Carnegie Public Library Operating policies and procedures

Fill out an application. Applications include: name, phone, mailing and physical address

Sign a statement of financial liability for loss or damage to library materials

Fill out an application. Applications include: name, phone, mailing and physical address, and distant address.

Sign a statement of financial liability for loss or damage to library materials

Show valid photo ID

Must give a local reference

Pay a non-resident card fee of $5 per year

Minors over 7 years old may obtain a library card through the same procedures outlined for adults with the same resident status. Parents of minors must sign a statement of financial liability for the child’s use of library materials.

Checkout of new books is 28 days and is limited to 3 items borrowed at one time

Checkout time is 28 days for older books,1 renewal allowed

Checkout time for current periodicals is 10 days, NO renewals

Checkout of current periodicals is limited to 3 at one time.

Checkout time for adult video recordings is 10 days. Children's videos may be checked out for 28 days, the same as books

Checkout time for books on Audio cassettes and CD's are 28 days with a limit of 3.

Borrowers are limited to 25 items borrowed at one time

Sweet Grass County rural and home school teachers may check out materials for use on a 6-week borrowing schedule. There is a limit of 25 items. Overdue fines will not be charged. Individual schools and home school parents are responsible for the replacement of lost or damaged materials.

A hold may be placed on any item in circulation on our web site (www.bigtimberlibrary.org) There is no fee for this service. All held items must be picked up within 48 hours of notification, or the item will be returned into circulation. A hold may not be placed upon an item before it is entered into circulation.

10 cents per day per item for all items.

Checkout privileges will be suspended if fines accumulate to $6.00

After 2 months, overdue items are considered lost and borrower becomes responsible for replacement of item(s). Borrowing privileges are suspended until items are replaced.

Money collected for card fees, copies, overdue fines and replacement costs will be deposited in the general fund.

Money collected for book sales and donations goes to the Friends of the Library.

Smoking, pets, skateboards and bicycles are not permitted in the library

Covered beverages are allowed. NO drinks within 10ft of the computers.

Disruptive, unsafe, illegal or harassing behavior is not tolerated in the library. Library personnel have the authority to maintain order.

Children under age 7 must never be left unattended in the library. Any minor who has not been picked up by closing time will be reported to the appropriate authorites.

The library’s telephone is available for local calls under 5 minutes.

Renewals may be made by phone or in person. Renewals may also be made by clicking the Renew my Materials link located on our website www.bigtimberlibrary.org then logging into patron's personal library account.

Cell phones may be used to conduct business generated on the computer as long as the conversation is not disruptive to other patrons.

Bulletin board space will be made available to community groups (not individuals) on a rotating basis. Postings must be clearly marked by the sponsor and must be maintained regularly by sponsor for orderliness and currency.

The Carnegie Public Library reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

The Carnegie Public Library is pleased to provide Internet access as part of its quality services to patrons. Please note the following Usage Disclaimer and Policy Statement.

The Carnegie Public Library offers Internet resources equally to all users. The internet enables the library to provide resources not available within the confines of its own collection. However, the Internet is an unregulated medium. It offers access to a wealth of material that is personally, professionally and culturally enriching to individuals of all ages, but it also enables access to some materials that may be offensive and/or illegal. Individual users must accept responsiblity for determining the suitability of content for themselves and their children. In addition, users must respect the legal protections to data and sofware provided by copyright and licensing laws. Users may not represent themselves as another person nor use Internet access to transmit obscene, threatening, or harassing materials. Although library staff and volunteers are able to offer some searching suggestions and answer some questions, they cannot provide in-depth training on the Internet or computer use. Also, solicitation of help from other patrons who are in the library to take care of their own business is not permitted. Librarians will not assist patrons with personal private matters such as on-line dating services.

Patrons may register on the hour and half hour for 30 minutes of access time on the library's public access work stations. Patrons arriving in between times must register for the current time slot. If no one has registered for the following period, the patron may continue to use the workstation for an additional 30 minutes. Appointments to reserve access time may be made up to 24 hours in advance. The library does not charge a fee for Internet use. If time permits, library staff may instruct patrons on basic Internet and computer use.

Gaming on the Internet is not allowed in the library. Children's educational games may be played within the 1/2 hour time slot with parental supervision.

Please regulate the volume when using headphones out of consideration for other library users.

This policy was approved by Kate Lewis/Library Director and Delores Hanson/Chair, Board of Trustees on December 19, 2007.

The Carnegie Public Library strives to enrich the life of every community resident by providing timely access to ideas and information through collections, services and technology, promoting life-long learning, exploration of ideas, culture and knowledge, and enjoyment of reading for all ages.

The purpose of this policy is to guide the library staff in their selection and retention of books and other materials in order to offer reading choices of significance and value. This policy also informs our funding boards, the City Council and the Sweet Grass County Commission, how the budget is spent.

