Library Mission Statement

The mission of the Kershaw County Library is to improve the quality of life for our citizens by meeting their needs for learning, reading, and information.

Policies

Circulation
Adopted November 13, 2008
Supersedes policy dated October 6, 2003, January 24, 2005, November 7, 2005, September 6, 2006

I. Purpose

The Kershaw County Library is a service oriented institution. This circulation policy establishes a consistent and efficient mechanism for transacting the registration of borrowers, the loan of materials, and the return of those materials. Moreover, this policy is developed to conform to local and state laws and to convey the spirit of the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights.

II. Scope

This policy does not cover every contingency nor does it provide staff with exact procedures. It covers the main points and serves as a guideline. The Library Director will make the final decision when a problem arises in order to give consistent and public-oriented service.

III. Loans

Library cards must be presented in order to check out materials. The integrity of an automated system is the electronic linking of a patron barcode to an item barcode. However, if the patron does not have his/her library card AND the staff knows this is not a common occurrence with said patron, use of personal picture ID is permitted.

A. Number

The restriction on the total number of items that can be checked out is due to limitations in the size of the Library's collection. Other limits may be imposed when there is a heavy demand for a particular item or subject. The following restrictions apply:

  1. Adult card - 20 items, limit 5 DVDs
  2. Teachers & Homeschoolers - 25 items, limit 5 DVDs
  3. Young adult card - 20 items, limit 5 DVDs
  4. Child's card - 15 items, limit 5 DVDs
  5. Non-resident adult card - 10 items
  6. Non-resident child's card - 10 items

B. Loan periods

The normal loan period for all material is three weeks with the following exceptions:

  1. Materials in high demand may be checked out for one week
  2. Interlibrary loans from the Kershaw County Library to other libraries are checked out for four weeks (30 days)
  3. Materials from other libraries received through interlibrary loan are checked out for the time indicated by the sending library
  4. Reference materials are not available for loan, except overnight in extreme cases and with the Director’s permission
  5. All but the most current issue of a magazines may be checked out

C. Renewals

Materials can be renewed once, with the stipulation that there are no outstanding

requests or a high demand for the materials.

D. Rated Video Materials

* Videos or DVD’s with a PG-13 rating may be checked out to any card holder.

* Videos or DVD’s with a R rating may only be checked out to

adult borrowers.

IV. Registration

A. Privacy

The Kershaw County Library recognizes all circulation, registration, and other records identifying the names of library users with specific materials to be confidential in nature. Such records shall not be made available to any agency of state, federal, or local government except pursuant to such process, order, or subpoena as may be authorized under the authority of, and pursuant to, federal, state, or local law relating to civil, criminal, or administrative discovery procedures or legislative investigatory power.

B. Age Requirements

There are only a few restrictions by age for borrowing privileges, numbers, or kinds of materials borrowed. There are three categories of borrowers. They are adults ages 18 and above, young adults ages 13-17, and children ages newborn-12. Parents or legal guardians shall be held responsible for materials borrowed by their child (children) until the child reaches 18 years of age. Conversely, children will not be held responsible for fines or charges accrued by their parents or legal guardians.

C. Types of Patron Registrations

The Kershaw County Library is supported by taxes paid by Kershaw County residents and landowners. For purposes of registration for a library card, a person will fall into the following categories:

  1. Residents: people who live in Kershaw County. Institutions located within the county also fall into this category. The library will require the signature of the person responsible for the institution's loans (preferably the institution's director). A list of employees authorized to borrow materials will be part of the institution's permanent registration. Loans are made to the institution and it may be held accountable for loss or damage.
  2. Non-residents: people who do not live or own property in Kershaw County. Non-residents are charged a non refundable $10.00 per year for a library card. Non-residents who own property in Kershaw County and show a tax bill or receipt may obtain a card at no charge. Residents of Chesterfield, Fairfield, Lancaster, Sumter and Lee are exempt. Nonresident students of Central Carolina Tech College are also exempted.

