Unattended Child Policy

Unattended Child Policy

Purpose of Policy

Munising School Public Library (MSPL) welcomes children of all ages and seeks to create a safe and welcoming environment for all patrons.  MSPL staff members are committed to the safety of children, however, library facilities and staffing are not designed or licensed to provide basic childcare needs or to supervise children.

Unattended Children

Munising School Public Library cannot be responsible for unattended children.  The library requests that parents and guardians consider the safety and well being of their children and the needs of other library users by following these precepts:

• A parent or guardian is responsible for the behavior of his or her children whether or not the parent or guardian is present.
• A child eight (8) years of age or younger must be directly supervised by a parent, guardian, or a responsible caregiver.
• A child nine (9) years old or older may use the library independently providing he or she is able to follow library rules and observe proper conduct.  A child, as any library user, is required to respect library property and act in a manner appropriate to the use and function of the library (see Patron Standards of Behavior Policy).
• Disruptive behavior will be handled according to the Patron Standards of Behavior Policy.
• Library staff will attempt to communicate with a parent, guardian, or responsible caregiver of an unattended child age eight (8) or younger.  If the responsible caregiver cannot be reached or does not arrive within thirty (30) minutes, the police may be called.
• Library staff will wait with a youth for ten (10) minutes after closing time for a parent, guardian, or responsible caregiver to arrive.  After reasonable efforts have been made to locate the person responsible for the youth, the police will be called ten (10) minutes after closing.