The majority of the 3500 residents of Sweet Grass County are retired or engaged in the following occupations: government service, agriculture, mining, small business and education. In the city of Big Timber, the population is spread out with 23% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 23% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 22% who are 65 years of age and older. The median age is 42 years. For every 100 females, there are 96.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 or over, there are 91.9 males. The median income for a household in the city is $30,595. The primary users of the library are adult fiction readers. The second largest user group is junior fiction readers, followed by adult non-fiction readers.

The Carnegie Library webpage has links to the library catalog, the Infotrac database, library information which includes library policies, a description of library services and programs, and a link which connects to community activities and information. The library's collection is searchable by an Online Public Access Catalog. Inerlibrary Loan service provides user access to the collections of other libraries. Six public access Internet workstations are available in the library. A subscription to the Infotrac database with remote access makes the Gale Group's periodicals collection available to users in the library and on home computers. Two professional staff members are available for guidance and individual computer instruction during open hours.

In 2006, the library began an extensive renovation and rebuilding project made possible by donations from the community. The project was completed in March of 2007. The floor space was extended from 1300 to 4000 square feet. An elevator and three new ADA compliant restrooms have been added. The lower floor has a new kitchen and a public meeting room which is free for use by non-profit organizations. These changes have resulted in a beautiful, accessible and comfortable building which will serve the public for years to come.

During the time the library was being renovated, volunteers operated Books on Wheels to seniors at the nursing home or to those who are homebound. All other programs were interrupted. The schedule for new Programs begins in July 2007 with the Summer Reading Program for children. Saturday Story Hour will begin in August 2007. We are tentatively planning to create a weekly podcast of Story time to be posted on the Library website beginning in October 2007. The Friends of the Library will begin a monthly Senior Tea in September 2007. Old Movie night two evenings a month will also begin in September 2007. Additional programs which will serve the rural schools, home school families, daycare's and Big Timber classrooms are being explored. There are also plans to research the possibility of using the old adult fiction room for holding art classes at the library. New programs will be evaluated by tracking attendance and enthusiasm of patrons.

The library circulates fiction, non-fiction, periodicals, audio cassettes and CDs, DVD and VHS movies. The library holds around 29,000 items, approximately 5500 titles in non-fiction and reference, 5000 titles in fiction (including audio books) and 6000 titles in the juvenile section (including fiction and non-fiction and easy readers). 900 E-book titles were added to OCLC this year, allowing patrons access to material on the internet. The library holds subscriptions to 60 periodicals and keeps up 5 volumes on the shelf. Collections that are being developed include: Large-Type fiction and Non-fiction, Young-adult, Reference, and Montana books. Additional on-line databases being considered for patron use include one for genealogy research and another for downloading books.

Interlibrary loan service allows the library to find books for patrons not available in the library's own collection. The library will continue to act as the intermediary for interlibrary loans until this service is offered directly to patrons. The library pays the postage for the book to be shipped in from another library. The patron assumes the responsibility for postage expenses one way. In June 2007, the Carnegie Library will resume lending to other libraries as this service was not possible during the construction period. The Carnegie Library does not loan any item published within the last 12 months as these items are reserved for our patrons.

The average age of the collection is probably around 1995 or higher; few items are older than 1980. The Big Timber Pioneer is available in the reference section and dates back to 1916.

The library collects books, periodicals,DVD's, CDs, videos and audio books. Self-serve paperback and magazine exchanges are maintained by a library volunteer. Electronic databases are available on any of the 6 computers where patrons can read past magazine articles or research a favorite topic. *In August 2007 an additional database featuring genealogy will be added for patron use. *In 2007-2008, the library will participate with the Montana State Libraries in a pilot which will offer downloadable books for patron use. Paperback circulation is tallied and accounts for a substantial portion of adult fiction circulation.

The library purchases multiple copies of popular fiction and non-fiction. Most of the time, this will mean the purchase of one book in regular print and one in large-type. The Carnegie Library is planning to purchase select books in quantity to be used by book discussion groups. The library will collect 4 sets per year of 6-10 books each beginning in July of 2007. This is a pilot program and will be evaluated yearly as needed.

Among the early settlers of Big Timber in 1888, there were many Norwegian families whose descendants have remained in the Big Timber area. Books in Norwegian, Norwegian dictionaries, and Norwegian history can still be found on the shelves. The library has a small collection of foreign language books and audio books, including dictionaries of French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Korean. The junior section has some beginning Spanish books. In answer to patron request, a subscription to Selecciones, Reader's Digest in Spanish, was added to the periodical shelf in March 2007. By 2009, the library will purchase language learning programs for the above named languages.

