1. “Policy” represents the official position of the Madison Library District Board of Trustees (the Library board) on behalf of the patrons of the Library district. Policy can only be adopted following the guidelines outlined in the Policy Development Policy as adopted by the Library board.

Operating procedures are developed by the Library director in consultation with the staff to facilitate the smooth day-to-day operation of the library. Operating procedures must conform to the official policy as established by the Library board and all applicable state and federal laws.

The Board of Trustees of the Madison Library District (the Library) shall adopt policy to facilitate the orderly operation of the Library to benefit Library patrons.

“Policy” is defined as any matter addressed in this manual as “Policy.” All other matters are considered “Procedure” and may be set and revised by the Library director after consultation with the Library staff.

1. Policy can be introduced by any member of the Board of Trustees, the Library Director, or employees of the Library. Patrons may recommend policy or alterations to policy by submitting a written request in person to the board of trustees at any regularly scheduled meeting.

2. No policy shall be adopted without a formal reading during a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees plus a waiting period following the reading of not less than 14 days, which waiting period would typically extend until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board. No policy shall be adopted outside of a regularly scheduled meeting of the board. All policy shall be adopted by a majority vote of the board.

1. Any existing policy of the Library can be modified or abolished upon recommendation of any member of the Board of Trustees, the Library Director, employees of the Library, or a patron. Procedure for modifying or abolishing existing policy shall be the same as that for adoption of policy. A majority of the Library board must vote in the affirmative for changes to be adopted or for policy to be abolished.

2. As with the adoption of new policy, no changes or deletions of existing policy can occur without a formal reading during a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees plus a waiting period following the reading of not less than 14 days, which waiting period would typically extend until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board. No policy shall be altered or deleted outside of a regularly scheduled meeting of the board.

Policy adopted shall be encoded using a dual system of a policy number and a descriptive title. The policy number shall be an inverted date, consisting of the year, month, and day representing the formal adoption date (e.g., if a policy were adopted on July 14, 2004, then the policy number would be 20040714). If more than one policy is adopted on any given date, the policy shall be further designated with a decimal followed by an integer (e.g., using the previous example, 20040714.1). The policy shall also be assigned an appropriate descriptive title (e.g., Circulation Policy, Fees Policy, etc.).

Adopted policy of the Library shall be made available in both print and electronic formats. Print format shall be available at the Library in a policy manual that can be reviewed by any patron upon request during regular Library hours. Electronic format shall be available on the Library web site under an appropriate link entitled Library Policy.

The circulation policies of the Madison Library District exist to facilitate meeting personal, educational, and professional access needs for materials and information in the various Library collections, while protecting these same collections for the use of as many people as possible.

The collections and materials held in the library are to be organized so they are available to the greatest possible number of browsers, within limitations of budget and reason. In-library use is welcomed without cost except for damage to materials beyond reasonable wear and tear. Items marked “For Library Use Only” are for browsing only and may not be checked out or removed from the Library.

Borrowing privileges in the Library are controlled through the use of records accessed through library cards issued without charge to residents of the Library district or through cards issued to non-residents with a charge comparable to average resident Library taxes paid.

Card holders must commit in writing to meet reasonable requirements through the application forms, signed in the presence of and witnessed by a librarian. By signing the application form and the Library card, the applicant agrees:

1. To provide proof of identity and current address and means of contact, and to provide timely notification to the Library of any address change.

2. To be responsible for all use made of the library card, including but not limited to that of family members.

4. To promptly return all materials borrowed from the Library in complete and undamaged condition.

6. To report lost cards in a timely manner. Lost cards may be replaced for a fee. The fee schedule is to be available at the library and online.

The Library director and staff are to follow established procedures contained in the Library Procedures Manual. These procedures include several operations:

1. To organize materials to give patrons easy access to the collections of the Library, including re-shelving returned and browsed materials to their assigned places in a timely manner.

3. To help patrons who have not met their responsibilities to do so by seeking reimbursement or collecting fines for overdue, lost, or damaged (unuseable) materials. It is important that the materials are available for other users, and the fines and fees are to help meet this mission, not to punish or belittle users. The fee schedule is to be available at the Library and online.

