Description

You regularly hear about working outside of the box. However, to do so you need a box. This is where policies come in. You get your boss, the library board, to write down the important things so you know the start and when you need to consult your boss before going outside the box. Policies and procedures are necessary for any library, even the smallest, most isolated public library. Policies need to be in place to run an efficient library and for everyone at the library to know where the library is heading and how different situations will be handled. From oft convoluted Board By-Laws and Materials Selection policies to simple Posting and Hours policies; when both the staff and the public know what is expected of them, everyone is better off.

Many policies are necessary for legal and liability reasons, others are necessary as guidelines to follow in the slim chance of tragedies occurring. The everyday policies libraries use the most regard behavior in the library and basic functions such as circulation and membership. Write simple, easy to understand policies looking through them to get rid of anything you can. Policies requiring staff time to enforce and implement are not the most effective or efficient use of limited staff time! Be as general and universally applicable as possible since the easier the policy is to remember the more likely it is to be used in the library on a day-to-day basis. Let the people you pay make the interpretations of the policies; the director sets the example and provides sample situations for employees to practice.