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Library Policies

The fundamental goal of the Moreno Valley Public Library is to provide services that will contribute to the educational development and cultural vitality of Moreno Valley. To achieve this goal, the Library's mission is to provide access to a broad range of information resources, including those available through the Internet.

In keeping with its goals and mission, the library observes the following policies.

  • Patron Responsibility and Conduct

    I. Policy

    The Moreno Valley Public Library seeks to maintain an atmosphere conducive to the acquisition of knowledge through reading, writing, and contemplation of ideas. The Library attempts to provide a comfortable, safe, and supportive informal atmosphere, welcoming all people in the Moreno Valley area.

    The Library assumes that principles of conduct will be observed by those in the Library. Patrons should engage in the activities normally associated with the use of a public Library while in the building. These activities include reading, studying, participating in programs, or using library materials and services. It is the patron's responsibility to maintain necessary and proper behavior standards to protect his/her individual rights and the rights and privileges of other patrons. Proper dress and conversation are also expected.

    II. Patron Principles of Conduct

    The Library serves various functions for patrons, including that of a community information center, a place to study, and a place to find cultural and recreational materials and activities. All of these require traffic, movement, and discourse. In balancing these various roles and functions, a reasonable noise level is expected and generally believed to be acoustically unavoidable. When in the Moreno Valley Public Library, patrons must observe the following principles of conduct:

    • Speak in normal or quiet tones of voice
    • Respect others, including their rights and personal property
    • Respect Library property and staff
    • Maintain responsibility for the safety, well-being, and conduct of children in their charge
    • Refrain from actions that are not conducive to reading and the appropriate use of the Library by other patrons
    • Place cell phones and pagers on vibrate feature; hold conversations outside of building
    III. Patron Prohibited Activities

    The following activities and behaviors seriously interfere with the activities normally associated with the use of a public library and are prohibited in the Moreno Valley Public Library:

    • Smoking
    • Sleeping
    • Eating, drinking, or displaying food in open containers
    • Disturbing or annoying anyone by loud/unreasonable noise or movement, including, but not limited to, using audible devices without headphones, or with headphones set at a volume that disturbs others
    • Use of abusive, threatening, harassing, or insulting language
    • Having body odor or personal hygiene that is offensive or that interferes with others' use of the library
    • Animals (except trained assistance animals)
    • Improper acts which are subject to prosecution under criminal or civil codes of law
    • Vehicles and other objects which constitute potential safety hazards to patrons
    • Objects placed adjacent to any exit or entrance on the inside or outside of the facility which pose a safety hazard to persons entering or exiting the facility
    • Lack of shirt or shoes
    • Personally monopolizing library space, seating, tables, or equipment to the exclusion of other patrons or staff
    • Soliciting, selling, or begging
    • Unattended children under the age of 13

    Patrons are required to be appropriately clothed, including shoes, while in the Library.

    IV. Violations of Patron Principles of Conduct and Patron Prohibited Activities

    Maintenance of proper conduct in the Library is one of the responsibilities of Library staff. Staff have the authority to deal firmly but courteously with patrons who are violating the Patron Principles of Conduct and Patron Prohibited Activities. Actions taken by staff may include making the patron aware that the behavior violates the principles of conduct or is a prohibited activity, warning the patron that he/she will have to leave if the behavior does not change, and telling the patron to leave the library. In some cases, the patron may be escorted from the building by staff, security personnel, or the police.

    Anyone known to have violated the principles of conduct and prohibited activities of the Library may be excluded from the Library and its programs as a matter of administrative policy. If the behavior involves illegal activity, such as child molestation, indecent exposure, or destruction of Library property, Library staff have full authority to call the police. Based upon the severity of the situation, a suspension of library privileges for up to one year may be applied without advance warning or prior suspension. Written notification of a suspension period greater than seven days shall be delivered to the patron, or in the case of a minor (under the age of 18), to the parent or legal guardian.

    Patrons shall have the right to submit a written request to the library's administration office for an administrative review of a suspension period greater than seven days. Patrons shall include in the request any written documentation they seek to have considered in the review process. The suspension shall remain in effect pending the administrative review. The library administrator's decision shall be final.

    These Patron Principles of Conduct and Patron Prohibited Activities have been formulated with the cooperation of the Moreno Valley Police Department and the City Attorney's Office. Furthermore, these Patron Principles of Conduct and Patron Prohibited Activities shall be posted in a prominent place in the Moreno Valley Public Library.

