Meeting Spaces Policy

Purpose 

As part of its mission to provide a place for people to connect with information, inspiration and education, Teton County Library makes its meeting spaces available for use by the public, subject to the following Policy Statement and Rules. 

Policy Statement 

The Teton County Library meeting spaces are a public resource available to individuals, community groups, government agencies, and organizations for a variety of cultural, informational, educational, civic, and other purposes. The meeting spaces are made available on an equitable basis to all persons and groups. 

The Library upholds the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, adopted by the Teton County Library Board of Directors, which states “Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.”

Teton County Library strives for broad participation and meaningful community engagement, including the use of library meeting spaces to facilitate the exchange of a wide range of ideas and discussion. By doing so, the Library does not promote or endorse the views, ideas, discussions, or activities taking place in its spaces. 

Rules 

1. The meeting spaces are for use by groups and not for individuals. Individuals may reserve a library study room. Spaces are subjects to the occupancy limitations of each room.
2. Library uses, including but not limited to library sponsored programs and administrative activities, take precedence over all other uses and reservations. Requests for meeting spaces may be denied and while every attempt will be made to honor existing reservations, they may be cancelled for library activities.
3. Requests for reservations are handled on a first come, first served basis.
4. All activities, events, and programs taking place in library meeting spaces must be free of charge to the public. Entry and participation fees are not permitted.
5. All activities, events, and programs taking place in library meeting spaces must be open to the public and not closed. Members of the public may not be prohibited from photography or filming the activities taking place in these public meeting spaces.
6. Library staff may monitor activity occurring in the library meeting spaces and may take photographs or video for its records and promotional materials.
7. 8½” x 11” flyers may be posted in the acrylic holders on meeting room doors ONLY during reserved times. Prior to events, flyers may be posted on library bulletin boards. No other signage is permitted on library property.
8. When issuing press releases, posters, or any publicity, groups using the meeting rooms may not infer that their event or program is sponsored, co-sponsored, or approved by the Teton County Library.
9. The sale, advertising, solicitation, or promotion of products or services are not permitted. This does not apply to library affiliated organizations such as the Teton County Library Foundation and the Friends of the Library or government agencies collecting fees on site when utilizing meeting rooms for temporary satellite offices.
10. Political events such as debates, forums, and town hall meetings are permitted in library meeting rooms, as well as political campaigning activities that do not violate library policies.
11. The Library is not responsible for the equipment, materials, or personal possessions of the individuals or groups utilizing meeting spaces.
12. Light refreshments such as coffee and donuts or sandwiches may be served only in the Auditorium and Alta Community Room. Full meal service and alcohol are not permitted except when authorized by the Teton County Library Board of Directors and in accordance with the Teton County Facilities Policy.
13. All groups are responsible for leaving the meeting rooms in an orderly and clean condition after use, including cleaning up garbage and/or spills and returning all furniture and equipment to its proper place.
14. All use fees must be paid to the Teton County Library in advance.
15. Every request for a reservation will designate the individual responsible for supervision of the use of the meeting room during the event who will also be financially responsible for any additional cleaning required or for any damages to the room, fixtures, computers, and equipment, including charges for any necessary reprogramming or reconfiguring of the library’s audio-visual (AV) equipment or computers.
16. Every reservation which includes a request to use the library’s AV equipment must designate the individual who will be using the library AV equipment. The designated user must complete a brief AV orientation with staff during the set-up time scheduled before the event, which must include the computers, hardware and/or software that will be used during the event.
17. Use of the library AV and computer equipment in the Learning Lab must follow instructions in the Learning Lab Manual and any additional procedures established by the Director of Library Services.
18. Changes to any arrangement, configuration, or wiring of library equipment and computers is not permitted.
19. The Library reserves the right to review each request for a reservation and the proposed use to determine whether it complies with library and Teton County policies and the appropriateness of the use for the requested space. Use of the meeting rooms may be terminated at any time if the conduct of the group or any individual within the group is in violation of library policies or procedures. Failure to comply with this Meeting Space Policy and other library and county policies by groups or individuals may result in the loss of meeting space and/or library privileges.
20. The Director of Library Services will issue a written notice regarding the termination and/or suspension of meeting room privileges. The decision of the Director of Library Services regarding the termination and/or suspension of meeting room privileges may be appealed to the Teton County Library Board of Directors.
21. A schedule of fees attached as Exhibit A to this Meeting Spaces Policy sets forth the charges for use of library meeting spaces, which may include additional fees for use of library AV and other equipment, staff time, and other appropriate charges as may be determined and adopted by the Teton County Library Board of Directors. Fees charged may distinguish between for-profit and not-for profit users and activities. Not-for-profit users are those which serve an educational, cultural, charitable, political, recreational, or civic purpose and may include 501(c)3 corporations as well as unincorporated associations, clubs, and other informal organizations or groups as determined by the Director of Library Services. For-profit groups include businesses and other commercial entities as determined by the Director of Library Services.
22. The Library Board of Directors authorizes the Director of Library Services to develop and implement any necessary procedures in furtherance of this Meeting Spaces Policy in accordance with other library policies and the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights.
23. Once adopted and having taken effect, this Meeting Spaces Policy and the Schedule of Fees in Exhibit A supersedes and replaces the previous Meeting Room Policy of the Teton County Library.

Exhibit A: Fee Schedule

Room and fixture layout determines capacity; additional maximum capacity limitations are posted in rooms.