D. Identification

It is necessary for a person to present proof of address in order to obtain a library card. Acceptable forms of identification include: valid driver's license, imprinted checks, utility bills, leases, current DSS cards, Medicaid cards, Medicare cards, school district registration (for Parent & Child) and automobile registrations. Unacceptable forms of identification include: social security cards and business cards. The library director will determine the suitability of questionable identification. Each borrower is responsible for informing the library of his/her current address.

E. Expiration

If a library card is not used for 36 consecutive months, the card will automatically expire. Non-resident borrower cards are invalid after one year (365 days).

F. Loss of Borrowing Privileges

The use of the library or its services may be denied for due cause. Such cause may be failure to return books or to pay penalties, destruction of library property, disturbance of other patrons, abuse of Internet privileges, or any other objectionable conduct on library premises.

G. Lost Cards

The borrower shall be responsible for all use made of his/her card. If a card is lost or stolen, the borrower is responsible for all items charged to it until after the loss is reported.

H. Worn cards and barcodes

If a library card or barcode is worn out that it needs to be replaced, there will be no charge for doing so.

V. Fines

A. Assessing fines

A fine of .10 cents per day will be charged for all overdue material. For each overdue item, a maximum fine of $5.00 will be charges.

VI. Clearing Fines and Delinquencies

The person in charge of the Branch, the Public Services Supervisor, or the Library Director may authorize the waiving of fines, using their discretion in considering the merits of a contested fine or delinquency.

VII. Damaged Materials

Patrons will be charged for damage to library materials that fall beyond the scope of normal wear. The charge for damaged materials will be based upon replacement costs. At the discretion of management, patrons may be allowed to provide exact replacement copies of damaged material. In such instances, a processing fee of $5.00 will apply.

VIII. Lost Materials

Patrons will be charged for lost library materials. The charge for lost materials will be based upon replacement costs. At the discretion of management, patrons may be allowed to provide exact replacement copies of damaged material. In such instances, a processing fee of $5.00 will apply.

IX. Refunds

Refunds will be made for lost materials that patrons have paid for, found, and then returned to the library. However, the refund will only be given to patrons who produce a receipt or cancelled check. This refund will only be given in the same fiscal year the payment was made.

X. Notices

A. Overdue Notices
Overdue notices are a courtesy reminder to the patron. The Library will send the first overdue notice when materials are ten days overdue, and send a second notice ten days after that.

 B. Final Notice
A subsequent third and final notice will be sent after 10 more days.

C. Bill for Replacement
Ten days after the final notice has been sent the item is declared LOST and the system will generate a bill for the item’s replacement. These charges shall not include fines if the library has been notified of the loss before such fines have accrued.

 D. Recovery of Materials or Debts
If materials are not paid for or returned, the records of delinquent items are turned over to a collection agency.

Xl. Requests

A. Taking Requests

Requests may be taken and verified by the Circulation Department, or patrons can place

these requests themselves through the library’s catalog.

B. Searching for Requests

The Library will search for requested materials for two weeks if

they are listed as in the collection, but not available. If reserved

materials are not found after two weeks, patrons will be given the

option of cancelling the reserve or obtaining the material through

interlibrary loan. Requests on materials that are in circulation

will be held until they are returned.

C. Patron Notification

Patrons will be notified by phone or e-mail that requested materials

are available. Materials will be kept for 3 days after notification

by phone and 7 days after notification by mail.

XII. Lost Data

When the automated circulation system is down, and information

concerning circulation transactions is lost, patrons will not be

held responsible for fines or charges for materials returned or checked

out during this period.

Collection

Adopted November 13, 2008
Supersedes policy dated July 27, 1981, August 14, 1994, August 2, 2004, September 6, 2006

The Board of Trustees of the Kershaw County Library has adopted the following Collection Development Policy to guide librarians and to inform the public about the principles upon which library collections are developed and maintained.