    Revised 3/20/03; 06/10/10; 03/17/11 
    Moreno Valley Library Commission

  • Patron Internet Use Policy and Guidelines

    I. Library's Mission

    The fundamental goal of the Moreno Valley Public Library is to provide services that will contribute to the educational development and cultural vitality of Moreno Valley. To achieve this goal, the Library's mission is to provide access to a broad range of information resources, including those available through the Internet. This service is made available to offer a program of informational, educational, recreational, and cultural enrichment opportunities for all patrons.

    The Library assumes responsibility only for the information provided on its home page at the City of Moreno Valley Web site. The Internet, however, is a gateway to information of great diversity in many countries and cultures around the world. Because of this international character, there is currently no external monitoring of Internet content. While most of the information accessed can be valuable and enlightening, the user might also find materials that are controversial, unreliable, personally offensive or illegal under U.S. law.

    The Library is not responsible for changes in the content of the sources to which patrons link, or for the content of sources accessed through secondary links. The Library can neither censor access to all controversial material nor protect patrons from information they might find offensive. The Library neither monitors nor controls information accessible through the Internet and does not accept responsibility for its content.

    II. Rules Governing Patron Use
    1. General Use (applies to all patrons)
      1. Access to the Internet is available only on clearly marked workstations located throughout the Library or on the Library's public wireless system.
      2. There are separate computers available for ages 13 and up and for ages 12 and under.
        Card ID- Your complete 13-digit library card number (Ex: 1000115559999)
        Password- The last 4 digits of your phone number
        1. You are the ONLY one allowed to use computer resources with your library card. If you let anyone other than yourself use the Library's computer resources, you will lose your computer resource privileges.
        2. You can sign on to use the in-house computers up to 2 times a day for a maximum of 1 hour per session. There is no limit on wireless access.
        3. If the computers or wireless access are full, you can make a reservation for the next available time using the Reservation Computer. You can make a reservation for up to 7 days in advance—only one reservation is allowed at a time.
        4. When a reservation to use in-house computers is made, go to your assigned computer at the assigned time. Sign on by using your Card ID and Password. (If you are not signed on to your computer by 5 minutes after your reserved time, your reservation will be canceled).
        5. When using in-house computers, make sure you save to a floppy disk or USB flash drive (memory stick) or print what you are working on BEFORE your time ends. If you don't, you will lose what you were working on.
        6. If you finish using the computer before your time expires, make sure you properly log off by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys at the same time and clicking on "Log Off." DO NOT shut the in-house computer off—doing so will cause you to lose your computer privileges.
        7. If you have any computer questions, please wait your turn to ask staff.
      3. Downloading of files may be done to floppy disks or USB flash drives (memory sticks) only. The Library is not responsible for damage to patrons' disks, USB flash drives (memory sticks), or computers, or for any loss of data, damage or liability that may occur to patrons' software due to a computer virus contracted from patron use of the Library's Internet services or equipment.
      4. Patrons may not load software of any kind onto Library-owned equipment.
    2. Use by minors (under age 18)
      1. Parents or guardians of minor children must assume responsibility for their children's use of the Internet. The Library has neither the right nor the responsibility to act in place of a parent or guardian.
      2. All children's workstations have filtering software installed, in an attempt to ensure that obscene, and possibly illegal, materials are not made available to minors at the library. However, such software has a variable rate of effectiveness in screening out age-inappropriate sites.
      3. Children under the age of 13 may use only the children's Internet stations.
      4. Anyone age 13 and older must use the adult computers.
    3. User Responsibilities
      1. Legal Usage: Computing resources may not be used for any illegal purposes. Examples of illegal use include, but are not limited to, the following:
        1. Attempting to alter or damage computer equipment, software configurations, or files belonging to the City of Moreno Valley, Moreno Valley Public Library, or any other user or external network (California Penal Code, Section 502 et Seq.).
        2. Attempting unauthorized entry to the City of Moreno Valley's computer network or external networks.
        3. Engaging in activity that is deliberately and maliciously offensive, libelous, slanderous or harassing to others.
        4. Transmission of child pornography or obscene material.
        5. Intentional propagation of computer viruses.
        6. Violation of copyright or communication laws. U.S. copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code) prohibits the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of copyrighted materials, except as permitted by the principles of "fair use." Any responsibility for any consequences of copyright infringement lies with the user. The Library expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility from such use.
      2. Computer Etiquette: Computing resources must be used in accordance with the rules of the Moreno Valley Public Library. Examples of unacceptable use include, but are not limited to, the following:
        1. Hacking (breaking into or out of any system) and violation of computer systems security.
        2. Use of computer communications facilities in ways that interfere with or impede computer use by others.
        3. Intentional violation of another patron's privacy.
        4. Obtrusively displaying information with the intent of being disruptive or offensive to others.
    4. Sanctions
      1. Violation of any of the rules described above will result in the patron having Library computer privileges suspended.
      2. Illegal acts involving Library computing resources, in addition to the sanctions listed under D.1, may also be subject to prosecution by local, state, or federal authorities.
      3. Patrons are financially liable for any damage caused either directly or indirectly to any equipment or software belonging to the City of Moreno Valley or the Moreno Valley Public Library.
      4. The Library reserves the right to terminate a patron's Internet/computer/wireless access session at any time the Library staff deems the use to be in conflict with the Library Patron Internet Use Policy and Guidelines or the Patron Responsibility and Conduct Code.

