Social Media Policy
(Approved 11/29/2017)
Purpose
The social media outlets supported by the Harborfields Public Library are intended to assist in fulfilling our mission of connecting people with materials and information as well as serving the information, educational, recreational and cultural needs of the community. Social media is broadly defined as any web application, site or account created and maintained by the Library which allows users to share or obtain information.
The content of our social media will be created by Harborfields Public Library staff. Much of the content will relate to libraries, books and other library related materials, as well as to library programs, events, photos and/or images, or special topics that the Library is discussing or promoting. Positive interaction with community members will be promoted on our social media in order to foster an atmosphere of education and learning.
Policy
Comments and postings from the public are allowed, but will be reviewed by library staff for content appropriateness. Library staff reserves the right to review all comments and postings and delete those that are inconsistent with the content created by the staff. Staff may block the patron who posts inconsistent comments or other material from posting any further information to the Library’s social media sites, but only after said person has received one warning that they are in violation of the policies herein. Comments or postings that fall within any of the following categories will be deleted by library staff and/or lead to a warning and then a ban on posting by an individual who runs afoul of these guidelines:
- Obscene, sexist, homophobic, racist, or otherwise bigoted content.
- Harassing comments or postings against library staff or other social media users. Harassing comments or postings that include profane or obscene statements or images, threatening physical harm toward another person, and engaging in behavior with the sole intent of harassing another person.
- Potentially libelous statements.
- Plagiarizing or posting copy-righted material without permission or authority from the copyright holder.
- Private, personal information of another person without appropriate consent or authority.
- Comments, postings, and/or hyperlinks not related to the content created by the library staff.
- Photos, videos or other images that fall into any of the above categories.
By posting content, the user agrees to indemnify Harborfields Public Library and its officers and employees from and against all liabilities, damages and costs (including attorney’s fees) incurred by any of them which arise out of or are related to the posted content.
If any user does not agree to these terms, they are not to use the Social Media services, as violation of the terms can lead to legal liability.
