This section is for your library’s job descriptions; vision, mission, and core value statements; policies; board bylaws; strategic plan; other plans.
- The job description for your library director
- The job descriptions for your library staff members
- The job description for your library trustees
- The job description for your library’s city council liaison1 (does not apply to district libraries)
- Your library’s vision statement and/or mission statement, and/or service vision statement, and/or core values statement2
- Your library’s policies3, your board’s bylaws4, your library’s strategic plan5, any other plans the new or interim director should know about, and the dates these documents were created and modified
- Your’ library’s emergency preparedness plan6, or where to find it
- Every library needs a set of written policies to guide staff decisions. Library policy defines the context of the library’s operation. The library director implements policies set by the board. The board works with the library director to adopt, amend, or retire library policies. This is one of the most important functions of the library board. A library policy is only a policy once it has been approved by the library’s governing board in an open meeting held according to Idaho’s Open Meeting Law, chapter 2, title 74, Idaho Code. The most common library policies include:
- 3-D Printer and Maker Policy
- Acceptable Conduct Policy (sometimes known as Patron Conduct Policy)
- Circulation [of Library Materials] Policy or Lending Policy
- Collection Development and Management Policy (sometimes known as the Collection Development Policy or Materials Selection Policy)
- Confidentiality of Patron Records
- Gifts and Sponsorship Policy (sometimes two separate policies)
- Internet Use and Safety Policy – see the requirements in Idaho Code section 33-2741
- Meeting Room Policy – see the Washington State Library’s Public Library Policies page and click on Facilities Use
- Unattended Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy – see this example from the Akron-Summit County Public Library
- United for Libraries offers links to several sample policies on their website
- The Washington State Public Library offers samples of library policy and H.R. forms
- A copy of the Idaho Ethics in Government Manual
1 According to section 33-2604, Idaho Code, “A member of the city council shall not be one (1) of the five (5) appointed trustees of the library board, but each year the council shall appoint one (1) of its members to be a liaison to the board, without voting rights.”
2 A library’s vision statement is a broad view of how it is going to leave an impact on customers and the greater community. The library’s mission statement, on the other hand, tells a) what the library does, b) how this is done, c) for whom it is done, and d) what value the library brings to the community. A library’s mission statement does not have to look like any other library’s mission statement. The important thing is to figure out what is important to the library’s community and start from there. A customer service vision statement is one that clearly defines the type of customer service employees are expected to provide. In some organizations, this is a standalone statement that is separate from the mission, vision, and values statements. It can also be integrated into one or more of the other statements.
3 Library policy defines the framework of the library’s operation. The library director implements policies set by the board. The board works with the library director to adopt, amend, or retire library policies. This is one of the most important functions of the library board. A library policy is only a policy once it has been approved by the library’s governing board in an open meeting held according to Idaho’s Open Meetings Law, chapter 2, title 74, Idaho Code.
4 Just as important as policies are the board’s bylaws, the rules that govern how the board operates. Boards that create good bylaws for themselves can operate with greater efficiency, consistency, and objectivity. Bylaws describe the offices of the board, duties of each office, the rules under which regular and special meetings will be held, the standing committees of the board (if any), and any other permanent operating procedures for the board itself.
5 If your library needs to create or modify its strategic plan, ICfL Public Library Consultant Clay Ritter can help with development or revision.
6 For more information, visit ALA’s Emergency Preparedness website.