Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to set forth the responsibilities of the parents/guardians/caregivers of children or vulnerable adults to ensure that the Library provides a safe and pleasant experience for all who use it. The rights of all patrons to use the Library must be respected.
Policy Statement
Teton County Library strives to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for all visitors including children and vulnerable adults. Library staff are committed to helping children and vulnerable adults with activities related to the Library; however, Library staff are not trained nor responsible for providing care or guidance to children or other vulnerable persons in need of consistent attention and supervision. While library staff will always respond with care and concern, they are not responsible for a child’s or vulnerable adult’s safety and welfare when they are unattended by a parent/guardian/caretaker. Responsibility for the welfare and behavior of a child or vulnerable adult using the library or while on library property rests with the parent/guardian/caregiver.
Rules
- An unattended child is any child not accompanied by a parent/guardian/caregiver. A vulnerable adult is any adult who cannot care for themselves independently without the assistance of a caregiver.
- Parents/guardians/caregivers are responsible for monitoring the activities and regulating the behavior of children or vulnerable adults who require supervision during their library visit. The Library is not responsible for any consequences of parents/guardians/caregivers not fulfilling these responsibilities.
- Children under the age of 8 and vulnerable adults of any age must have a parent, guardian, or responsible caregiver who is at least 12 years of age or older and who remains in the immediate vicinity of the child or vulnerable adult at all times.
- Children 8 years of age and older whose parent or guardian consider them sufficiently mature enough may use the library independently.
- Parents/Guardians/Caregivers of children 8 years of age and older, who have determined the child is mature enough to be left alone at the library, are responsible for setting reasonable time limits for their children’s visits to the library and providing a means of transportation home from the library by the time the library closes. The Library is not responsible for the care and supervision of children or vulnerable adults prior to opening or after closing.
- Library staff will intervene only when a child who appears to be under the age of 8 or a vulnerable adult is left unattended, if issues relating to the safety and well-being of any unattended child or vulnerable adult arise, or if disruptive behavior occurs by any unattended child or vulnerable adult. Library staff may contact social services or law enforcement regarding children or vulnerable adults left unattended in the library if there is concern regarding their safety or welfare or if the behavior of the child or vulnerable adult falls outside acceptable behavior in the library. Please refer to the Library Use Policy & Rules for more information regarding acceptable behavior.
- Parents/Guardians/Caregivers are responsible for supervising their child’s access to library resources. While library staff are available to guide young people to library resources selected with the child’s interests and needs in mind, it is assumed that a child who visits the Library unattended is authorized to use the full range of materials and resources available to them. The full range of materials and resources includes access to the adult collections and unfiltered internet via public use of either the library computers and/or library Wi-Fi on personal devices
- Groups/Classes visiting the Library require adequate adult supervision. Teton County Library requires that there be one adult chaperone for every ten children present during a group/class visit.