The library obtains sixty percent of its funding from the City of Big Timber and the other forty percent from Sweet Grass County. The City of Big Timber assumes fiduciary duties pertaining to the library. The library is governed by a 5-member board of trustees, four of whom are appointed by the City Council of Big Timber and one of whom is appointed by the Sweet Grass County Commissioners. Each May, the Library Board submits an annual operating budget to the Big Timber City Council for approval. In July of 2007 the budget will increase by $6,000 due to increases in telecommunications, energy, and other costs incurred by the expansion of the building. The library receives approximately $1,200 from the Montana State Library and approximately $1,400 from he South Central Federation. The library is enrolled in an on-going grant of $1,300 through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which allows the purchase of a computer or computer software/hardware.

The library director and assistant are responsible for the selection of materials. Books are purchased according to the following criteria: 1.) patron requests 2.) old and worn but still in demand 3.) new collections being developed and 4.) best-sellers and award winning books recommended by the American Library Association, the Library Journal, and the New York Times Best-Seller List.

The Carnegie Public Library is grateful for gifts of library materials which can be an important supplement to the collection. The library reserves the right to decide where and how a gift will be put to use. Gift materials will be added to the collection only if they meet the same standards required of purchased materials. No restrictions may be placed upon their use by the donor. Once an item has been donated, it becomes the property of the library.

The library can not legally appraise gifts for tax purposes. Upon request the library will issue a receipt for the number of donated materials.

Whenever a gift is no longer useful, it will be disposed of in the same manner as purchased material. Book sales are held every year by The Friends of the Library at which time weeded and outdated materials are offered to the public.

Any user having a complaint concerning material in the collection may request a review of the material by the Library Board. (Request for reconsideration of material forms are attached.) The board will evaluate the complaint/request at the next scheduled meeting and send a timely written response to the concerned party. For all concerns other than requests for reconsideration of material, there is a citizen's complaint form. (attached)

Library staff weeds the collection frequently, using criteria established by the Montana State Library in their published weeding guidelines. Discarded books are donated to the Friends of the Library for sale and/or disposal as stated in the resolution of February 25, 2003.

Books needing repair are cared for by the library staff. Books in current use are replaced as needed. The Big Timber Pioneer is bound each year for research use by patrons: the library holds bound copies of the Pioneer dating from 1914 to present in the reference section of the library. The Carnegie Public Library is not an archival library. During the library renovation, all books were packed and subsequently unpacked. Upon inspection, it is evident that parts of the library collection need some care. Many spine labels are faded and barley legible. These will be replaced over the next year as needed. The library is missing books in the following areas: math, reference encyclopedias, landscaping, psychology, and Montana history. These subjects will begin the replacement list for 2007-2008. Because groups of books such as Biography, Large-Type, and Young Adult now have their own location, these groups will be re-cataloged with a new home location. This re-cataloging will be done by December 2007.

The library collects fiction, non-fiction and reference books and materials for all age groups in accordance with industry standards and community demand. A small reference section includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, thesaurus, directories, atlases and non-circulating career resources.

In non-fiction, the size of subject areas collected reflects levels of community interest and may be listed in descending order: geography/travel/history/west (900’s) with around 1250 items; technology/useful arts(600's) with 1050 items: arts (700’s) with 930 items; social sciences(300’s) with 650 items; sciences(500’s) with 450 items, literature (800’s) with 550 items; philosophy(100’s) and religion(200’s) with 150 items each; languages (400’s) and generalities(099’s) with around 75 items each. A Montana section numbers about 600 items. Some of the Montana collection is dusty and old and needs to be replaced. If it is possible, these items will be replaced with books in Large-Type.

The fiction collection includes literary and genre fiction, with an emphasis on popular authors, classics, prize winners, regional authors and western fiction. Large-type fictions is in constant demand. The library has a standing order with Thorndike Press for 4 fictional and 4 non-fiction books delivered monthly. This will increase these collections by about 50 volumes a year. The western-fiction section is well used and somewhat shabby. These items will also be replaced with Large-type books when they need to be discarded.

The juvenile collection includes easy readers in fiction and non-fiction, chapter books and non-fiction for easy and grade school children. There are approximately 160 children's videos, educational and entertaining. In the past, all Young Adult material was shelved with the Junior Fiction, but there is now room to create a new collection for young adults. 100 volumes have been removed from the junior area and will be the basis for the new YA collection. YA books will be chosen by the same criteria as all other books.

The library collection includes audio-books on tape and books on CD. These items now have their own location making them easier to locate and select. The library maintains a standing order through Brodart's McNaughton Audio Program which supplies around 50 new CD books a year. 75% of these new selections are fiction, 25% non-fiction

This policy will be reviewed and revised every three years by the Library Director and the Library Board.

To meet the needs of the public for information and cultural recreation.

To provide a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere for reading and study.

To be a source of current and reliable information.

To provide materials that balance contemporary interest with lasting value which appeal to a wide variety of personal tastes.

To encourage greater interest in reading: for knowledge, for growth, and for fun.

To employ a competent and dedicated staff who willingly interact with community members to facilitate the use of a welcoming and well-ordered library.

To teach and explain advances in technology to those who want or enjoy it.