Behavior in the Library

To quickly answer one question that I have received--No, you do NOT have to give three warnings before a misbehaving child or teen is asked to leave. That is a procedure for first time offenders, so to speak, who don't know our standards of behavior. However, young people are perfectly aware from an early age that hitting others, vandalism, use of the f*** word, etc. is very inappropriate. It is not always necessary to tell them this three times. And of course, if you have the same teens every day doing the same thing, they know the rules. You do not have to give three warnings. Three is merely a guideline.

If you tell a teen that she/he is banned from the library until a certain date, it is necessary to be sure that all branch staff knows it and can identify the suspended young person. Otherwise, the kid will just walk right back in, knowing he/she won't be identified. Also it is a very good idea to write the parents to let them inform them of the problem. Will parents ignore the letter? Yes, many will. However, the letter shows our good faith and intent to inform parents. We will be able to say later that we did make every reasonable effort to inform them.

I am currently working on the Unattended Children section of the new Branch Services manual, together with the behavior guidelines and procedures for disciplining misbehavior. I will probably reorganize the section somewhat to clarify the difference between children left unattended at closing and actual misbehavior. Later in 2007, we will create a brand new section for the manual which deals exclusively with teens. In the meantime, please refer to the exisiting manual for help. It is in the sharefile.

Liz