DARIEN LIBRARY
MEETING ROOM POLICY AND PROCEDURES

Statement of Policy:

The Darien Library subscribes to Article IV of the Library Bill of Rights which states that facilities should be made available to the public served by the Library on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

The Darien Library regards the availability and use of its Meeting Rooms as an integral part of its service to the community.  In that regard, Meeting Rooms are available, when not required for Library activities, to Darien non-profit organizations engaged in educational, cultural and intellectual activities consistent with the Library’s mission statement and objectives, to Town of Darien Boards and Commissions, and to Darien for-profit organizations for their own internal purposes only.

What’s Available:

The following Meeting Rooms are available for use on approval of written application:

Community Room (maximum of 171 people)

Conference Room (maximum of 22 people seated at a conference table, or approximately 40 if seated for a presentation)

Technology Center (maximum of 12 people)

Power Library Conference Rooms (Two) (maximum of 6 people)

Second Floor Conference Room (Open Door) (maximum of 8 people)

Second Floor Quiet Reading Room (Open Door) (maximum of 12 people)

Mezzanine Writer’s Room (maximum of 6 people)

Mezzanine Study Rooms (Three) (maximum of 2 people)

Children’s Story Time Room (Closes with Accordion Doors) (maximum of 24 children)

Children’s Toddler Room (maximum of 12 children)

When:

All meeting rooms except the Community Room and Conference Room are available for use at the following times:

The Community Room and Conference Room are available for use at the following times:

Requests for use of the Meeting Rooms at other times will be reviewed on an individual basis.

Application Procedure:

The Facilities Manager or Office Manager will provide an Application form to any qualified applicant, and will process Applications in order of their receipt.  The Library’s Director reserves the right to cancel any Application with  notice. An appeal of this decision may be made to the Library’s Board of Trustees.

Every applicant will designate the individual responsible for supervision of the use  of the Meeting Room, and who will be responsible for damages and additional cleaning required afterwards.

What it Costs:

Use of any meeting room by any organization after  regular Library hours will require a payment of $50.00 per hour (or part thereof) to reimburse the Library for staff time. Use at any time of any technology in the Community Room or Conference Room except for the microphone will require payment of $50.00 per hour (or part thereof) to reimburse the Library for technology staff time.  Fees or expenses are to be paid in advance by check to the “Darien Library”. Town of Darien Boards and Commissions are exempted from these requirements.

Insurance Requirement:

For events outside of regular Library hours, a Certificate of Insurance in the amount of $1,000,000 Combined Single Limit of Liability for Bodily Injury and Property Damage is required.  This may be obtained from your insurance agency and must be provided before approval of your reservation request.  The Town of Darien and the Darien Library must be named as “Additional Insureds” on the Insurance Certificate for the times the Meeting Room is requested.

Other Terms:

1. Meeting Rooms are not available for business solicitations or fund-raising purposes.  The Library Director may require any Application be submitted to the Board of    Trustees for prior review, and may require additional supporting information to be provided.

2. Library sponsored events receive priority in scheduling.  Availability of the Meeting Rooms at all other times shall be on a first-come, first-served basis.

3.The fact that a group is permitted to use a Meeting Room does not in any way constitute an endorsement of the group’s policies or beliefs by the Library.

4.The Library reserves the right to impose limitations on the frequency of use of the Meeting Rooms by an organization.

5.The Facilities Manager, in consultation with the Library Director, is authorized to determine the appropriate use of the room.  In case of denial of use, appeal may be made in writing to the Library Board of Trustees. The decision of the Board of Trustees will be final.

6.Admission fees are not to be charged by any group using the Meeting Rooms.

7.Non-library groups and individuals are not to use the Library’s address and phone number as their own.

8.Refreshments are permitted for scheduled events in the Community Room and Conference Room.

9.Smoking is not permitted anywhere in the Library or on Library grounds.

10.The Facilities Manager’s approval is required in advance for any publicity or any items that will be distributed at a meeting at which the public is in attendance.

Use of the Library by Tutors:
Darien Library recognizes the benefit to the students and parents of the community for tutoring to be allowed within the Library. The following procedures are intended to provide a balance between the use of the Library by tutors and their clients, and the use of the Library by other members of the community. The Library reserves the right to restrict or ban tutoring at any time without prior notice in the event that it unduly interferes with use of the Library by others.

In order for Darien Library to assure that tutoring within the Library is in line with the Library’s service to the community, the following restriction is applicable to all tutoring within the Library:

Either the tutor, or the client, or both, must be a resident of Darien.

Tutors:

All tutors must be registered Darien Library card holders, and must pay a $100.00 fee, in advance, each calendar quarter of the year during which they will be tutoring within the Library.

Volunteer tutors who are providing an unpaid service must be registered Darien Library card holders, but need not pay any fee.

Procedures:

All tutoring must take place in the Reference Room on the second floor of the Library, except by prior written agreement. Tutors are expected to restrict their use of space to an acceptable minimum, and observe all Library regulations.

Tutors using other areas of the Library without advance written permission will be warned on first offense, banned from tutoring for one month on second warning, and banned permanently from tutoring on third offense.

Library staff will enforce the procedures as necessary, and will require tutors to move immediately to the Reference Room if they are observed tutoring in other areas.

Scheduling Use of the Library by Tutors:

The Library will observe use of the Library by tutors and will implement without prior notice any procedure deemed necessary to assure that tutoring does not interfere with the use of the Library by others. These procedures may include advance registration for tutoring slots, limiting the number of tutoring clients or restricting the days and hours of tutoring, and providing for advance reservation of other rooms for use by tutors.

Tutors and their clients are to keep in mind that tutoring is a privilege granted by the Library as part of its service to the community, and will be supported so long as it does not unduly interfere with the use of the Library by other community members.

Adopted by the Darien Library Board of Trustees on December 15, 2008.

Application for Use of the Meeting Rooms: