Closter Public Library Unattended Child Policy

The Closter Public Library strives to provide a safe and appropriate environment for patrons of all ages. The Library is a public building and has staff trained to provide library services. The staff is not equipped to provide long- or short-term childcare.

A responsible adult or caregiver must accompany children under the age of ten (10) years of age for their safety and comfort while using the library. Parents and caregivers are responsible for monitoring and regulating the behavior of their children while they are in the library. Library staff cannot assume responsibility for the care, safety, or well-being of children in the library.

Library staff members will be guided by this policy in situations for all children unattended children over ten (10) years of age:

An unattended child is found frightened or crying in the library
An unattended child is perceived to be endangering him- or herself, or that another person in the library poses a perceived threat to the unattended child.
An unattended child exhibits inappropriate behavior
An unattended child has not been met by a responsible caregiver at closing time
Children often attend the library with their sibling. Children are considered unattended if the eldest sibling is not at least 14 years of age.

After evaluating the situation, library staff members will attempt to contact the parent or guardian of the children. If the parent or guardian cannot be reached, the children will be placed in the care of the Closter Police Department.

If a parent or responsible adult caregiver does not arrive to pick up the child within 10 minutes after closing time, a staff member will call the police and turn the child over to them.

Collection Development Policy

The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is to provide guidelines for the selection, acquisition and weeding of all library materials. Additionally, the policy provides a vehicle for the continuous evaluation of the library collection as a whole.

Please click here to download the complete policy.

Internet Use Policy

The Closter Public Library offers free access to the Internet. We hope to provide the public with the best resources available for finding information and exchanging ideas. The Internet is one of many tools you may use. The following is our Internet use policy.

Downloading of files is not allowed.
Patrons access and use the Internet at their own risk. The connection provided is NOT secure. The library has NO control over the information and is NOT responsible for its content or accuracy.
Library staff will NOT monitor or supervise Internet access. Because the library is a public place, the staff reserves the right to end a session when material inappropriate to a public library setting is displayed.
Parents of minor children MUST assume responsibility for the materials accessed. Parental supervision is advised.
Staff will help users in getting started, but we cannot offer extensive assistance.
Failure to use the Internet workstation properly may result in revocation of Internet privileges.
Anyone tampering with the library computers will be held financially responsible for repairs.
During periods of high computer use, games, nonacademic email, and other non-scholastic computer use is restricted.
There is a fee of 10¢ per page for black & white and 25¢ per page for color to print materials. Before printing from the Internet, be aware that you are responsible for all pages that you print, whether or not you intended to print them.
The Closter Public Library may modify this policy at any time.

Youth Services Program Policy

The Closter Public Library wants as many children as possible to attend and enjoy programs. Empty seats do NOT serve our community. The policy for attendance at our programs is as follows:

Arrive 5-10 minutes before the start -- enables program to run smoothly
Contact library if your child cannot attend a session or can no longer come to the program– -- enables a child on the waitlist to attend
Contact the library if you are not sure of the time and date of your child’s session
If your child is absent 3 consecutive times without notifying us, your spot will automatically go to someone on the waitlist.

We reserve the right to place your child on the waitlist the next time you register if your child has consistently been absent without us being notified, so another child will not be denied a place.
This permits us to better serve our community and creates space for children who will attend our programs.

Closter Public Library
Patron Behavior Policy

Closter Public Library facilities are available to patrons of all ages. While everyone has an equal right to access library services, no person has the right to interfere with the safety of others and their ability use and enjoy library resources and services. To this end, the Closter Public Library sets standards of acceptable behavior on Library premises to ensure an atmosphere that encourages the use and enjoyment of Library resources and services, promotes the safety of the general public and the Library staff, and protects Library materials, equipment, building, and grounds.
This policy pertains to children, teenagers, and adults. Parents are solely responsible for the actions of their children on Library premises, whether or not a caretaker attends to the children. The Closter Public Library prohibits unattended minors less than ten years of age to be in the Library. Library staff cannot, and will not, serve as caretakers.
Disruptive and unacceptable behavior includes any activity that:

Interferes with the rights of other patrons to use the Library
Disrupts the normal functioning of the Library
May result in physical, emotional, or mental injury to oneself or others
May result in damage to materials, equipment, building and grounds
Constitutes a failure to comply with Library staff directives

The Library reserves the right to:

Require anyone who engages in disruptive behavior to leave the premises
Restrict Library privileges of disruptive individuals for a specified period of time
Ban disruptive individuals from Library premises for a specified period of time or permanently

Library staff will verbally notify the disruptive individual that he or she is in violation of the standards of acceptable behavior. Repeated disruptive behavior may be reported to parents or the police. Further disciplinary action will be determined on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Library Director. Unlawful activities will be reported immediately to the Closter Police Department.

Animal Policy

No animals are allowed in the library except:

Certified service animals
Animals used in lbrary programs
Animals used by law-enforcement agencies

Snow Closing Policy

The Closter DPW cannot plow the parking lots until the borough streets are plowed. Therefore the Closter Public Library has put the following policy into effect to ensure that our patrons and staff will remain safe:

The library will close if the Director or person in charge deems the walkways and parking lots constitute an unsafe situation.
The library will open once the Director or person in charge is notified that the walkways and parking lots have been cleaned.

If we need to close for weather, will will send an email and post it to the Emergency Closing Page of the BCCLS website.

Damaged Item Policy

We try to keep our items in good condition, and we are proud of our collection. When you receive items please look at them carefully. Damage includes:

rippled pages
cracked spines
loose pages
torn or broken pages or covers
writing inside
broken cd/dvd cases

We will appreciate it if you let us know about such damage so that we can remedy it.

Community Room Use Policy

The community room seats 80 people. It is available for meetings on a scheduled basis. There is one small conference room which may also be reserved.

The Community Room is equipped with

piano,
audio visual system
wifi and computer connectivity.

It is the policy of the Board of Trustees to make meeting rooms available to:

non-commercial groups and
organizations
governmental bodies

for public meetings provided that such use does not interfere with the library’s regular operation.

A donation of $100 per use is suggested. The cost of custodian services beyond their regular hours must be assumed by the group or organization holding the meeting. Read the full policy and apply for room use here.