Jason Hatton
The Bartholomew County Public Library is considering a possible update to its rules for patrons.
The library’s board of trustees discussed a draft document entitled “Patron’s Rights and Responsibilities” at their Monday meeting but took no action. If approved, the policy would replace the current Patron Code of Conduct, which has not been updated in a while, said library director Jason Hatton.
“We want everybody and anybody to feel welcome and feel comfortable in our spaces and on our property but that means everybody needs to feel welcome,” Hatton said. “So if you have somebody who’s disrupting or somebody who’s not making that a safe environment in any way, then we need to remove that individual.”
Library staff often have to ask people to leave due to issues such as yelling, fighting, drug use and sleeping, he said.
The draft policy begins by stating that everyone is welcome at the library and has the right to use its resources and services.
“Along with the right to enjoy library services comes the responsibility to do so in a manner that conveys respect and tolerance toward others and that is free from language or behaviors that create a disruptive or hostile environment for other library patrons or staff,” library officials wrote. “The rights and responsibilities found on the next page are intended to provide information and behavioral guidance for library patrons; however, this framework is not all inclusive. Patrons are expected to comply with all library policies and staff direction.”
The policy then provides a list of patrons’ rights to a proper library environment and services, along with a list of their responsibilities so as not to disrupt these rights for others.
Individuals who fail to meet their responsibilities or who infringe on the rights of other patrons or staff will receive a warning and an opportunity to correct their behavior.
Suspension from library premises or services may also be implemented, and behaviors that pose an immediate risk to the health or safety of others will result in immediate suspension from the premises without warning, with or without the assistance of law enforcement.
The draft policy states that examples of violations include, but are not limited to, sleeping, offensive odors or noises, non-service animals, and smoking (including vaping and other tobacco use) on library property.
“There’s a thousand ways something like this could be written,” said Hatton. “There are some libraries and some places that go down and try to list every single thing that could possibly happen. And it doesn’t work, because invariably somebody’s going to do something that you didn’t think about.”
Staff try to handle most disruptions with warnings, but it’s sometimes necessary to ask people to leave or issue trespass warnings with the help of police, he said.
He believes the longest ban the library has ever given was five years and added that bans can only be enacted for a limited amount of time, rather than being permanent.
In spring of 2022, a federal judge ruled that the Jackson County Public Library’s decision to ban a patron for life over a poem he wrote and dropped off at the library critical of former President Donald Trump was unconstitutional, as it violated his First Amendment right to free speech.
Hatton said that when the Bartholomew County Public Library chooses to ban individuals from its facilities, they are still able to utilize the library’s online resources.
He also noted that the library is unable to prohibit patrons from bringing guns on to the premises, though the draft policy does state that patrons have the responsibility to “properly and safely secure any item that could be used as a weapon.”
As board members considered the proposed policy, a major topic of discussion was the library’s stance on whether adults may use the children or teen areas.
The topic is not specifically mentioned in the code of conduct currently posted on the library’s website.
However, the library’s Child Safety and Protection Policy states, “The children’s and teen areas of the library are reserved for children in their respective age groups, parents/guardians of those children, and adults interested in the materials contained within. Adults who are unaccompanied by children may be questioned by staff, and may be asked to move to another area of the library.”
Additionally, children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or designated caregiver while they are using the library.
Board member Vern Jorck said that while it’s his understanding that adult use of children or teen areas is not allowed under the current code of conduct, it is not specifically mentioned in the draft policy.
Hatton replied that this is meant to be covered by sections that state that patrons have the right to “facilities, materials, and services that function as intended” and a responsibility to “use facilities, materials, and services as they are intended.”
However, he agreed that the library may want to rethink this wording as they continue to draft the policy.
“Another question I have — the current policy, it talks about adults not accompanied by a child under 13 not using the children’s services area for things other than picking out a book,” said Jorck. “In the use of the teens area, it just says it’s limited to users age 13 to 18. My wife picks out YA (young adult) books all the time. Why the language change between the two areas?”
“In part because of the way the areas function,” Hatton replied. “The teen area, it was such a small place that, again, we wanted to limit the mingling as much as possible. However, like you said, that was never practical.”
Earlier in the evening, the library board had voted to approve the teen subcommittee’s final report on the teen department, which included a recommendation to convert the former Indiana Room into a teen programming space and the location of teen department staff. The teen collection will be located just outside the room.
Hatton said that, once this change goes into effect, anyone will be able to use the teen collection, but the teen programming room will be restricted.
“When we have a 21-year-old, development delayed, functions as a 13 year-old, would they be allowed in the teen area?” asked board member Laura Hack.
Board member Dawn Doup-Pandit, a psychologist who works with children and adults with behavioral, emotional and developmental disorders, also had thoughts on the subject.
She suggested that if they keep the “as intended” wording, such an individual might be allowed to use the teen area as long as they were using it appropriately.
“It gets very complicated,” said Hatton. “I had actually not thought about that with this policy. We’ve had it happen. We’ve had it occur. And every time, we’ve made the decision not to allow them to participate. In part, we made that because, to me, it opened up the door to allowing anybody else. So, say a 21-year-old comes in and yes, even though they’re functioning as a 13-year-old, how do we know that? What proof do we have of that? And so, what is that to stopping, some, just to say, some child molester coming in and saying ‘Oh, I’m 21, I want to attend this program’?”
He added that it is a challenging question that he would like to continue discussing.
Doup-Pandit also stated that there are also some individuals with developmental disabilities who would enjoy the children’s section.
“Some of them, I think, their parents would still be with them, but what if their parent felt comfortable to say, ‘You can stay here for a bit’?” she said. “I don’t have an answer, but it’s something that I definitely want to wrestle with over the next few weeks, think about, if I can provide feedback for that, because I think it’s important — because, again, how do you keep everyone safe?”
Board president Gary Gron asked if Hatton would like board members to send their feedback to him by the week before the next board meeting.
Hatton replied this seemed like a good idea and added that it’s all right if it takes longer to develop the policy, as it’s important to get it right.
“This is a pretty foundational document, and it does carry quite a bit of weight,” he said.
Gron also commented that he has some concerns about using the term “right” in the document, suggesting that it could lead to liability issues in the future. For instance, one section states that patrons have a right to confidentiality of their personal information and library transactions.
“What happens if there’s a data breach in the confidentiality of personal information?” he asked. “Would we expose ourselves by saying they have the right to that?”
“The confidentiality of personal information is very important to us as a library, as a core value of librarians,” said Hatton. “So I would be hesitant to remove that in any way.”
However, board attorney Michael McIver said that they will likely work on the document’s wording.
