny public access to public information.
It is inevitable in the give and take of the democratic process that the political, the moral, or the aesthetic concepts of an individual or group will occasionally collide with those of another individual or group. In a free society individuals are free to determine for themselves what they wish to read, and each group is free to determine what it will recommend to its freely associated members. But no group has the right to take the law into its own hands, and to impose its own concept of politics or morality upon other members of a democratic society. Freedom is no freedom if it is accorded only to the accepted and the inoffensive. Further, democratic societies are more safe, free, and creative when the free flow of public information is not restricted by governmental prerogative or self-censorship.
7. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression. By the exercise of this affirmative responsibility, they can demonstrate that the answer to a "bad" book is a good one, the answer to a "bad" idea is a good one.
The freedom to read is of little consequence when the reader cannot obtain matter fit for that reader's purpose. What is needed is not only the absence of restraint, but the positive provision of opportunity for the people to read the best that has been thought and said. Books are the major channel by which the intellectual inheritance is handed down, and the principal means of its testing and growth. The defense of the freedom to read requires of all publishers and librarians the utmost of their faculties, and deserves of all Americans the fullest of their support.
We state these propositions neither lightly nor as easy generalizations. We here stake out a lofty claim for the value of the written word. We do so because we believe that it is possessed of enormous variety and usefulness, worthy of cherishing and keeping free. We realize that the application of these propositions may mean the dissemination of ideas and manners of expression that are repugnant to many persons. We do not state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant. We believe rather that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.
This statement was originally issued in May of 1953 by the Westchester Conference of the American Library Association and the American Book Publishers Council, which in 1970 consolidated with the American Educational Publishers Institute to become the Association of American Publishers.
Adopted June 25, 1953, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee; amended January 28, 1972; January 16, 1991; July 12, 2000; June 30, 2004.
Information Resources and Access
B.4.3 Bibliographic Data Bases
The American Library Association supports open access to information, including the information contained in online data bases, and encourages data base providers and other organizations to minimize restrictions placed on their members’ use of bibliographic records maintained in their online data bases.
B.4.4 Funding for Community Access Cable Programming
Libraries should work cooperatively with other groups in promoting the widest possible access to communications and information, including community access cable casting. The American Library Association, in order to support stable sources of funding for community access channels, endorses the following principles articulated by Open Channel and Publicable, two organizations with knowledge and experience in community access cablecasting:
- That a portion of cable revenues be designated to provide financial and technical assistance for community access programming.
- That this support be sufficient to promote genuine access.
- That this assistance increase as the cable operator’s revenue increases.
- That the specific structures, funding formulas, and monitoring arrangements be left to the local community.
The accelerating mass digitization of collections in libraries and cultural heritage institutions demands a framework of principles and a body of policy to guide decision-making and to enable values-driven choices. The principles for the digitization of content will provoke a review of American Library Association policies that address the creation, access, use and preservation of digital materials and that require revision, enhancement and creation. This is critical to the advancement of ALA’s leadership role in the information society and to the support provided to members. This will also sustain the relevance and impact of libraries and librarians in their communities.
- Values
Digital collections are as important to libraries as all other types of collections. The policies of the Association apply fully to digital collections, including values such as intellectual freedom, commitment to access, respect for confidentiality and privacy, freedom of information, service for the public good, and professionalism. Digital content must be given the same consideration as other library materials when conducting collection development, organization and cataloging of works, reference services, and preservation. Digital content must be provided in various and alternative ways to meet the unique needs and circumstances of all people. Equitable access to digital library materials is ensured through maximum accessibility, ubiquity, sustainability, and barrier-free access - Intellectual Property Rights
Access to and use of digital content that is protected by copyright should be provided in a fair and equitable manner, balancing the rights and privileges of users, creators, and owners. Rights management policies and procedures must promote the advancement and sharing of knowledge, innovation, and creativity. - Sustainable Collections
A library’s digital collections and associated activities must be sustainable.