Mission

The Kershaw County Library acquires and makes available materials that inform, educate, entertain and enrich residents of Kershaw County.

Collection Development Objectives

Every library must employ a policy of selectivity in acquisitions. The primary consideration in exercising this selectivity will be the informational, educational, and recreational needs of Kershaw County residents.

To this end, the following objectives will be considered in developing and maintaining the collection.

The Library will endeavor to:

  1. provide a collection that represents the wide range of ages, ethnic backgrounds, educational levels and interests of County residents. To this end, the the Board of Trustees of the Kershaw County Library has adopted the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, The Freedom to Read Statement and Freedom to View Statement.
  2. provide materials and programming to preschool and grade school children to encourage and promote continued use of the Library.
  3. provide a broadly based and diverse collection that can support the roles of the Library as a popular materials center, a reference center and an independent learning center.
  4. purchase current materials proportionate to levels of demand and use, taking care to anticipate and respond to indications of significant new needs.
  5. weed the collection in an ongoing basis using output measures, reports from the automated library system and other data for continuous collection evaluation.
  6. keep abreast of technological changes which affect the development of the collection.
  7. be aware of the resources available in surrounding libraries and to avoid duplication of resources while ensuring wide coverage of subjects.
  8. provide materials in a timely manner

Library Roles

After considering library and materials use, current and past strengths of the library, local demographic trends, citizen expectations, other library resources in the area and current resources of the Library, the Kershaw County Library has selected the following roles to emphasize:

CURRENT TOPICS AND TITLES: The library will help to fulfill our public's appetite for information about popular cultural and social trends and their desire for satisfying recreational experiences.

LIFELONG LEARNING: The library will help address our public's desire for self-directed personal growth and development opportunities.

Secondary:

GENERAL INFORMATION: The library will help to meet our public's need for information and answers to questions on a broad array of topics related to work, school and personal life.

COMMONS: The library will provide an environment that helps to meet our public's need to meet and interact with others and to participate in public discourse about community issues.

BUSINESS AND CAREER INFORMATION: The library will address our public's need for information related to business, careers, work, entrepreneurship, personal finances and obtaining employment.

Criteria

The selection of library materials involves the following factors and considerations, which apply equally to purchased and donated materials, including books, periodicals, and audiovisuals.

  1. applicability to community needs and interests
  2. consideration of the Library's existing collection and materials budget
  3. preservation of a balanced viewpoint within the collection
  4. holdings and availability of other area library resources
  5. the quality of the work as a whole, not on a part taken out of context
  6. reviews in professional journals and popular periodicals (Please note that the lack of a review or an unfavorable review is not sufficient reason to reject a title for which there is demand.)
  7. opinions of other authorities
  8. qualification of the author in the subject field
  9. popularity of the author
  10. literary merit
  11. scope and authority of the subject matter
  12. quality of the writing (i.e., style, readability)
  13. appeal to the general-interest reader
  14. date of publication
  15. reputation of the publisher
  16. organization of the contents (use of indexes, bibliographies)
  17. physical format (binding, typography, design, etc.)
  18. arrangement of the information (including the use of indexes, bibliographies, and tables of contents)
  19. quality of illustrations

Other considerations:

Electronic Resources

Electronic materials include online resources. Titles and/or services are intended to supplement and, in some cases, replace print materials. Selection of electronic products and services is based on the same criteria as other library resources as well as ease of use and accessibility.

Duplication

The library will purchase two or more copies of a title only when the author is especially popular with our library users.

Exclusions

The collection will not include collector items or rare books. The library does not have the resources or staff necessary for the development, maintenance, and display of this kind of a collection.

Due to the proximity of the Camden Archives, a limited amount of printed genealogy and local history materials are collected.

Funds are inadequate to create and maintain collections that duplicate the area school and university collections, unless such materials also support the average adult citizen.

Technical material, or material of an extremely narrow interest, will not usually be considered for ordering.

