PATRON REGISTRATION POLICY

Rufus Floyd Public Library will serve all residents of Etowah County, persons working in Etowah County and others from the surrounding area who are frequently in our county. 1. A patron will be asked to complete a membership application form. A staff member must witness the signature on the application form. If any changes are made in this information, the library must be notified. Proof of identification consists of a picture ID and one other form of proof of current mailing address. 2. A parent or guardians signature will be required for persons age 15 and under applying for a library card. Children will be issued a library card separate from that of the parent or guardian. An application may only be filled out by the person requesting the membership, if they are an adult. Spouses may not have cards issued for each other. 3. Your new card will be ready for pick up within 1 to 5 business days. Cards not picked up within 90 days will be cancelled. You will be notified when you card is ready by phone or email. 4. Each person will be responsible for materials checked out on that individual borrowers card. If a card is lost or stolen it must be reported immediately. 5. A replacement library card will be required at a cost of $2.00 if the card is lost, stolen, or becomes unreadable by the computer. 6. The Librarian may deny service to any person for failure to return borrowed items or refusal to pay fines, for destruction of library property, or objectionable conduct in the library. 7. All circulation records and registration information are confidential and will be surrendered only by a court order.

Circulation Procedures
1. Each patron is responsible for materials checked out on that individuals borrower card. If a card is lost or stolen it must be reported immediately. 2. A replacement card will be required at a cost of $2.00 if a card becomes lost, stolen, or becomes unreadable by computer. 3. Two items may be checked out the first time on a new patron card. After that a limit of 10 items may be checked out on a card. 4. Books are checked out for a three-week period and may be renewed if no reserves or requests (holds) are placed on the item. 5. Books may be renewed by phone. The patrons barcode number and the barcode of item(s) to be renewed must be given. 6. Overdue charges for books are $0.05 per day per item with overdue fines not to exceed $2.00 maximum per item. Patrons having lost or damaged books and/or library materials shall be charged current retail replacement price plus a $2.00 library-processing fee. 7. Audio books are checked out to patrons aged 16 and older for 10 days only and may be renewed one time only. Only 2 audio books may be checked out on a borrowers card. Audio books must be returned to the Main Desk. Overdue Audio Books will be charged at $.50 per day per item with fines not to exceed $5.00. A fine of $1.00 per item will be charged if audio books are placed in book return. 8. Overdue notices will begin after materials are one week late. Patron will be notified by telephone and email. 9. A limit of 2 items may be placed on request (hold) at any one time.
10. The Librarian may deny service to any person for failure to return borrowed items, or refusal to pay fines, for destruction of property, or objectionable conduct in the library. All circulation records and registration information are confidential and will be surrendered only by court order.

SAFE ~ CHILD POLICY

The library cannot assume responsibility for the safety of young children. Children age six and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult (age 16 or older) at ALL times while in the library. The library cannot assume responsibility for the safety of young children.

Children ages seven through ten must have a responsible adult present inside the library . All patrons will be expected to display appropriate behavior, conducive to maintaining a peaceful atmosphere while in the building.

PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS, NOT LIBRARY STAFF, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS AND SAFETY OF CHILDREN VISITING THE LIBRARY.

SAFETY PROCEDURES AND POLICY

No person shall engage in inappropriate conduct on the premises of the Library or when participating in Library programs. Inappropriate conduct shall include any individual or group activity which is disruptive to other persons lawfully using Library premises or otherwise inconsistent with activities such as reading, studying, proper use of library materials, and other similar conduct normally associated with a public library.

Support of Staff Members Actions

Library staff acting on their best judgment in confronting a person will be supported by their supervisor, the person in charge, and the Library director. Any staff member who observes or receives complaints of inappropriate behavior may: Handle the problem directly with the patron. Staff should use their judgment as to whether the situation requires assistance from another staff member. Immediately telephone the police if the situation is of a severe / violent or emergency medical situation. Contact the supervisor in charge if the situation is of a nature that staff member chooses not to confront patron. At any time contact police if the patron is not responding to staff requests to conform to the Library Rules. In all cases the Library Director should be notified as soon as possible when the staff member confronts a library user who violates the Library rules. The Director will be responsible for notifying the Library Board of Trustees if necessary.

CELL PHONE POLICY

Cell phones must be silenced in the Library. Use of cell phones by library patrons while inside the Library is prohibited. Texting IS permissible but phone must be set to silent.