Sustainability requires secure and ongoing funding, technology solutions that are appropriate to the longevity of the cultural record, and long-term management capabilities. - Collaboration
Collaboration enables the building of collections that support research, scholarship and information needs of diverse communities. Collaboration will require strong organizational support and promotion by library and cultural heritage practitioners, their institutions, and their associations. - Advocacy
A library’s digital programs and associated activities require ongoing communication for its success. The library and cultural heritage communities must reach out to the public, to government, and to funding institutions with a clear and compelling message regarding the role of digital libraries and collections. - International Scope
Digital collections increasingly serve an international audience and are part of a global information infrastructure that is not limited by geography. The library and cultural heritage communities must understand the origination of materials in digital collections, respect the ownership of these materials, and be attentive to issues surrounding cultural asset exploitation and repatriation. Digital collections and services must be developed with goals of technical and social interoperability in the international information sphere. - Continuous learning
Digital collections are developed and sustained by an educated workforce. Members of the library and cultural heritage professions must engage in ongoing learning. They must explore new technology, work with new partners, and reach new audiences. - Preservation
Digital resources must receive appropriate preservation. Preservation activities require the development of standards, best practices, and sustainable funding models to support long-term commitment to digital resources. - Importance of Standards
Digital collections must be built upon standards and best practices that maximize their usefulness. Such standards and best practices must serve the broadest community of users, including those with disabilities, support sustainable access and use over time, and provide user functionality that promotes the core library values. Preference should be given to open standards and non-proprietary technologies that support long-term sustainability.
The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.
- Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
- Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
- Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
Librarians and library governing bodies have a public and professional obligation to ensure that all members of the community they serve have free, equal, and equitable access to the entire range of library resources regardless of content, approach, or format. This principle of library service applies equally to all users, minors as well as adults. Lack of access to information can be harmful to minors. Librarians and library governing bodies must uphold this principle in order to provide adequate and effective service to minors.
Adopted June 30, 1972; amended: AC 1981; AC 1991; AC 2004; AC 2008; and AC2014
B.2.1.12 Diversity in Collection Development
Library collections must represent the diversity of people and ideas in our society. There are many complex facets to any issue, and many contexts in which issues may be expressed, discussed, or interpreted. Librarians have an obligation to select and support access to content on all subjects that meet, as closely as possible, the needs, interests, and abilities of all persons in the community the library serves.
Adopted 1982, amended 1990, 2008, 2014.
B.2.1.16 Access to Library Resources and Services Regardless of Sex, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, or Sexual Orientation
The American Library Association stringently and unequivocally maintains that libraries and librarians have an obligation to resist efforts that systematically exclude materials dealing with any subject matter, including sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. The Association also encourages librarians to proactively support the First Amendment rights of all library users, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.
Adopted 1993, amended 2000, 2004, 2008, 2010
B.2.1.22 Advocating for Intellectual Freedom
Libraries of all types foster education by promoting the free expression and interchange of ideas, leading to empowered lifelong learners. Libraries use resources, programming, and services to strengthen intellectual and physical access to information and thus build a foundation of intellectual freedom: developing collections (both real and virtual) with multiple perspectives and individual needs of users in mind; providing programming and instructional services framed around equitable access to information and ideas; and teaching information skills and intellectual freedom rights integrated appropriately throughout the spectrum of library programming.
Adopted 2009, amended 2014.
B.2.1.26 Religion in Libraries
The First Amendment guarantees the right of individuals to believe and practice their religion or to practice no religion at all, and prohibits government from establishing or endorsing a religion or religions. Thus the freedom of, for and from religion, are similarly guaranteed. The First Amendment also guarantees the corollary right of individuals to receive information on religious topics. Libraries support this right by providing access to diverse religious thought without becoming a proponent of any of them.
Adopted AC 2016.
B.2.3 Freedom to Read
The American Library Association endorses Freedom to Read, a joint statement by the American Library Association and the Association of American Publishers.
Adopted 1953, revised 1972, 1991, 2000, and 2004.
