Unattended Children in the Library

The Cragin Memorial Library is open to all and it especially encourages the use of the library by children of all ages. The Library is open to unaccompanied children over 8 who are old enough to use the materials. It is not the Library's function or purpose to be a care center for young children while parents or other supervising adults are outside the children's department and/or outside the Library.

To maintain a safe and orderly environment, the Library has adopted the following policy for the supervision of children:

1. Parents and guardians are responsible for the conduct of their children on Library premises and must provide such reasonable supervision of their children as is appropriate based on the age and level of responsibility of each child.
   1. Children under the age of 8 must be accompanied and supervised by an adult.
   2. If the supervisory adult wishes to go to another area, the child must accompany the adult. The child may take children's materials to the other area; the adult may bring adult materials to the children's area to use.
2. Parents and guardians should be aware of Library opening and closing times and make suitable arrangements to meet and/or transport their children.
   1. The LIbrary is not responsible for the care and supervision of accompanied children before opening and after closing.
   2. If a child up to 12 years of age is unaccompanied in the Library 15 minutes before closing time, the staff will help the child to call home to arrange transportation. Another call will be made at closing time. If the child is not picked up within 15 minutes of closing, the staff will call for police assistance. If the police are called when a parent or guardian fails to pick up a child, it is considered risk of injury to a minor and is considered a criminal offense.
   3. Children over 12 still at the Library at closing time will be directed to walk home if it is still light and they live within 1 mile of the Library. If this does not apply, the staff will use the above procedure (2b).
   4. Under no circumstance should a staff member transport children home or any other destination. Children, like all other Library users are required to respect Library property and to act in a manner appropriate to the use and function of the Library.
3. Inappropriate behavior, such as hitting, running, spitting and yelling will not be tolerated.
4. Older children and young adults will be asked to leave the Library if their conduct is destructive and/or inappropriate. Police assistance will be requested if necessary, and parents may be notified. In the case of younger children, an attempt will be made to resolve the problem with the child's parent or guardian. The staff may request that the parent or guardian remove the child from the Library until the problem behavior has been ended.