Grant Area District Library
Public Use of Community Room and Study Rooms
Policy
4.1
What facilities are available?
Grant Area District Library Community Room Capacity 80
Large Study Room Capacity 8
Small Study Room (2) Capacity 3
The Study Rooms may be used as available. There is a limit of 90 minutes per day per request. Exceptions may be considered. Use of the study rooms is limited to the hours the library is open to the public. Rooms are booked on a first come first served basis by the Circulation Desk staff.
All rooms are subject to video surveillance. The library is equipped with surveillance
cameras. These help the staff monitor who is in the building and if there are any activities taking place that are inappropriate. Recordings are strictly for the purpose of protecting the staff, the public and the property of the library.
4.2
Who may use the meeting rooms?
The Community Room and the study rooms in the library are available to individuals, non-profit organizations, and community groups to use for meetings, programs, study and conferences.
The Community Room and study rooms shall not be used for political rallies, partisan events, religious services, showers, parties or receptions.
No attendance or entry fee may be charged.
Individuals, groups or organizations reserving the public meeting rooms assume full responsibility for providing and paying for special accommodations that are required by participants in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Library sponsored or co-sponsored programs always take priority.
Organizations wishing to reserve the room on a weekly basis must be willing to relinquish the room whenever there is a request for other programs or meetings. The library director will make every effort to accommodate as many groups as possible.
Only the Library (or a library group) may sponsor a fund-raising or purely social event and meetings for the exclusive purpose of fund raising by other groups are prohibited.
Organizations may collect ordinary annual dues or donations or sell miscellaneous items (such as organizations calendar, etc), provided that such activity is incidental to the purpose of the meeting and not a requirement to participate. A fee for supplies may be charged in conjunction with a workshop.
Commercial sales and promotions of businesses are prohibited.
Use of the public meeting rooms does not imply Library endorsement, and no announcement, press release, flier or other promotion should state or imply Library endorsement or sponsorship of the event or the organization. Groups may not use the Library’s name or address as their own address or headquarters location or store their property at the Library between meetings.
Groups using the public meeting rooms agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Grant Area District Library, Grant Public Schools, City of Grant, Ashland Township, Grant Township, Bridgeton Township and Ensley Township, its agents and representatives, from any and all suits, actions, claims, or demands of nature arising out of or brought on account of any injuries or damages sustained by any person as a consequence or result of the use of the room, its furnishings or equipment.
4.3
How may the meeting room be used?
Meeting room use must not interfere with the normal operation of the Library.
The Community Room is kept locked and the person(s) requesting to use it must check in and out at the Circulation Desk.
If the Community Room is used when the library is closed, group access is limited to the Community Room, lobby and public restrooms. Washrooms facilities are easily accessible. Report any unsuitable conditions or the need for paper products to the library staff.
Handouts, pamphlets or other materials may be distributed only to those attending the meeting and may not be placed outside the public meeting rooms for general distribution or left in the Library at the conclusion of the meeting.
Adults bringing children to a meeting must keep the children with them in the assigned meeting room. Children may not sit or play in the lobby or be left unsupervised in the Children’s Library.
Groups are responsible for set up and clean up after using the Community Room. There are tables and chairs available for use. The furniture may be configured to your liking, but please leave furnishings as you found them. If extra tables and chairs are taken from storage, they must be returned. The person reserving the room will be responsible for the condition of the room and equipment. Users will be billed for any damage to facilities, furniture or equipment.
Persons attending meetings are subject to all city ordinances, state or federal laws and library policies.
Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the building.
4.4
Are refreshments permitted?
Light refreshments may be served. The Community Room has an adjacent kitchen equipped with a full sized refrigerator and a microwave oven. Only meals that have been prepared off site (catered, potluck) may be served in the Community Room.
No alcoholic beverages are allowed.
Red beverages are prohibited.
There is a coffee maker available however, users must supply coffee, filters, cream, sugar, stir sticks, cups and any other paper products.
The kitchen and Community Room must be cleaned upon checkout. When necessary, clean floors, chairs, tables and kitchen. Wipe down all tables and counter tops. Remove and/or dispose of all food particles to keep the area free of pests. Securely bag any garbage.
No food or beverages are allowed in the study rooms.
4.5
When may the Community Room be used?
The Community Room may be used free of charge during regular library hours. The Community Room is available to users between the hours of 8 am and 10 pm. The Community Room is not available on Sunday.
If use of the Community Room outside of regular library hours requires a staff member to provide access to or secure the building, the users will be charged a fee. There is a $35.00 fee for using the community room for the first two (2) hours during the library's closed hours. An additional fee of $35.00 will be assessed for every part of an hour of use thereafter. This fee must be paid at the time the room is booked. The fee is refundable if the meeting is canceled within two (2) days of the planned event. If cancellation is not received within the time required, no refund will be permitted. A group using the room for an entire day, requiring staff to open and close the library will result in a $70.00 fee.
All groups who have not completely vacated the premises by the library's closing time will be billed the $35.00 fee and not be allowed to use the room again until the charge is paid.
4.6
How are the meeting rooms reserved/scheduled?
The public meeting room calendar is posted on the library’s web site at www.grantlibrary.net .
The Community Room is available on a first come first served basis.
Reservations may be made in writing on the standard library form or online at least two (2) days prior to the meeting date.
Use of equipment requests should be made in writing on the standard library form or online at the time of making a reservation and be compliant with applicable policies.
Since library events take precedence over other functions, the library reserves the right to change or cancel reservations to accommodate library programs within a reasonable amount of time.
Groups may reserve the Community Room up to 12 months in advance.
The library must be notified of cancellations two (2) working days before the meeting date for the organization to remain in good standing.
Approved by the Board of Trustees 12/19/2006
Effective Date 1/2/2007