After-lunch course with Andrew Smith: Policy writing and review
Writing policy for your library can be daunting. The State Library requires it, but other than that, what’s the point? You might hear that I don’t want to be limited in what I can do or that we did all that 20 years ago or that everything is working just fine as it is. Why waste time on a pointless exercise?
However, policy is a vital part of library operations. It not only serves as a guide to what you will do and how, but it provides protection for the library board, the library staff, the patrons and the community. Your policies must be current and suited to your library. One size does not fit all in the library world.
This webinar will explain the purpose of policy for your library and offer practical steps for either creating policy if none exists or reviewing old policy to make sure it is still fit for purpose. It will also offer suggestions on how to integrate policy review into the regular work of your library board so that your policy will always be up to date and meet the needs of your library. Helpful resources will also be highlighted.
Andrew Smith has been a member of the Emporia Public Library board since 2016 and is in his second year as board chair. He is an Associate Professor in the School of Library and Information Management at Emporia State University where he teaches courses in library advocacy, collection management, multiple literacies in libraries and genealogy. He has been involved in library policy work for many years and has presented widely on the topic both in Kansas and at national conferences.