Collection Maintenance

The Library will engage in ongoing assessment of its collection in consideration of the objectives of the collection development policy. The following objectives will be exercised in this effort:

Statistical tools such as circulation reports, collection turnover rates, fill rates, reference fill rates, shelf allotments and volume counts will be studied to determine how the collection is being used and how it should change to answer patron usage.

The library will add and/or replace historically significant and enduringly popular titles to its collection on a regular basis.

The electronic resources and the periodical collections, which are maintained through subscriptions and licenses, will be evaluated on an annual basis.

Patron input and community surveys will be used in evaluating the collection.

Collections will be reviewed regularly, with a particular emphasis on subject areas that are quickly outdated (e.g. health, law, technology, and science), very popular, or when needed because of spacing.

Materials may be removed, i.e. weeded, if:

  1. more current statistical or factual material is available in the collection.
  2. the information is no longer timely
  3. the book no longer circulates regularly or is used in-house, excluding works of enduring value
  4. the material is aged (yellow and brittle) or damaged (Aged and damaged material of enduring value or popularity will be considered for replacement.)

Library material which is withdrawn may be disposed, routed to the Friends of the Library book sale, or donated to an another library.

Donations

Donations of material will be evaluated based on the same criteria as purchased material. Material not selected for inclusion in the library collection will be disposed or routed to the annual Friends of the Library book sale. Donors are responsible for recording donations and estimating the value of the materials.

Monetary gifts will be placed in the Library Donation Account. The donor may specify the types of material he wishes the library to obtain.

Memorials and honorariums are materials or funds donated in the name of an individual that will be placed in the Library Donation Account for future purchases of library materials. If a specific title is donated or requested, the inclusion of the specific item must meet the selection criteria. Once a donation has been received, a thank you card will be sent to the donor and an announcement card sent to the family of the deceased or the person being honored, the organization or individual making a presentation, or the donor of a monetary gift.

Reconsideration of Library Material

Comments from members of the community about the collection or individual items in the collection frequently provide librarians with useful information about interest or needs that may not be adequately met by the collection. The Library welcomes expression of opinion by patrons, but will be governed by the Collection Development Policy in making additions to or deleting items from the collection.

The Kershaw County Library does not endorse particular beliefs or views, nor does the selection of an item express or imply endorsements of the viewpoint of the author.

Patrons who request the reconsideration of library material will be asked to put their requests in writing by completing and signing a form, appended to this policy, entitled "Request for Reconsideration of Library Material."

Upon receipt of a formal written request, the Director will ask for background information from the Library staff as to criteria used in ordering the material in question, its place in the collection and reasons for having the material in the collection. Outside consultants may be asked for additional information as is pertinent to the subject in question.

The Director will, at the earliest possible date, study the information provided by the Library staff and respond, in writing, to the person who initiated the request for reconsideration. The Director will keep the Board of Library Trustees informed of all requests for reconsideration of Library material and disposition of their requests.

In the event that the person(s) who initiated the request is not satisfied with the decision of the Director, he/she may request a meeting before the Board of Library Trustees by making a written request to the Chair of the Board. Upon receipt of the request, the Board may make the request an agenda item and the person(s) will be notified of the time and place of the Board meeting. The Board of Library Trustees reserves the right to limit the length of presentation and number of speakers at the meeting.

After hearing from the person(s) making the reconsideration request, the Board will determine whether the request for reconsideration has been handled in accordance with stated policies and procedures of the Kershaw County Library, will review the background information provided by the Library staff, will review the position of the patron and will also review the decision of the Director. Based on the information presented, the Board may vote to uphold or override the decision of the Director.

Library material will not be marked or identified to show approval or disapproval of the contents, nor will items be sequestered, except for the purpose of protecting them from theft or damage.

Policy Review

This collection development policy will be reviewed annually by the library staff and bi-annually by the Library board.

