Children in the Library

Perry Carnegie Library is a community resource that is used by a broad cross-section of our community. The safety and security of all library patrons, especially children, is of paramount important to library staff, administration, and the City of Perry.

This policy is intended to address specific requirements for all children who use the library. For purposes of this and all library policies, a child is considered to be any patron under the age of eighteen.
The responsibility to supervise a child using the library rests at all times with that child’s parent, legal guardian, or caregiver (hereafter referred to as “responsible adult(s)”).

Responsiblity and Supervision

Library staff and administration are present to assist all patrons with their information needs, maintain the grounds and building, and generally perform tasks that make for a pleasant patron experience. Library staff and administration are not intended to replace or substitute for responsible adults. When children attend activity programs, they are directly supervised by library staff only during the scheduled time of the program and only in the room or area where the program is presented.

Because the supervision library staff can provide is limited, we strongly recommend that children of all ages should be accompanied to the library by their responsible adult.

For their own safety and security, children 7 years old and younger must be continually attended by a responsible adult at all times while in the library.

A responsible adult must accompany children between the ages of 7 and 12 but does not need to continually attend them so long as they are present and available in the building.

Unattended Children during Library Hours

Children ages 12 and older who are left on their own at the library should have on file a phone number where a responsible adult may be reached if needed. They must understand that they are still responsible for the behavior of their children while the children are using the library. Children are also bound by the Library If necessary, library staff reserves the right to contact responsible adults to arrange for them to pick up to their children when they violate library policies.

If the responsible adult cannot be reached, or when reached, is unable or unwilling to pick up their children from the library in a timely manner, library staff may require the children to remain seated under the direct supervision of a library staff member until the responsible adult arrives.

Unattended Children after Library Hours

Responsible adults should be familiar with the library’s hours of operation and should not leave children on their own unsupervised before the library opens or after it closes. They should also be aware of the possibility that the library's schedule may be affected by emergencies, holidays, or unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather.

Perry Carnegie Library assumes no responsibility for children on library property before or after closing time if they are not physically within the library building.

If children are in the building at the time of closing and have no means of transportation, library staff will verify their contact information, as well as the contact information of their responsible adult. Library staff will telephone the responsible adult and request immediate pick-up of the children. Two staff members will stay with the children until the situation is resolved.

If the children are not picked up within twenty (20) minutes after the responsible adult has been contacted, library staff will contact the police department and request that the police take custody of the children.

Under no circumstances will library staff or administration offer transportation to any library patron who does not have or has not arranged to vacate the library premises at closing time.