The Cook Memorial Public Library District (“The Library”) is dedicated to providing a warm, welcoming, and safe environment for people of all ages. In order to accomplish this, the Library relies on parents and caregivers to monitor and supervise their children’s activities and whereabouts.
Library staff have many duties to perform serving all patrons and cannot monitor the whereabouts of unsupervised children or be responsible for children who are demonstrating inappropriate behavior. Parents should not view the library as an alternative to day care or afterschool programs.
Parents, guardians and caregivers should be aware that the library is a public building open to all individuals. Parents or guardians, not the Library or its staff, are responsible for their children.
The Board of Trustees has adopted this Safe Child Policy to minimize the safety risks to children in the library, and to help staff in dealing with disruptive or unattended children.
Article I. General Guidelines for Children Using the Library.
| Children 6 & Under | Must be accompanied and attended to at all times by a parent, guardian or other responsible person fourteen (14) years of age or older who is taking an active role in attending to the child. For children who are attending programs at which parent attendance is not required, the parent/caregiver must remain in the building and immediately join the child at the conclusion of the program. |
|---|---|
| Children 7-9 | May use the library with a parent, guardian or other responsible person fourteen (14) years of age or older in proximity to them in the building. For children who are attending programs at which parent attendance is not required, the parent/caregiver must remain in the building and immediately join the child at the conclusion of the program. |
| Children 10-14 | May use the library on their own. However, they are still legally the responsibility of their parents or guardians and must have an emergency contact available. If a child of this age group is not able to leave the library without an adult, the parent or guardian must be able to arrange the pickup of their child if he/she is asked to leave. |
| Young People 15-17 | Treated as adult users. However, they are still legally the responsibility of their parents and must have an emergency contact available. |
Article II. Unattended Children 9 Years or Younger During Library Hours.
When a child 9 years of age or younger appears to be lost or unattended, library staff will immediately try to locate the parents or responsible adult. If the parents or responsible adult cannot be located within 10 minutes, staff is authorized to call police.
Article III. Unattended Children 14 years or Younger After Closing Time.
Staff is authorized to call police 15 minutes after closing if unattended children 14 years of age or younger are not picked up after the Library has closed.
Article IV. Disruptive Behavior.
Children are subject to the same rules as adult patrons of the library which are detailed in the Use of the Library policy adopted by the Board of Library Trustees.
Any staff member witnessing or becoming aware of willfully disruptive behavior is empowered to dismiss the patron or group of patrons causing the disruption for the rest of the day after consulting with a manager, supervisor or person-in-charge. If a child 14 years of age or under is unable to leave the Library independently, staff will allow them to remain in the Library under staff supervision until a parent or responsible adult can be notified. Repeat instances of disruptive behavior may result in loss of library privileges for a specific amount of time.
Adopted: 07/19/11
Revised: 11/15/16
Revised: 08/19/21