4. To suspend check-out privileges when a patron has fines and/or fees exceeding $5.00 for an individual or $10.00 per household, and to resume check-out privileges when fines or fees owed are less than the limit.

1. Employees of the Library and members of the board of trustees shall not accrue nor be required to pay overdue fines on library materials.

2. Employees of the Library and members of the board of trustees are responsible for the cost of lost or damaged materials checked out on their library cards.

Materials not owned and not being purchased by the Library may be requested through interlibrary loan.

a. A patron may request material through interlibrary loan (ILL) when the material is not owned by the Library. The patron will be responsible for any charges made by the lending Library, including fax costs, postage, and any charges for rush orders. If a patron loses an ILL item, the price charged our patron is the charge set by the lending library. There are no refunds if a lost ILL item is subsequently found by the patron.

b. After any ILL loan request has been sent to a lending institution, the patron is responsible for all loan charges and postage (if any), even if the patron cancels the ILL request or does not pick it up after notification.

a. Most materials are available for ILL to other libraries. The following are not available: Story Kits, Backpacks, scrapbooking kits, and all “for-Library-use-only” materials.

b. ILL materials will be checked out to other libraries for a four-week period with one renewal allowed. There are no charges to other libraries for ILLs. Requests for photocopies are charged the regular photocopy charge (See Fee Schedule).

1. When a patron notifies the circulation staff that the patron has returned materials that are classified as overdue, the staff will change the status of the material to “claims returned.” The patron is asked to continue to search for the material. The Library will continue to monitor the claim for two months.

2. If a “claims returned” item is found and returned to the Library, the patron will be responsible for overdue fees from the due date of the material until the date the item was claimed returned. If a “claims returned” item is not found by either the patron or the Library staff, the computer automatically ages the item from “claims returned” to “lost” after three months, and the charges appear on the patron’s account.

3. If at some point in the future the item is found by the Library, the patron’s Library card will be automatically credited with any charges made. If the patron has paid for the item, the patron’s account will show a credit. If the patron has not paid for the item, the charges are removed from the patron’s record.

4. If the item is found by the patron and the charges have not been paid, the charges will be removed from the patron’s account. If the charges have been paid, the patron must present the item at the circulation desk, along with their receipt for payment, and either a credit will be applied to the patron’s account or a refund will be issued by the Library as a check mailed after the next board meeting. No refunds are given unless the patron has the patron’s receipt or if payment can be verified from patron account history.

a. The first notice is given approximately two business days after the due date informing the patron that an item is overdue. A daily overdue fine (see Fee Schedule) will be assessed for each item that is declared overdue.

b. When Library materials are classified as overdue (overdue materials are inclusive of not returned and/or lost materials), patrons will be notified.

c. When the item ages from overdue to lost approximately three months after the due date, a final bill is mailed to the patron using the address on Library records. It is the patron’s responsibility to insure the Library has the patron’s current address and phone number.

a. When Library materials are found to be damaged (does not include normal wear) or incomplete, the patron will be notified.

b. For incomplete items (e.g., the case was returned but not the DVD), the patron is called by a member of the Library staff within 24 hours of discovery. If the patron cannot be reached by telephone, or if no response is made by the patron within two days, a notice is mailed to the patron at the address on the Library records. The patron is notified that overdue fines are accruing. If the patron does not respond within one week, a replacement fee is assessed (see Fee Schedule).

c. For items damaged beyond repair, a fee is assessed (see Fee Schedule) and entered on the patron’s record and the item is placed on the “Damaged” shelf. When the patron pays for the damaged item, the item is given to the patron.

a. Check-out privileges are suspended when a patron has fines or fees exceeding $5.00 posted to the patron’s Library card. Privileges will be resumed only when fines or fees total less than $5.00 for current fines or when old (incurred during the prior calendar year) fines are paid in total. For example, on January 2, 2006, all fines and fees from 2005 must be paid in full.

b. If fines or fees exceed $10.00 per household, the Library reserves the right to suspend check-out privileges for the household until all overdue material is returned and/or any fines and fees are paid.

The public internet computers are made available to patrons of the library for accessing the internet, sending and receiving email, word processing and other appropriate uses. Guests at the library may request a guest computer pass. Users must agree to this computer use policy each time they use the library’s internet computers.

