Santa Rosa Central Library Revisited

Standards of Behavior have always existed in the Sonoma County Library System and were last updated Sept, 2008. Enforcement of the Standards of Behavior is the major problem. Enforcement does not exist.

The incident reports and the patron complaints at Central Library far exceed those from all the other 12 libraries combined. These reports are available for review at the Commission’s monthly meetings.

Because of lack of enforcement of Standards of Behavior, the Central Library staff members felt it necessary to generate and sign a petition requesting the reposting of the “Library Behavior Policy Sign” at the entrance of the library. This action reflects lack of support from the Director and Commission to address problems at Central Library.

The Director was hired in 2005 in part to update the infrastructure of the library system. This goal has largely been met including the introduction of self- check out.

Central Library has NO FILTERS on any computers. There would be an initial cost for installation and implementation of the filter system. There is financial assistance available for schools and libraries through the Children’s Internet Protection Act.

Internet Access URL specific web page filters can be effective.

Movement of computers to other locations within the building would minimize inadvertent viewing by other patrons. 16

Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977 can be implemented.

A letter from the Mayor of Santa Rosa dated October 1, 2008, authorized Sonoma County Library Commissioners to regulate conduct on the premises and the surrounding area outside of all the three properties, Central Library, Rincon Valley and North West Regional Library. As of May 2009 the Commission has not utilized its authority to address the problems at Central Library. Conclusions The Library Commission has always had an open door policy, which in essence attempts to make this library, a democratic institution, available to everyone. The policy has a great deal of merit. The Grand Jury has concluded that its recommendations can be achieved without compromising that policy. The 2008 Standards of Behavior have been updated and now should be enforced. The library Commission needs to actually implement and enforce the appropriate rules of behavior at the Santa Rosa Central library. This flagship library deserves the attention of the Library Commissioners as an individual facility. Standards of Behavior must be enforced to send a clear message to violators that their conduct and interference with the rights of all users will not be tolerated. In 1996 the Commissioners adopted an Internet Access Policy. http://www.sonomalibrary.org/libinfo/policies.html The policy states, “It does not monitor and has no control over the information accessed through the Internet.” The statement in this policy, “parents alone have the responsibility to control their children’s access” is short sighted. Internet filters would block the access by minors when parents are not with them at the library computers. Furthermore, it is a violation of federal law to knowingly receive visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Anyone who does so is subject to federal criminal prosecution under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977. A related issue is the fact that anyone, teenager or adult, traversing the central aisle in the library may be exposed to images on the computer screen that they may find to be shocking and offensive. This problem could be solved by moving the computers to a less exposed location. Permission was given to the Commission last October for Central Library’s grounds to become a smoke free zone. An extended zone is needed to prevent smoke from entering the interior of the library. Commendations Central Library’s staff is commended for their persistence in giving excellent service to their patrons, especially under the stress of not having enforcement of the Standards of Behavior in place. The Security Guard has received an award for his outstanding work in October 2008. We are very fortunate to have a person with his qualities at Central Library. Because of all the hard work and many hours last year’s Grand Jury spent on their report “Santa Rosa Central Library at Risk” this year’s Grand Jury had a solid foundation for their 2009 report. We appreciate the Press Democrat for all the informative articles published by them on the Central Library. Recommendations The Grand Jury recommends that the Sonoma County Library Commissioners: