Special Announcement

Please read the following statement from Deb Lebeaux, Chair of the Library Board of Trustees, about updates to the library's Child Safety Policy:

As trustees, we aim to provide a welcoming environment to all of our patrons through the support of the staff at the library. We are thrilled that our library is valued and used by so many in our community.

We recognize that kids need a place to socialize; however, the large number of middle school students who visit the library on Fridays and on early release days has become unmanageable.

We’ve had many discussions with our library staff and community partners to try to create a safe environment for middle school aged kids. We restricted the students to the young adult and community commons sections of the library, offered age appropriate activities, and volunteered to help monitor and supervise the students during the time they were in the library. These efforts did help somewhat; but put simply, we cannot safely supervise and manage the number of students at the library. Behavioral issues also continue to impact overall safety and disturb other patrons’ use of the library. There is also concern for students’ safety while walking to the library and through the center of town and in the parking lot, as many children have been observed to disregard traffic.

At a properly posted public meeting, the Board of Library Trustees voted unanimously on June 20, 2023 to change the Child Safety Policy regarding when children can use the library building without adult supervision in response to the above. The updated policy, effective July 1, 2023 reads:

Children through grade six must be continually attended and supervised by a parent or parent’s representative while in the library. Children in grades seven and eight may be left unattended for a maximum of two hours.

Definitions:

Supervised means accompanied by a parent or a parent’s representative who is ensuring:

- that the child’s behavior does not present a safety hazard to himself/herself/themselves or other users, or library property.

- that the child acts in accordance with Library Rules

- that the child’s behavior does not interfere with the use of the library by others

Parent’s representative is another adult or teenager (15 years or older) who has been designated by a parent to ensure that their child is safe and acting in accordance with library rules.

Looking forward, this means that students at Oak Middle School may visit the library without adult supervision for up to two hours. Sherwood Middle School students will no longer be able to visit without supervision. We hope that you understand the reason for the change and also hope this change may provide additional impetus for a town-wide discussion about how to provide recreational and social resources for this age group.