1. to not access sexually explicit internet sites, and to immediately report any accidental access of sexually explicit sites;

2. to limit computer use to purposes that are legal in the State of Idaho and the United States, and to respect and protect the privacy of all persons, companies, and organizations and to obey all copyright laws;

3. to accept responsibility for all damages arising from the use of the computers, including protecting the computers from viruses, Trojan horses, or other harmful or damaging programs by downloading only to a removable storage device (diskette, jump drive, etc.);

4. to not change any settings or configurations on the library computers nor to disable any software;

7. to limit computer use to one time per day (24 hour period) for the time period set by the computer software (generally, 1-2 hours for patrons; 15-30 minutes for guests);

8. to use only the user’s own valid Library card which is free of fines to access the computers; and

9. that violation of this agreement may result in loss of internet computer privileges for one year, and that a second offense will result in permanent loss of internet computer privileges.

Parental permission is required for all minors (under 18 years of age) using the internet computers.

The Library’s computers are filtered, but the Library makes no guarantees, implied or otherwise, that inappropriate sites cannot be accessed.

1. The Board of Trustees of the Madison Library District (the Library) shall have the following powers and duties consistent with the laws of the state of Idaho:

b. To establish policies for the administration, operation, and use of the Library;

c. To employ and evaluate a library director to administer the Library, and to provide an effective orientation for new directors to assure that the director understands:1) the policies and processes related to the daily operation of the library; 2) reporting and budgetary requirements that assure accountability and compliance with the law; 3) the expectations of the board in regard to administrative processes and protocol, and particularly as they relate to conducting effective and efficient board meetings; and 4) expectations of the board relating to interacting with patrons and other library personnel;

d. To conduct annual appraisals of the library director’s performance, at which time personal and management goals can be discussed and negotiated;

e. To create job descriptions, personnel policies, and compensation packages for Library personnel;

f. To establish an annual budget and to oversee the financial management of the Library;

g. To exercise other powers, not inconsistent with law, necessary for the effective use and management of the Library.

2. Individual trustees shall have no authority to make decisions about the policies of the Library except as specifically authorized by the board.

3. It shall be the duty of each trustee to attend all board meetings and committee meetings for committees to which he or she has been assigned.

4. The regular term of a trustee shall be for five (5) years, or until his successor has been elected and qualified.

1. The board of trustees shall appoint a library director who shall administer the Library.

2. The director shall serve as secretary for the board without voting rights. The director shall be present at monthly board meetings and prepare and present such reports and meeting documents as requested.

3. The Library director shall advise the board, implement policy set by the board, and shall acquire library materials, equipment, and supplies. This includes selection, ordering, processing, weeding, and inventory of the collections according to the guidelines in the Collections Policy.

4. The director shall maintain financial records in an efficient manner; present periodic reports to the library board and to county and state governments as required by law; prepare the draft of the annual budget to be presented to the library board; and assist trustees with presentation of the proposed budget to patrons at the annual budget hearing.

5. The director shall attend all executive sessions of the board of trustees, except those called to consider the evaluation, dismissal, or disciplining, or to hear complaints or charges against the Library director.

6. No Library director shall be an employee or board member of a library or other agency with which the Library has a contract to provide library services.

7. The board shall fix and pay employee salaries and compensation, classify employees, adopt personnel policies, and discipline or discharge the Library director for cause.

8. The Library director shall hire or oversee the hiring of all other employees based on the policies, procedures, and job descriptions created by the Library board, and shall discipline and discharge any employee for cause, as necessary, according to the written policies of the board.

9. The director shall hold regular meetings with staff and/or volunteers for training and facilitating the smooth operation of the Library.

10. The director shall be responsible for preparing annual performance assessments for Library staff.

b. Clerks: non-benefitted, trained employees who assist with circulation and cataloging duties and who work less than 20 hours per week;

A staff “employee day” equals, for purposes of vacation, sick leave, and bereavement leave, the number of hours per day that an employee regularly works (e.g., a “5 hour employee” normally works five hours per day, whereas a full-time employee normally works eight hours per day).

1. The Library provides health insurance to staff employees on a shared cost basis. The Library pays the employee’s premium in total, but if other family members are added to the coverage, then the employee pays the added premium for the additional coverage.

