Public-Access Computer Policy

IBM compatible computers with printers are available for public use at both t he Central and Hurlock Branch Libraries. Through these comptuers patrons can acc ess the Internet/World Wide Web, commercial software, and other information reso urces.

In compliance with the State of Maryland's law on "Public Libraries--Internet Access by Minors--Obscene Materials," the Dorchester County Public Library has incorporated in this computer use policy "procedures to prevent minors from obta ining accesss through the library, by means of the Internet, the World Wide Web, Usenet, or any other interactive computer service to materials that are obscene or constitute child pornography."

The Internet is an unregulated medium. Not all sources on the Internet provid e information that is current, accurate, or complete. The Dorchester County Publ ic Library has no control over the information on the Internet, and can not be h eld responsible for its content. Parents should note that there may be things on the Internet that you do not wish your children to view. The library has materi al such as "Child Safety on the Information Superhighway" to help you provide gu idence to your children in their use of the Internet.

Children under 17 years of age will have filtered access to the Internet only . As is the case with other library materials and collections, the library suppo rts the parent or legal guardian's right to restrict his or her child's access t o the Internet. A parent or guardian can arrange for a child to be allowed to us e the computers for word processing, ect. without the Internet. Please see staff .

Due to the rapid change in technology computer policies are subject to change .

Who Can Use

Anyone is eligible to use the public-access computers, subject to the followi ng conditions:

A Maryland public library card (any county) must be presented to use the comp uters.

Normally, no more than two patrons may work at one computer terminal at one t ime. Staff may limit the number of patrons using a computer depending upon space availability and noise level.

Patrons 13 and younger may use the Children's Department computers. Any child under six may use the computer only if a responsible adult is seated with the c hild.

Patrons 14 and over may use the Adult Services Department computers. Some com puter terminals are adapted for use by special populations. Please see library s taff for information.

We provide an electrical outlet, when convenient, for use of laptop computers but will not provide a phone line for phone or online use.

Visitors to the library from out-of-state may obtain a temporary "visitor's c ard" to use the computers. A photo ID with date of birth is required to obtain a visitor's card.

Persons living out-of-state who work in Dorchester County may receive a visit or's care which will be good for three months.

How

One computer at the Dorchester County Public Library has been designated a 15 minute computer. All other computers may be used for one hour.

The computers are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If a compute r is not occupied, a patron my simply sit down a that station and enter the libr ary card number, either by typing it in or by sliding the library card through a scanner. The patron also needs to enter a PIN (personal identification number) to access the computer.

If all computers are occupied, patrons may reserve time for the next availabl e computer by entering their library card number in its entirety at the reservat ion computer located in the center of the adult services area. The computer for that patron will be held for 5 minutes as soon as available. If the scheduled us er does not sign on, the computer may then be given to another user.

For the fifteen-minute computer, the word processor and the computer in the M aryland Room, the patron can simply sign in.

Patrons may sign on only four times each day.

Computer sessions are automatically timed. After 45 minutes, the computer wil l give a 15 minute warning, and then a 10 minute and 1 minute warnings before en ding the session. This gives the patron opportunity to save work to a disk or pr int, as otherwise all work will be losted when the session is ended.

A patron may lock his computer if he needs to leave it briefly for any reason . Locking the computer will protect the privacy of the work and prevent others f rom being able to access the computer while he is away. The time for the session is not extended, and will still expire one hour (or 15 minutes for the express computer) after the patron logged on.

Printers

All computers in the library print to a central printer located behind the ci rculation desk. A patron wishing to print must deposit money into his account at the circulation desk before printing. The cost is 15 cents per page. Change may be refunded or left in the account for future use.

Filtering Software

The computers used by children under 17 years of age are filtered, with Web S ense software. The staff are able to disable access to the Internet while allowi ng children access to certain games, word processing and PowerPoint software. If the parent or guardian contacts the library that he does not allow his child In ternet access, the child's use of the library computers will include only these programs.

Computer patrons 17 years old or more are able to remove the filter during a session. This is advised if the patron is filling in an online form, such as a j ob application.

The Following are filtered by WebSense:
Adult Material, except for sites that offer information about sex and sexual ity with no pornographic intent, Web chat, Tasteless sites with content that is gratuitously offensive or shocking, and violence. WebSense also has a security f eature that blocks spyware, sites counterfeiting legitimate business sites for t he purpose of eliciting financial information from users, and sites that may int entionally modify end-user systems and cause harm. However, no filtering softwar e product is 100% reliable. Filtering software products may fail to block inappr oporiate Internet sites. It may also block access to sites that you would deem a ppropriate.

Restrictions

Computer users are not to make any changes or modifications to system files t hat affect the configuration of the computer or alter the operaion of the networ k. Any computer user who does not observe this rule will be barred from using al l Dorchester County Public Library computers.

Library users who damage comptuer equipment or software will be held financia lly responsible for any costs incurred by the library for repairs or replacement .

Improper use of comptuer hardware, disturbance of other patron's, or display of obscene or offensive material will result in the supervision of a computer us er's time and may result in the long term suspension of computer privileges.

Computers are not available for chat group use when filter is active.

Warnings:

In accepting the computer policy when logging on, you have received a first w arning regarding computer abuse.

Library users are required to let library staff know immediately if inappropr iate or obscene material appears on the computer screen. Staff will check for th e presence of the filter, then inform the filtering software company of the inci dent. If staff observe such material without notification by the patron, the pat ron will be held at fault, and may be suspended for three months immediately.

If equipment is abused or computer policies are violated, patron will be:

1. Given written warning after the first occurrence.
2. Suspended from using library computers for three months after the second occ urrence.
3. If a computer user has twice been barred for three months from using a compu ter, his/her third offense will result in losing computer privileges for one yea r.

Responsibilities

Users are responsible for the correct use and handling of all computer equipm ent and software.

Users are responsible for reading all documentation and directions for operat ing the comptuer, printer and software.

Users may not use their own software, but may use their own files in conjucti on with the library's software.

Users may not load anything onto the hard drive of library computers. Any mat erial loaded to the library's hard drive by users will be erased.

Users may download from the Internet to a disk.

Users must abide by copying and licensing laws.

Users are responsible for reading and abiding by the library's rules regardin g comptuer use.

Questions

Please ask the staff at the Information Desk. We'll be happy to help you.

Questions or concerns that library users have regarding this policy and its i mplementation should be brought respectively to the head of the reference or chi ldren's department for review. If the library patron is not satisfied with the r eview, he subsequently should speak to the library director, who may refer the m atter to the Board of Trustees if it remains unresolved.

March 2005