    Approved December 9, 1999, Moreno Valley Library Advisory Board 
    Rev. September 16, 2004; March 16, 2006; August 17, 2006; 
    July 19, 2007; October 20, 2011, Moreno Valley Library Commission

     

  • Library Bill of Rights

    The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

    • Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
    • Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
    • Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
    • Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
    • A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
    • Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

    .

    Adopted June 18, 1948; amended February 2, 1961, and January 23, 1980, by the ALA Council.
    Approved April 8, 1999, by the Moreno Valley Library Advisory Board.

  • The Freedom to Read Statement

    The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label “controversial” views, to distribute lists of “objectionable” books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. We, as citizens devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read.

    Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary citizen, by exercising critical judgment, will accept the good and reject the bad. The censors, public and private, assume that they should determine what is good and what is bad for their fellow citizens.

    We trust Americans to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe. We do not believe they need the help of censors to assist them in this task. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be “protected” against what others think may be bad for them. We believe they still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression.

    These efforts at suppression are related to a larger pattern of pressures being brought against education, the press, art and images, films, broadcast media, and the Internet. The problem is not only one of actual censorship. The shadow of fear cast by these pressures leads, we suspect, to an even larger voluntary curtailment of expression by those who seek to avoid controversy.

    Such pressure toward conformity is perhaps natural to a time of accelerated change. And yet suppression is never more dangerous than in such a time of social tension. Freedom has given the United States the elasticity to endure strain. Freedom keeps open the path of novel and creative solutions, and enables change to come by choice. Every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of our society and leaves it the less able to deal with controversy and difference.

    Now as always in our history, reading is among our greatest freedoms. The freedom to read and write is almost the only means for making generally available ideas or manners of expression that can initially command only a small audience. The written word is the natural medium for the new idea and the untried voice from which come the original contributions to social growth. It is essential to the extended discussion that serious thought requires, and to the accumulation of knowledge and ideas into organized collections.

    We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. We believe that these pressures toward conformity present the danger of limiting the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend. We believe that every American community must jealously guard the freedom to publish and to circulate, in order to preserve its own freedom to read. We believe that publishers and librarians have a profound responsibility to give validity to that freedom to read by making it possible for the readers to choose freely from a variety of offerings. The freedom to read is guaranteed by the Constitution. Those with faith in free people will stand firm on these constitutional guarantees of essential rights and will exercise the responsibilities that accompany these rights.

    We therefore affirm these propositions:

    1. It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox or unpopular with the majority. 

      Creative thought is by definition new, and what is new is different. The bearer of every new thought is a rebel until that idea is refined and tested. Totalitarian systems attempt to maintain themselves in power by the ruthless suppression of any concept that challenges the established orthodoxy. The power of a democratic system to adapt to change is vastly strengthened by the freedom of its citizens to choose widely from among conflicting opinions offered freely to them. To stifle every nonconformist idea at birth would mark the end of the democratic process. Furthermore, only through the constant activity of weighing and selecting can the democratic mind attain the strength demanded by times like these. We need to know not only what we believe but why we believe it.
    2. Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated.

      Publishers and librarians serve the educational process by helping to make available knowledge and ideas required for the growth of the mind and the increase of learning. They do not foster education by imposing as mentors the patterns of their own thought. The people should have the freedom to read and consider a broader range of ideas than those that may be held by any single librarian or publisher or government or church. It is wrong that what one can read should be confined to what another thinks proper.
    3. It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.

      No art or literature can flourish if it is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators. No society of free people can flourish that draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may have to say.
    4. There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.

