Pinellas Park Public Library Computer Use and Reference Policies

Reference Department Policies

• Mission Statement
  The mission of the Pinellas Park Public Library's Reference Department is to provide information, materials, and services to meet our patrons' personal, educational, and professional needs, while striving to maintain a current, accurate, and accessible collection in a variety of formats.

• Reference Staff
  The staff of the Pinellas Park Public Library's Reference Department are professionals who abide by the American Library Association's Code of Ethics. All patron needs will be taken seriously and treated with respect and confidentiality. Information will be provided without making a judgment on its moral or aesthetic worth. Librarians will rely upon information obtained from reputable sources whenever possible in order to give the most accurate and authoritative answers to questions, and shall cite the source of the information. Neither the patron's nor the staff member's personal opinions or beliefs will influence the quality of service provided. Staff shall not offer their personal opinions on social issues, politics, religion, etc. to patrons.

• Reference Resources
  The Pinellas Park Public Library's reference collection is designed to meet the basic personal, professional, and educational needs of our community. The library is not a research facility and is able to provide only limited resources above the high school and introductory college level.

• Types of Reference Questions Answered
  The reference staff will provide extended assistance, within reason, to patrons in locating information and materials based on available time and the needs of other patrons. The reference staff cannot provide formal research for patrons, however exceptions authorized by the library director, assistant director, or reference services librarian may be made for requests from city administrators. Telephone requests are limited to reasonably quick, factual questions. Reference librarians cannot provide legal, medical, financial, business, tax, appraisal advice, or language translations. Reader's advisory service, or assisting patrons in the selection of fiction or other recreational reading, will be provided as time permits.

• School Assignments
  These questions are handled in the same manner as any other reference question. With complex or unclear school assignments, librarians should make tactful suggestions to telephone callers or to parents of students that the students come into the library for personal assistance and do their own in-depth research.

• Referrals
  Referrals to other libraries and community (or state and national) resources will be made whenever needed to assist a patron with an inquiry. Librarians may not make recommendations to specific lawyers, legal firms, doctors or other medical care providers, or financial professionals.

• Interlibrary Loan
  Materials which are not available in the Pinellas Park Public Library's collection will be borrowed, if available, from another library through Interlibrary Loan, at the patron's request and within the guidelines of the Interlibrary Loan Department. At the Collection Development Librarian's discretion, such items may be purchased for the library's collection.

• Patron Priorities
  Patrons are served on a first come, first served basis. Patrons are assisted without regard for ability, age, ethnic origin, religion, economic status, gender, or race. Callers will be asked if they would like to wait, to call back, or to be called back before being put on hold. If there are several patrons at the desk needing service, or someone needing several minutes or more assistance, callers will be encouraged to call back or provide contact information to assist them when time permits. For both in-person and telephone requests, if a patron has a time-consuming request, it may be necessary to get him/her started and follow up with them after patrons with simple questions have been served

• Time Limits on Questions
  No two reference questions are alike; therefore, no special time limit can be place on an actual question. The amount of time devoted to a question is at the discretion of the reference librarian, as long as it is within reasonable limits and it does not affect the quality of service to other patrons.

• E-mail, Fax, Mail, and Chat Questions
  E-mail questions are handled by designated staff members as time permits. Replies are made as soon as possible, with no reply to a question taking longer than 72 hours. E-mail questions are limited to brief, factual inquiries. These same rules apply to fax and mail requests, with the addition that no more than four (4) pages will be faxed or mailed without additional fees to defray costs. At this time, chat questions are only handled during the assigned hour(s) through the statewide Ask a Librarian Service.

• Proctoring Exams
  Reference librarians will provide proctor service for tests at no charge, providing time is available and the student has made an appointment well in advance of the test date.

• Patron Confidentiality
  The needs of every library patron will be taken seriously and treated with respect and confidentiality. No record is kept of in-person or telephone reference inquiries. Information from e-mail, fax and mail requests may be kept up to two months to ensure that the information was received by the patron and in case of follow-up inquiries. Retention of chat reference questions are controlled by the administrators of the Ask a Librarian Service. The Reference Department will make every effort to comply with city, state, and federal rules and laws regarding the confidentiality of patron records, as well as the handling of requests made by law enforcement officials regarding those records.

Adult Area Computer Policies

• Failure to comply with the following policies will result in the forfeit of computer privileges.
• Patrons wishing to use a computer must have a valid library card. Accommodations will be made available for guests unable to obtain a library card due to residency requirements.
• Patrons must abide by copyright, contract and other local, state, and federal laws.
• Intentional use of the Internet to access, transmit, or process obscene, adult, minor, racial or sexually harassing material is prohibited.
• Patrons are prohibited from installing, downloading, or deleting any software on library computers. Any patron access to restricted areas of the library computers' hard drives is strictly forbidden and could result in legal action.
• Appropriate library behavior must be maintained while on, or around, the computers. This includes behavior such as: keeping voices down, having no more than two people at a computer, and setting cell phone to "vibrate." Failure to maintain appropriate behavior may result in forfeiting your computer privileges for the remainder of the day or longer.
• Patrons are prohibited from tampering with any library computer equipment. If the equipment is not operating properly, ask for help from the Reference Department staff. Do not attempt to fix the problem on your own.
• Please be sure to complete your work on the computer, save your document(s), and make all necessary prints before your time on a computer has elapsed. The library cannot guarantee that your work will not lost when the time management system ends your session. The computers will automatically shut-down at closing.
• Adult Area computers offer filtered Internet access and personal productivity programs, such as Word, Excel, and Publisher, at no cost.
• A library staff member will temporarily bypass the Internet filter at the request of patrons 17 years of age or older. However, if the filter is bypassed, patrons are still required to follow all other rules stated in the Computer Usage Policy.
• The Library reserves the right to limit time on the computers in order to provide equitable access to all. Time limitations will be strictly enforced by the time management system. Reservations can be made up to two (2) days in advance, and can be made over the phone, at our self-serve station, and at an available computer. Reserved time slots will only be held for 10 minutes past the scheduled start time.
• Patrons owing $25 or more must clear, or reduce, their charges before using a computer.
• The library's Internet-access computers are connected to a print management system. When you are ready to pick up your prints, you may select and pay for them at the print release station near the Information Desk. All prints/copies are 10 cents each.
• The library cautions patrons that they should not give personal information (such as names, addresses, age, e-mail addresses, credit card numbers, and telephone numbers) to strangers or web sites on the Internet.
• Use of the Library's Internet computers to send and receive e-mail is allowed as a courtesy; however, these privileges may be revoked at the discretion of the Senior Reference Librarian.

Specialized Equipment

• Low vision reader
• Videophone for hearing impaired
• TDD machine
• Wheelchair
• Electronic typewriter

Service fees

• Copiers/Printers - $.10 per page
• No fee for proctoring or obituary look-ups

Please see the Pinellas Park Public Library Website for more information.