2. The Library provides disability and life insurance for staff employees on a shared cost basis. The Library pays the employee’s premium for disability insurance in total. Group term life insurance is available to staff employees but the employee must pay the premium.

1. Each staff employee can accrue 10 employee days of vacation during their first year. Thereafter, each staff employee can accrue an additional one-half day of vacation for each subsequent year of employment. The maximum amount of vacation accruable will be 20 days after 20 years of service.

2. A staff employee can carry over on October 1^st into the next fiscal year one-half of the amount of vacation accruable in that employee’s current year of employment.

3. The date for determining the amount accruable shall be the anniversary of that staff employee’s hire date.

4. If a staff employee resigns her position and then is re-hired at some later point in time, the re-hire date becomes the new anniversary date for purposes of vacation accrual.

5. If a page or clerk subsequently becomes a staff member, the date upon which that happens becomes the anniversary date for purposes of vacation accrual.

6. As an example, a staff employee in her first year of employment who works six hours per day would have 60 hours (6 hours x 5 days x 2 weeks) of vacation.

1. Each staff employee can accrue 10 employee days of sick leave per year. At the end of any given fiscal year, any unused sick leave can be carried over into the new fiscal year, up to a maximum of six weeks of employee days.

a. For a six-hour-per-day employee, the maximum accruable is 180 hours (6 hours x 5 days x 6 weeks) of sick leave.

b. For a five-hour-per-day employee, the maximum accruable is 150 hours (5 hours x 5 days x 6 weeks) of sick leave.

c. Full-time employees can accrue 240 hours (8 hours x 5 days x 6 weeks) of sick leave.

1. Staff employees are eligible for three employee days of bereavement leave without loss of pay in the event of the death in the immediate family. “Immediate family” is defined as the spouse, child, brother, sister, or parent of either the employee or the employee’s spouse.

1. Leaves of absence without pay may be granted to staff employees for maternity, adoption, illness, travel, or graduate or certification training. All leaves are considered on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the director. A leave of absence for the director must be approved by the library board.

2. Requests for leave should be submitted in writing well in advance of the time when the leave is to begin. Written requests should indicate both a beginning and ending date for the leave. Vacation time must be used before an unpaid leave will be approved for reasons other than maternity, adoption, or military training.

3. When a staff employee is on unpaid leave, the employee is responsible for all health insurance costs and other benefit premiums/deductions that may apply.

4. The Library reserves the right to deny requests for leaves of absence. Leaves are a privilege and can be granted only if the best interests of the Library can be maintained.

1. Staff employees who are duly enrolled members of the National Guard, State Guard, or any other organized reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States shall be allowed a military leave of absence when ordered. The leave, under normal circumstances, will not exceed fourteen days, excluding Sundays and legal holidays. A copy of the order requiring attendance at military training sites shall accompany all requests for military leave.

2. The Library can assure no loss of wages if the staff employee wishes to turn all earnings from the training period in to the Library board. Benefits are not affected by a military leave as long as the leave stays within the fourteen day parameter.

1. In the event a staff employee is called for jury duty, the Library will release them and assure no loss of wages, provided any compensation paid to the staff employee up to and equal to the staff employee’s wage are turned in to the Library board. Clerks and pages will not be paid for time lost because of jury duty.

1. Major changes in the director’s work schedule shall not be made without approval of the Library board. Requests for such changes shall be made in writing to the Library board.

2. Requests for work schedule changes for all other employees shall be made in writing to the Library director.

1. A Library employee wishing to resign or retire from employment must notify the director or, in the case of the director, the Library board as soon as practicable. Minimum notice for employees other than the director is two weeks. For the Library director, a notice of at least one month is preferred.

2. If the employee is entitled to benefits (such as earned but unused vacation), a lump sum payment can be made to the employee.

3. If the employee is retiring and is entitled to PERSI (Public Employees Retirement System, Inc.) retirement benefits, compliance with current PERSI requirements is essential for benefits to begin on the date of retirement.