COMPUTER USE/INTERNET POLICY

Rufus Floyd Public Library is dedicated to providing the community with a wide variety of information on all topics. In keeping with the mission and vision of the Library, free limited use of the Internet is available to all library users. The Internet, as an information resource, enables the Library to provide information beyond the confines of its own collection. It allows access to ideas, information and commentary from around the globe. Currently, however, it is an unregulated medium. As such, while it offers access to a wealth of material that is personally, professionally, and culturally enriching to individuals of all ages, it also enables access to some material that may be offensive, disturbing and/or illegal. Library employees may provide basic introductory training concerning Internet or personal computer use as time permits but do not provide in-depth Internet assistance. Staff can locate books and other library resources dealing with computer-related topics and can provide referrals to area computer classes.

FILTERING
The Library offers filtered access to the Internet. Patrons use the Internet at their own discretion, and the Library has no control over and is not responsible for the content on the Internet. Not all sites provide accurate, complete, or current information. Some access points carry information that a user might find controversial or inappropriate. We encourage our patrons to be sensitive to the fact that they are in a public setting. Just as the Library does not restrict access to other material forms and formats, we cannot refuse access to Internet content that someone else may deem objectionable. The principles of intellectual freedom that apply to the traditional print library also apply to the modern electronic access library. As with other library materials, restriction of a childs access to the Internet is the responsibility of the parent/legal guardian. Parents or guardians, not the Library or its staff, are responsible for the Internet information selected and /or accessed by their child/children.

COMPUTER USE
Internet computers will not be used for illegal activity, to access illegal materials, or to access materials which by local community standards would be obscene. Library staff may limit use of computer equipment which has been purchased from grant funds, according to the terms or intent of the grant agreement. Installation, downloading, or modification of software is prohibited. Any work done on the computers that requires saving must be saved to the patrons personal jump drive. No material can be saved to the library equipment Users will respect copyright laws and licensing agreements. Users will not make any attempt to gain unauthorized access to restricted files or networks, or to damage or modify computer equipment or software. Prior payment is required by users who incur charges for printing or other authorized fees. Terminals will not be reserved. Access sessions will be limited to 2 hours, unless otherwise authorized by the Librarian in Charge. Access sessions are limited to a maximum of 2 hours in length with a 30-minute timeout period between sessions. During the timeout period the user is denied access to library computers except for the catalog and database only workstations. Users must end their session and leave the terminal when asked to do so by authorized Library staff. Upon completion of an Internet access session, a user may be required to wait 30 minutes before signing up for another session. The number of access sessions available per day, per user, may be established by the Librarian in Charge: such limitations will be dependent on facility-specific demand in order to provide access for the majority of users. Users will respect the privacy of other users, and will refrain from attempting to view or read material being used by others. Sites visited by users can be monitored. There will be no monitoring access to your private information. By mutual agreement, two persons may share one access session as long as their behavior or conversation does not disturb other users or Library staff.

WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS POLICY

Rufus Floyd Public Library will provide free Internet access points or hot spots for users with portable computers or devices capable of receiving wireless signals, during normal library business hours. These access points will allow users to access the Internet from their laptop computers when sitting within range of the access points. Library staff will provide general information on the settings necessary to access the Internet via these connections, but are not responsible for any changes you make to your computers settings and cannot guarantee your hardware will work with our wireless connection. If a user has problems accessing the Internet over these connections, staff will verify the Librarys connections are up and running, but they cannot assist in making changes to the users network settings or perform any troubleshooting on the users own computer. Please refer to your owners manual or other support services offered by your device manufacturer. As with most public wireless hot spots, the Librarys wireless connection is not secure or filtered. There can be unscrupulous parties between you and anyone you communicate with, and any information being sent or received could potentially be intercepted by another wireless user. Cautious and informed wireless users should choose not to transmit their credit card information, passwords and any other sensitive personal information while using any wireless hot spot. Please take appropriate precautions when using this service. The Library will not be responsible for any information (i.e. credit card) that is compromised, or for any damage caused to your hardware or software due to electric surges, security issues or consequences caused by viruses or hacking. All wireless access users should have up-to-date virus protection on their laptop computers or wireless devices.

Printers are not available via the wireless connection at this time. If you need to print, please save your work to a jump drive or email files to yourself, then login to a wired library workstation and send jobs to the public printer. Use of these access points is governed by our Computer Use/Internet Policy. All users are expected to use the Librarys wireless access in a legal and responsible manner, consistent with the educational and informational purposes for which it is provided. Users may not violate federal, state or local laws, including the transmission or receiving of child pornography or harmful material, fraud, or downloading copyrighted material.

