The Library asks that parents and caregivers familiarize themselves with our Safe Child Policy. The rest of our policies are located on our Policies page. 

Safe Child Policy

The Elizabeth Taber Library is dedicated to providing a full range of library services to patrons of all ages.  The safety of children left alone in a public building is a serious concern of the library staff. The responsibility for the safety and behavior of children in the library rests with the parent/caregiver and not with library personnel. 

Parents and legal guardians are responsible for the behavior of their children in the library and on library grounds.  Library staff are not responsible for restricting or monitoring children’s computer use or checkout materials.  Library personnel cannot monitor the whereabouts of unsupervised children.

Unaccompanied children are expected to adhere to the Patron Behavior Policy, the following safe child policies are designed to address the concern for the welfare of children and are not intended to discourage the full participation of children in the library;

• Children under the age of 9 should not be left unattended in the library. 
• Children ages 10 and up should never be left unattended without the ability to reach their guardian in the case of an emergency.
• If an unattended child is not adhering to policies regarding appropriate conduct they will be given one warning.  If disruptive behavior persists they will be asked to leave the library, and will not be permitted to return to the library until the following day.  If disruptive behavior persists on a consistent basis (over multiple days, for instance) a child may be barred from visiting the library unattended for up to a week.  No child should be allowed to visit the library unattended if they are not able to safely and immediately leave the library if they display inappropriate or disruptive behavior.
• Guardians need to be aware of closing times.  If a child is left unattended at closing, an attempt will be made to contact a guardian.  If a guardian can not be reached the police will be contacted.  Under no circumstances will library staff transport any child from the library.
• In the case of a medical emergency the library staff will contact emergency services and then attempt to contact the child’s parent or guardian.

Policy approved by the Board of the Marion Library Association 4/29/24