Creating Policies for Results: From Chaos to Clarity

Sandra Nelson · June Garcia

jun 2003 · American Library Association

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What does a librarian do if an unattended child remains at closing time? Can nonresidents get a library card? What is the library's position on Internet filters? These are but a few of the kinds of issues that require clear, up-to-date library policies. If your staff makes decisions on the fly, if policies are nonexistent, outdated, and no one knows what they are, your library may be experiencing policy chaos. To avoid potential legal liabilities, confusion, lost opportunities and tensions among management, employees, customers, and the community at large, the answer is to create current, customized policies geared to your library. Now it's easier than ever using this one-stop, step-by-step guide that dovetails with PLA's The New Planning for Results. Covering governance and organizational structure, management policies, and services relating to customers, circulation, information, and groups, this comprehensive how-to addresses each major library area. Follow these guidelines to assess existing policies, develop new ones, and communicate all changes to improve consistency. You will learn to: Create sound and legally defensible policies; Customize policies appropriate to your libra