B.2.12 Threats to Library Materials Related to Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation
The American Library Association supports the inclusion in library collections of materials that reflect the diversity of our society, including those related to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression. ALA encourages all American Library Association chapters to take active stands against all legislative or other government attempts to proscribe materials related to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression; and encourages all libraries to acquire and make available materials representative of all the people in our society.
Adopted 2005, Amended 2009, 2010.
Access to Electronic Information, Services, and Networks
B.2.1.20 Access to Digital Information, Services, and Networks
Freedom of expression is an inalienable human right and the foundation for self-government. Freedom of expression encompasses the freedom of speech and the corollary right to receive information. Libraries and librarians protect and promote these rights regardless of the format or technology employed to create and disseminate information.
Adopted 1996, amended 2005, 2009.
B.2.1.23 Minors and Internet Activity
The First Amendment applies to speech created by minors on interactive sites. Use of these social networking sites in a school or library allows minors to access and create resources that fulfill their interests and needs for information, for social connection with peers, and for participation in a community of learners. Restricting expression and access to interactive web sites because the sites provide tools for sharing information with others violates the tenets of the Library Bill of Rights. It is the responsibility of librarians and educators to monitor threats to the intellectual freedom of minors and to advocate for extending access to interactive applications on the Internet.
Adopted 2009, amended 2014.
B.2.1.18 Use of Filtering Software in Libraries
The ALA affirms that the use of filtering software by libraries to block access to constitutionally protected speech violates the Library Bill of Rights.
B.2.1.14 Access for Children and Young Adults to Non-print Materials
Recognizing that librarians cannot act in loco parentis, policies which set minimum age limits for access to non-print materials and equipment with or without parental permission abridge library use for minors. Nevertheless, the ALA acknowledges and supports the exercise by parents of their responsibility to guide their own children’s viewing, using published reviews of films and videotapes and reference works that provide information about the content, subject matter, and recommended audiences.
Adopted 1989, revised 1991 and 2004.
Equity of Access
B.4.2 Free Access to Information
The American Library Association asserts that the charging of fees and levies for information services, including those services utilizing the latest information technology, is discriminatory in publicly supported institutions providing library and information services.
The American Library Association shall seek to make it possible for library and information service agencies which receive their major support from public funds to provide service to all people without additional fees and to utilize the latest technological developments to insure the best possible access to information, and ALA will actively promote its position on equal access to information.
B.2.1 Library Bill of Rights
Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
TITLE V HUMAN DEVELOPMENT - EDUCATION AND CULTURE
CHAPTER 1 LIBRARY SERVICES
5-1-1 Public Library
5-1-2 Library Trustees
5-1-3 Qualifications of Trustees
5-1-4 Organization of the Board
5-1-5 Powers and Duties
5-1-6 Power to Contract with Others for the Use of the Library
5-1-7 Non-Resident Use of the Library
5-1-8 Library Accounts
5-1-9 Annual Report
5-1-1 PUBLIC LIBRARY
There is hereby established a free public library for the City, to be known as the Griswold Public Library.
5-1-2 LIBRARY TRUSTEES
The board of trustees of the Griswold Public Library, hereinafter referred to as the board, consists of four (4) resident members and one (1) nonresident member. All resident board members shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council. The nonresident board member shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the County Board of Supervisors. (Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.5)
5-1-3 QUALIFICATIONS OF TRUSTEES
All of the members of the board shall be bona fide citizens and residents of the City. The nonresident member of the board shall be bona fide citizens and residents of the unincorporated county, and all shall be over the age of eighteen (18).
5-1-4 ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD
- Terms of office. All appointments to the board shall be for six (6) years, except to fill vacancies. Each term shall commence on July first. Appointments shall be made every two (2) years of one-third the total number as near as possible, to stagger the terms. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.5)
- Vacancies. The position of any trustee shall be declared vacant if said trustee moves permanently from the City or if said trustee is absent from six (6) consecutive regular meetings of the board, except in the case of sickness or temporary absence from the City. Vacancies in the board shall be filled by the City Council, and the new trustee shall fill out the unexpired term for which the appointment is made. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.6)
- Compensation. Trustees shall receive no compensation for their services. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.7)
5-1-5 POWERS AND DUTIES
The board shall have and exercise the following powers and duties:
- To meet and elect from its members a president, a secretary, and such other officers as it deems necessary. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(1)
- To have charge, control and supervision of the public library, its appurtenances, fixtures and rooms containing the same. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(2)
- To direct and control all the affairs of the library.
