Staff Use of Personal Library Cards

Note: This is an e-policy that staff review each year. Changes can only be made to this page by Jennifer Steward on an annual basis.

January 2023

Application

The following applies to library staff members, their friends, family and household members.

Personal library accounts are for personal use only

If library staff need to use a library account for work purposes, they may use an Administrative library account. 

This includes testing of live library technology. Staff may only use personal library accounts for testing live systems that all patrons can access such as online catalogs, My MCL or e-books. Staff may not use personal accounts for testing live systems which patrons may not access directly, such as Symphony. See Staff use of the Integrated Library System (ILS). 

Theft

  • Staff should only leave the building with material which is checked out to them. Items used for outreach may be taken out of the building for work purposes. Items used for testing and training should be checked out onto an appropriate library account.
  • Taking materials without checking them out is considered theft of county property. Items that are not checked out should not be kept on desks, in mailboxes, lockers, break rooms or in any work area beyond the end of any business day.
  • Library staff may not personally perform in the ILS any action on their own, friends', family or household members' library accounts that pertain to fees or potential fees, including paying fees, clearing fees, setting items to claims returned or lost, etc.
  • Library staff members are responsible for all fees due on their accounts. Clearing fees that have not been paid is considered theft of county resources.
  • Clearing fees for staff:
    • Supervisors will clear fees for a staff member up to $50.00 using the same criteria that would be applied to other patrons. 
    • Clearing fees over $50.00 must be done by the Contact Center Supervisor, with supervisor approval. 
    • Clearing fees for supervisors, administrators, and managers must have senior manager approval.
    • Staff may contact the access/circulation specialist, Jennifer Steward, to discuss special circumstances.
  • Supervisors will set items to claims returned status for staff members, using the same criteria that would be applied to other patrons.
  • Library staff may not process payments for fees on their own, friends', family or household members' library accounts. 
  • This includes collecting money in Symphony, ringing payments into the cash register, or processing a credit card payment via a credit card machine. 
  • Staff members may pay fees online through the public catalog.
  • Donations of material made to the library and discarded material are the property of the library and may not be removed from the work unit. Taking donations or discards for personal use is considered theft of county resources. See Donations and Discarding/Withdrawing.

Accounts & Access

  • Staff may not process any actions on their own, friends', family or household members' library accounts that a member of the public would not be able to do on their own account.
  • Library staff must follow the Registration requirements for obtaining library cards. Exception: staff who live outside the free service area may register for a free library account. See Staff, volunteers and the free service area. 
  • Staff must follow the Confidentiality of library records policy and may not access accounts for friends, family or household members for which they do not have the library card or library card number in hand.
  • Library accounts must be in good standing to access library resources. Library staff may not override blocks and messages in order to use library resources, including checking out or renewing materials or accessing e-content. 
  • Staff may not make exceptions -- such as allowing one-time checkout or access - for themselves, friends, family and household members.
  • Staff who need exceptions for their personal accounts should contact their supervisor or Jennifer Steward, Access/Circulation Specialist.
  • A staff member who is also working as an educator may be eligible for an Educator account. A staff member who wishes to use an Educator card should request supervisor approval.

Checkouts, renewals and returns

  • Library staff may not override Renewal or Checkout limits, including number of items or media checked out.
  • Staff may check out material for the same loan periods offered to other patrons. See Staff, volunteers and the free service area.
  • Staff may not have Extended loans on material without approval by a supervisor.
  • Staff may not change due dates of material checked out to them for other than a standard renewal or approved extended loan.
  • Staff may not use any method of extending the loan period, renewing, or checking out material which bypasses a hold on a title. This does not include standard practices for all patrons, such as renewing with holds if enough copies are available, which can be done on the online catalog or by another staff member.
  • Staff should put materials they return for themselves, family or household members and friends into the bookdrop. Staff may not check in their own, friends', family or household members' library materials, except as this may naturally occur in the course of checking in materials from the bookdrop.

Holds

  • Library staff may not change their place or priority on a hold list, or override hold limits.
  • Library staff are expected to check out holds or cancel material that is being held for them before the hold cancellation date. 
  • The hold cancellation date may be extended, by a supervisor or other staff member, as for any other patron.

Policy

Multnomah County Library staff members must follow the same borrowing and usage policies as any other library account holder. Staff may not use staff-side access, such as the Integrated Library Systems (ILS), Symphony, to view or act on their own accounts, including checkouts, renewals and holds. Staff members may not extend special privileges or suspend library rules and policies for themselves, their friends, family and household members. Staff members may not use their knowledge of the ILS to evade policies, extend privileges or avoid fees. See Staff use of the Integrated Library System (ILS).

These rules are not all-inclusive. If you are unsure about what you are able to do with your or other people's library accounts, ask your supervisor.

Staff use of personal library accounts may be reviewed by Library Director’s Office staff , Integrated Services staff, library managers, IT security staff, the County Auditor and/or the County Treasury Department. Periodic reports may be run to ensure that staff use of personal library accounts and their use of the ILS is in accordance with County and Library policies.

Employee use of the ILS is subject to all of the Multnomah County Personnel Rules (MCPRs). With regards to staff use of personal library accounts, management asks employees to pay particular attention to the following MCPRs:

  • 3-35-045(A) - "County employees do not have a right, nor should they have an expectation of privacy or confidentiality while using county systems..."
  • 3-30-020(A) - "An employee may not use or attempt to use their position or their employment to obtain financial gain or avoid financial detriment for the employee, a relative or member of the household of the employee, or any business with which the employee or a relative or member of the household of the employee is associated, if the financial gain or avoidance of financial detriment would not otherwise be available but for the employee's holding of their position."

Any violation of library use policies may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Take particular note of the Theft section above.

Staff may have free library accounts, including staff who live outside the free service area. For information on free library accounts for staff, see Staff, Volunteers and the free service area. 

For information about staff administrative use of the library, see Administrative library accounts.

Rationale

State ethics laws governing public employees and Multnomah County Library service philosophy require that library staff be held to the highest standards of conduct in their personal use of library resources and services. As public employees, law precludes us from gaining benefit from our public employment. As library employees who place a high value on the public service we provide our users, we cannot provide better service to ourselves, our friends, family and household members than other members of the public enjoy, without betraying public trust and our service ethic.

Manual category
Circulation
Facilities
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Daily operations