      To some, much of modern expression is shocking. But is not much of life itself shocking? We cut off literature at the source if we prevent writers from dealing with the stuff of life. Parents and teachers have a responsibility to prepare the young to meet the diversity of experiences in life to which they will be exposed, as they have a responsibility to help them learn to think critically for themselves. These are affirmative responsibilities, not to be discharged simply by preventing them from reading works for which they are not yet prepared. In these matters values differ, and values cannot be legislated; nor can machinery be devised that will suit the demands of one group without limiting the freedom of others.
    5. It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept with any expression the prejudgment of a label characterizing it or its author as subversive or dangerous.

      The ideal of labeling presupposes the existence of individuals or groups with wisdom to determine by authority what is good or bad for the citizen. It presupposes that individuals must be directed in making up their minds about the ideas they examine. But Americans do not need others to do their thinking for them.
    6. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people's freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large.

      It is inevitable in the give and take of the democratic process that the political, the moral, or the aesthetic concepts of an individual or group will occasionally collide with those of another individual or group. In a free society individuals are free to determine for themselves what they wish to read, and each group is free to determine what it will recommend to its freely associated members. But no group has the right to take the law into its own hands, and to impose its own concept of politics or morality upon other members of a democratic society. Freedom is no freedom if it is accorded only to the accepted and the inoffensive.
    7. It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression. By the exercise of this affirmative responsibility, they can demonstrate that the answer to a “bad” book is a good one, the answer to a “bad” idea is a good one.

      The freedom to read is of little consequence when the reader cannot obtain matter fit for that reader's purpose. What is needed is not only the absence of restraint, but the positive provision of opportunity for the people to read the best that has been thought and said. Books are the major channel by which the intellectual inheritance is handed down, and the principal means of its testing and growth. The defense of the freedom to read requires of all publishers and librarians the utmost of their faculties, and deserves of all citizens the fullest of their support.

    We state these propositions neither lightly nor as easy generalizations. We here stake out a lofty claim for the value of the written word. We do so because we believe that it is possessed of enormous variety and usefulness, worthy of cherishing and keeping free. We realize that the application of these propositions may mean the dissemination of ideas and manners of expression that are repugnant to many persons. We do not state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant. We believe rather that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.

    This statement was originally issued in May of 1953 by the Westchester Conference of the American Library Association and the American Book Publishers Council, which in 1970 consolidated with the American Educational Publishers Institute to become the Association of American Publishers.

    Adopted June 25, 1953; revised January 28, 1972, January 16, 1991, July 12, 2000, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee.

    Adopted by the Moreno Valley Library Advisory Board on 04/08/99


  • The Freedom to View Statement

    The FREEDOM TO VIEW, along with the freedom to speak, to hear, and to read, is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. In a free society, there is no place for censorship of any medium of expression.

    Therefore, we affirm these principles:

    • It is in the public interest to provide the broadest possible access to films and other audiovisual materials because they have proven to be among the most effective means for the communication of ideas. Liberty of circulation is essential to insure the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.
    • It is in the public interest to provide for our audiences, films and other audiovisual materials which represent a diversity of view and expression. Selection of a work does not constitute or imply agreement with or approval of the content.
    • It is our professional responsibility to resist the constraint of labeling or pre-judging a film on the basis of the moral, religious, or political beliefs of the producer or filmmaker or on the basis of controversial content.
    • It is our professional responsibility to contest vigorously, by all lawful means, every encroachment upon the public's freedom to view.

    .

    This statement was originally drafted by the Educational Film Library Association's Freedom to View Committee, and was adopted by the EFLA Board of Directors in February, 1979.

    Adopted by the Moreno Valley Library Advisory Board on 04/08/99

     


  • Confidentiality Of Library Records

    State Law protects the contents of library patron records.

    Under this law, library employees are prohibited from sharing information about what a patron has checked out or has on hold with anyone else, even parents and spouses.

    Under this law, no one outside library staff can find out what you are reading or viewing without your consent or a court order.

    Under this law, we are not permitted to do any of the following:

    • Tell a parent what a child has checked out (even if a fine is owed on that material)
    • Give an item on hold to a husband, wife or parent, even when they have the library card that was used to hold the book
    • Provide access to library records to law enforcement without a search warrant.

    As a library patron, you can permit other people to know what you have checked out or to pick up library holds for you; however, you must provide a signed note specifically allowing that person to have access to your library records.

    If you like, we can provide you with a copy of the statute (Government Code Title 1, Division 7, Chapter 3.5, Sec. 6267).

    Thank you for helping us to conform to this law regarding the privacy of library records.


  • Collection Development Policy

    The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is to provide a comprehensive document to assist both present and future selectors in developing the Moreno Valley Public Library’s collection to meet the needs of the people of the City of Moreno Valley.

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