- To employ a librarian, and authorize the librarian to employ such assistants and employees as may be necessary for the proper management of the library, and fix their compensation; provided, however, that prior to such employment, the compensation of the librarian, assistants and employees shall have been fixed and approved by a majority of the members of the board voting in favor thereof. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(3)
- To remove by a two-thirds vote of the board the librarian and provide procedures for the removal of assistants or employees for misdemeanor, incompetency or inattention to duty, subject, however, to the provisions of Chapter 35C, Code of Iowa. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(4)
- To select, or authorize the librarian to select, and make purchases of books, pamphlets, magazines, periodicals, papers, maps, journals, other library materials, furniture, fixtures, stationery and supplies for the library within budgetary limits set by the board. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(5)
- To authorize the use of the library by non-residents of the City and to fix charges therefor. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(6)
- To make and adopt, amend, modify or repeal rules and regulations, not inconsistent with Ordinances and the law, for the care, use, government and management of the library and the business of the board, fixing and enforcing penalties for violations. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(7)
- To have exclusive control of the expenditure of all funds allocated for library purposes by the City Council, and of all monies available by gift or otherwise for the erection of library buildings, and of all other monies belonging to the library including fines and rentals collected, under the rules of the board. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.8(8)
- To accept gifts of real property, personal property, or mixed property, and devises and bequests, including trust funds; to take the title to said property in the name of the library; to execute 162 deeds and bills of sale for the conveyance of said property; and to expend the funds received by them from such gifts, for the improvement of the library. (Code of Iowa, Sec. 336.8(9)
- To keep a record of its proceedings.
- To enforce the performance of conditions of gifts, donations, devises and bequests accepted by the City. The board shall enforce performance by taking action against the City Council.
- To have authority to make agreements with the local County historical associations, where such exist, and to set apart the necessary room and to care for such articles as may come into the possession of the association. The trustees are further authorized to purchase necessary receptacles and materials for the preservation and protection of such articles as are in their judgment of a historical and educational nature and pay for the same out of funds allocated for library purposes. (Code of Iowa Sec. 336.17)
- Contracting The board may contract with any other boards of trustees of free public libraries, any other City, school corporation, private or semi-private organization, institution of higher learning, township, or County, or with the trustees of any County library district for the use of the library by their respective residents. (Code of Iowa, Sec. 336.18(1))
- Termination Such a contract may be terminated at any time by mutual consent of the contracting parties. It also may be terminated by a majority vote of the electors represented by either of the contracting parties. Such a termination proposition shall be submitted to the electors by the governing body of a contracting party on a written petition of not less than five (5) percent in number of electors who voted for governor in the territory of the party at the last general election. The petition must be presented to the governing body not less than forty (40) days before the election.
5-1-7 NON-RESIDENT USE OF THE LIBRARY
The board may authorize the use of the library by non-residents in any one or more of the following ways:
- By lending the books or other materials of the library to non-residents on the same terms and conditions as to residents of the City, or upon payment of a special non-resident library fee.
- By establishing depositories of library books or other materials to be loaned to non-residents.
- By establishing bookmobiles or a traveling library so that books or other library materials may be loaned to non-residents.
- By establishing branch libraries for lending books or other library materials to non-residents.
All money appropriated by the City Council from the general fund for the operation and maintenance of the library shall be set aside in an account for the library. Expenditures shall be paid for only on orders of the board, signed by its president and secretary. The warrant writing officer is the City Clerk.
5-1-9 ANNUAL REPORT
The board shall make a report to the City Council immediately after the close of the municipal fiscal year. This report shall contain statements of the condition of the library, the number of books added thereto, the number circulated, the amount of funds collected, and the amount of money expended in the maintenance of the library during the year, together with such further information required by the City Council.
