Policy on Unattended Children

Policy on Unattended Children

Griffin Free Public Library believes that the library is best enjoyed by children who are safe and provided the appropriate assistance and supervision for their maturity.

For this reason, GFPL requires young children to be accompanied by a caregiver at all times. Older children may use the library unaccompanied for purposes of study, browsing, reading, or using computers. In all circumstances, parents or legal guardians remain responsible for the welfare and behavior of children. In order to ensure fair use of the library for all patrons, problems with unaccompanied children will be logged and reported to parents or legal guardians, and will be subject to action according to our Code of Conduct.

GFPL also requires that parents and legal guardians be aware of the following:

1. At no time can GFPL staff act as caretakers for any child. Staff will attempt to contact caregivers for any unaccompanied child in distress; if caregivers are unavailable, police or other authorities may be contacted instead.
2. The only person authorized to make decisions about appropriate materials for your child is you. Those decisions and conversations are considered a private matter. Under no circumstances can Library staff provide oversight of your unaccompanied child’s chosen materials.
3. If your child will be using the library unaccompanied for any length of time, please be sure that they know how to reach you or another trusted adult in case of emergency.
4. If you are providing or arranging transportation for an unaccompanied child, please ensure that they are picked up no later than 10 minutes prior to closing. If children are left at the library 5 minutes beyond closing without transportation, GFPL staff will contact the Auburn Police Department.

Approved by GFPL Board of Trustees: Sept. 14, 2012