COMPUTER USE TERMINATION

When a library employee observes that a user has failed to comply with the Library Internet policy, they are authorized to terminate that users access session or to prohibit that user from future sessions for up to two weeks from the date of informing the user of that action. After a meeting with the Library Director, the customer may be permanently barred from Internet access from the library. Internet users whose access session has been terminated or prohibited will be given information concerning the process to protest the action and/or request that Internet access privileges be reinstated. First inappropriate behavior incident shall result in termination of the session and formal warning. Note is placed in users personal library account. Second inappropriate behavior incident shall result in termination of the session and prohibition of access to library computers for two weeks. This incident will be noted in users personal library account. The patron must make an appointment with the Library Director to request a hearing to reinstate computer privileges. This meeting will determine whether access to the Internet will be reinstated or permanently denied.

AUDITORIUM USE
The Auditorium is primarily intended for Library sponsored events. As scheduling permits, the Auditorium will be made available for public use by outside organizations when such use can be arranged without disrupting regular library usage or events. The Library or Library support groups will always have scheduling priority over any outside organizations. The primary reasons for making the Auditorium available are to allow civic, educational, cultural, governmental or other organizations a place to meet; and to increase library usage by acquainting their members or those attending these events with library facilities and services. The following activities are forbidden: 1. Weddings 2. Private parties/receptions/reunions 3. Meetings to promote commercial interests 4. Other activities deemed unacceptable by the Library Director and/or the Library Board of Trustees. 1. All requests for use of the Auditorium must be submitted to the Library Director for approval. 2. Requests should be made 2-3 weeks in advance if at all possible, but no more than 3 months in advance. 3. Smoking or alcoholic beverages are not allowed. 4. No kitchen facility is available for use. 5. All programs should be scheduled within regular operating hours unless the program is library sponsored or related. 6. The organization using the Auditorium will be responsible for any damage occurring during its use. 7. Clubs or organization may use the Auditorium as a meeting place at the discretion of the Library Director and/or Library Board.

Book Donation Policy

The Rufus Floyd Library accepts book donations year round. Please bring donations to the front desk during library hours. PLEASE DO NOT PLACE DONATIONS IN THE BOOK RETURN.

Items left outside the library will be immediately taken to the dumpster.

We welcome hardcover and paperback books in good condition. We also accept CDs, DVDs and Magazines. Items may be used to augment the library collection, or they may be sold to benefit the library. Once donated, all items become the property of the Rufus Floyd Library and may be disposed of at the discretion of the Library Director.

The library cannot accept: textbooks (college, high school, etc.), LP records, audio books on cassette tapes, or video cassettes (VHS tapes), software, and discards from other libraries, encyclopedias, Reader's Digest Condensed books, or books that have been wet or were stored in basements or garages (no mildew, dirt or spiders). We cannot accept computer, travel or financial books more than one year old. Please examine the books you want to donate. It is difficult to throw books away, but some volumes, because of condition or subject matter, are of no value. Please discard books with your garbage carrier rather than forcing the library to pay for their removal.

Types of items that will be accepted as donations:

Recent (within 2 years) hardcover fiction in good condition

Recent (within 2 years) hardcover non-fiction on timely or popular topics (diets, cooking, political, biographies, bestsellers)

Paperback fiction in very good condition Children's books in very good condition Some magazines, e.g. decorating, cooking, crafts, travel

Items NOT accepted:

Weekly news magazines, investment magazines, magazines that are time sensitive

Anything over 2 years old especially Adult Non-Fiction Encyclopedias Textbooks

Please bring your donations in small boxes or bags that can be easily carried.

Large Donations (more than 4 boxes)

If you have a large amount of materials that you wish to donate, please contact the library by phone at 256-492-9846 or e-mail bookdonationshb@gmail.com with the quantity and a description of the materials. Donated items are evaluated with care and we have only limited storage space to store materials while they wait to be processed.

A staff person will contact you promptly to let you know if the library is able to accept a large number of materials at the time you wish to bring in the materials. The library will provide a letter acknowledging receipt of donated items upon request. Determination of quantity and value are the responsibility of the donor alone. If you wish to donate more than a couple of boxes or bags of books, please call first 256-492-9846 Thank you for your support of the Rufus Floyd Library.