Vaughn Public Library Internet Access Policy

The mission of the Vaughn Public Library is to enhance the quality of life in our community by fulfilling educational, informational, cultural, and recreational needs. It is within the scope of this mission that the library provides public access to the Internet.

The Vaughn Public Library does not monitor and has no control over the information available through the Internet, and it cannot be held responsible for the content of any site. The Internet is a global entity available to a diverse segment of world society, and patrons use it at their own discretion.

Parents and children are encouraged to read about and discuss appropriate use of the Internet, including "My Rules for Online Safety," copies of which are available free of charge at the Vaughn Public LIbrary. The Internet is equally available to patrons of all ages. Parents and guardians are solely responsible for monitoring the information their children access through the library's Internet workstation.

Because public Internet access is made available to fulfill the Mission of the Vaughn Public Library, the library has certain requirements for those who use it. These include:

• Use for educational, informational, cultural, and recreational purposes only. Commercial use other than for research does not fall within this scope. Use for illegal purposes is prohibited.
• Respect for the intellectual property of others. Only authorized copies of copyrighted or licensed software will be made. Use of the workstation for Internet access only, not for other software.
• Respect for the privacy of others by not misrepresenting oneself as another use; by not seeking unauthorized access to any computer system; by not damaging or altering software or hardware of any network or database.

 Failure to follow these requirements may result in suspension of Internet privileges at the discretion of the Library Director and subject to review by the Vaughn Library Board.

To facilitate access to the Internet workstation for all who need it, the Library Director has administrative discretion to monitor and react to the needs of the public and of the library. Such discretion is granted over, but not strictly limited to, the following areas:

• Limits on the length of time one patron may use the workstation
• Limits on the length and number of documents to be printed and determination of any charges for printing
• Use of e-mail
• Use of personal diskettes to download from the Internet
• Use of the workstation to participate in chat groups

 Failure to abide by staff direction in such areas may result in suspension of Internet privileges.