1. It is the intent of the Library that every employee shall have the opportunity to express concerns relating to the physical surroundings in which the employee works, the procedures and conditions of the specific position, relationships with fellow workers or supervisors, and Library rules as they apply to staff. A concern or grievance should follow the procedure below.

a. If possible, discuss the problem with the director. In the case of the director having a concern, this should be discussed with the board of trustees.

b. If the director is part of the problem, the concern/grievance should be submitted in writing addressed to the Library board and be delivered to the board chair, who will present the concern, during executive session, to the full board at the next or a special board meeting.

c. If a member of the board is part of the director’s problem, the concern/grievance should be submitted in writing addressed to the Library board and be delivered to a board member, who will present the concern in executive session to the full board at the next or a special board meeting.

d. The board will respond to the employee within five days of the board meeting at which the issue is discussed, either providing a determination, solution, or strategy for how the board will address the issue over time.

1. It is the policy of the Library to provide equal employment opportunity for all qualified and qualifiable persons. Equal employment opportunity shall be according to the provisions of State and Federal laws and regulations.

1. In compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance is prohibited while performing work for the Library, whether that work is carried out in the workplace building or not. All employees shall abide, as a condition of employment, by the terms of this notice and shall notify the Library director or board of trustees within five days of any criminal drug statute conviction.

2. Failure to comply with the above requirements shall be grounds for appropriate personnel action against such employee up to and including termination, or such employee may be required to satisfactorily participate in a drug abuse assistance or rehabilitation program.

Any employee who engages in sexual harassment as defined in Title VII (Federal law) and Idaho state law will subject him/herself to disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Purpose: to encourage and assist employees to further their professional development.

1. Library related conferences, workshops, and online courses (not degree-related):

a. Contribute the cost of higher education by reimbursing the employee for the actual cost of classes not to exceed $2,000 per year.

b. Reimbursement will be upon completion of the class with a grade of C or better.

1. Library related conferences, workshops, and online courses (not degree-related) may be a requirement of employment:

a. Complete the basic and advanced online certificate courses offered by the Idaho Commission for Libraries. For all new employees, complete the courses during the first year of employment. For all current employees, complete the courses within one year of the adoption of this policy by the board of trustees. This is not a requirement for any employee classified a “Page.”

b. Be ready, willing, and able to attend as required by the Director, including travel inside and outside the state of Idaho.

2. Higher education classes and/or degree programs are voluntary and entirely at the discretion of the employee.

a. Discuss with and obtain approval from the Director for potential reimbursement.

c. Remain in the library’s employ for one year after completion of the class or reimburse the library for any and all expenses incurred by the library.

Description	Person Responsible for Maintenance and Destruction
Permanent Records
Fixed Assets list	Director
Payroll records: IRS Form 941 payroll reports	Director
Board meeting minutes and accompanying records	Director
Five Year Records
Bank statements, deposit books, computer printouts of financial records	Director
Original employee time sheets and the computer reports generated from the time sheets	Director
LSTA grant materials	Director
Personnel records for past employees	Director
One Year Records
Paper records of overdue items, fines, and lost materials are kept for at least one year.	Director delegates
Six Month Records
Applications for library cards	Reference Librarian
Parental permission for a child to use the filtered internet is given (or not given) on the child’s application for a library card.	Reference Librarian
Computer use agreements: no longer applicable
One Month Records
Patron interlibrary loan (ILL) requests: one month after the item is returned to the lending library	ILL Librarian
ILL requests from other libraries: one month after the item is returned to our library	ILL Librarian
Varying Retention Times
Personnel files for active employees: maintained at all times during the employee’s term of employment	Director
Non-LSTA grant materials: according to the requirements of the individual grant or for five years if no requirement stated	Director
Records for computers, furniture and equipment, lists of vendors, and so forth: kept as long as needed	Director
ILL requests that result in our purchasing the item: kept until the item is processed and the requesting patron notified	ILL Librarian
Requests for purchase: kept until the item has been processed and the requesting patron notified	Librarian in charge of ordering the type of material
“Print Slips” : kept until the item is put out for the public	Librarian who ordered the item
Requests for memorials: listed on a computer spreadsheet; kept until the item is processed	Catalog Librarian

1. Destruction shall be by shredding, burning, or other appropriate means at the end of the retention time.

2. All records placed in inactive storage shall indicate the date of destruction.