Internet

The Kershaw County Library offers Internet Access to its customers as another information resource. While the Internet provides a variety of resources for different age levels and points of view, the Kershaw County Library Internet service is intended for educational and informational uses. The Kershaw County Library cannot guarantee, and is not responsible for, the accuracy of the information obtained via the Internet. The accuracy of the information is the responsibility of each originator and/or producer.

The Internet service at the Kershaw County Library is not to be used for purposes contrary to local, state or federal law.

As with more traditional resources, the Kershaw County Library does not act in place of a parent and cannot be responsible for enforcing restrictions which a parent or guardian may place on a minor's use of the Internet beyond the filtering of public access Internet computers.

The Kershaw County Library will not be held responsible for any charges incurred by users of the Internet.

Users are guests on the system and should act with respect and consideration for one another.

Users shall comply with all applicable Internet protocols.

Users shall strictly comply with and be subject to the Kershaw County Library's Internet service provider agreement.

The Kershaw County Library reserves the right to implement and enforce usage procedures as necessary including posting of rules and regulations, and to withdraw access privileges or impose other appropriate sanctions for those who do not comply with the protocols, rules, regulations or service provider agreement.

Unlawful acts are subject to prosecution by local, state, and federal authorities.

This policy was approved by the Kershaw County Library Board, December 4, 2006, and is subject to Board revision. This policy supersedes the policy date April 7, 2003.
Meeting Room

Adopted February 14, 2008
Supercedes policies dated January 30, 1990; February 8, 1991; February 5, 2004

The library meeting rooms (Camden and Elgin) are intended primarily for library programs presented by the library staff and the Friends of the Library. When not in use for library-sponsored programming, the meeting room will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for programs of a cultural or educational nature. The meeting room is not intended for social gatherings, entertainment, fund raising or political, religious, or for-profit organizations or purposes.

Granting permission to use the Library facilities does not constitute an endorsement of the group or organization by Kershaw County Library, its Board of Trustees, or the County Council of Kershaw County, South Carolina. Users of the facilities may not use the library as a mailing address. Publicity announcing meetings must not imply library sponsorship.

In general the meeting room will be assigned for a single meeting only. Assignments will be made on an intermittent or regular basis only if this does not conflict with the library program schedule and/or monopolize the room, keeping other groups from meeting.

Meetings must be free and open to the public and news media. Meeting rooms may be used only during the regular hours of operation, and must be vacated 15 minutes before closing time.

Reservations should be made on the following form at least one week in advance, by a Kershaw County Library adult cardholder in good standing. However, if the room is available, it may be scheduled with less notice. The library should be notified of any cancellations as far in advance as possible.

There will be no fee for the use of the room. Groups using the room shall be responsible for maintaining order and seeing that the room is neat and clean at the conclusion of the meeting.

When kitchen facilities are used they shall be properly cleaned. If the library determines that special clean up is required, charges for janitorial services will be made. The user is liable for any damage to the building, furniture, and equipment.

Light refreshments, but no alcoholic beverages, may be served. All libraries are smoke free buildings, i.e., smoking is not permitted in any room in the library.

No admission may be charged and no donations or collections other than organizational dues may be taken by groups using the meeting rooms. No fund raising activities may be held, with the exception of fund raising events held for the library by the Friends of the Library.

A group may be asked to reschedule a meeting if the library director determines that such rescheduling is necessary in the library’s interest.

Adults must adequately supervise children’s and young people’s groups.

The library is not responsible for providing equipment or supplies, such as coffee pots, projectors, extension cords, paper or pencils. Storage space cannot be allotted for equipment or utensils to be left at the facility between meetings.

Library employees are not available for moving furniture or for unloading and loading of equipment. Any equipment used during the meeting must be returned to its original location. Furniture, equipment and library materials may not be brought from other areas of the library without permission of the library staff.

Provisions for adequate protection of exhibits should be made by the exhibitor. The Library cannot be responsible for the security of an exhibit nor provide staff to attend such exhibits.

The maximum number of people that can be accommodated is 30 at either location.

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