The County Attorney’s Office has advised us that if the child is under the age of 10, the parent or caregiver has violated rule 3 and should be excluded accordingly. Leaving a child unattended or unsupervised is a violation of library policy. In all but the most egregious situations, a warning should be given to the parent or caregiver prior to exclusion.

When applying exclusion guidelines to patrons ages 10 to 17, PICs and security personnel should carefully consider the nature of the offense in determining the length of exclusion to be imposed. Our goal is to balance two interests: sending a clear message that library rules must be followed by everyone, and ensuring that young people are not cut off for an unreasonable period of time from the library resources they need for success in school and in life.

General Guidelines

• Safety is the top priority and should guide the response steps of PICs and security personnel. When an incident might involve the exclusion of a minor, PICs and security personnel will consider the safety of the minor and any other minors that might be impacted by the exclusion (e.g. younger siblings that are under the excluded patron’s supervision).
• Notifications of other parties (e.g. parents, police) at the moment might be appropriate. When possible, PICs and security personnel should consider options before excluding a minor. PICs and security personnel must also consider the applicability of Mandatory Reporting requirements.
• PICs and security personnel will not exclude a minor for longer than three months without advance approval from the Incident Review Team.
• While the Incident Review Team has final input, this team may consult with other library personnel (e.g. branch administrator, youth services manager, volunteer services manager) regarding the length of a minor’s exclusion, particularly when an exclusion for longer than three months is considered.
• See chart for exclusion progression.

Guidelines for rules 1 and 2

• Minors who violate these rules will be excluded for three months.

Guidelines for rules 3

• Minors who violate this rule might be in need of immediate parental, medical, and/or police support.
• Minor disruption: Generally, minors who violate these rules will be excluded for one day. A subsequent violation will result in a one-week exclusion.
• Significant disruption: Generally, minors who violate these rules will be excluded for one week. A subsequent violation will result in a one-month exclusion.

Guidelines for rule 4

• Minors who violate this rule may be in need of immediate parental, medical, and/or police support.
• Violation of Rule 4 (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana) is also a violation of Rule 1 for minors because they cannot legally consume any of those sentences.
• Violation of this rule results in an automatic three month exclusion.

Guidelines for rules 5 through 10

• Minors who violate this rule may be in need of immediate parental, medical, and/or police support.
• If minors violate these rules and asking them to leave to correct the problem seems warranted (to ensure safety and/or to minimize disruption), then they may return as soon as the problem has been corrected.
• Assuming no other behaviors (e.g. law violation, specific threat of physical harm) warrant a longer exclusion further violations will be considered disruptions of library operations (violations of rule 3). They will lead to a one-day exclusion.