Library board accepts Internet privacy policy

The Putnam County Public Library board gave public notice of its Thursday meeting because it was reviewing its Internet safety policy. The board chose not to change the policy in the slightest.

The Internet safety policy is for all patrons to follow and all library employees to enforce. The policy enforces the use of filtering software to prevent minors and others from accessing unacceptable material, including sexually explicit material, unapproved software, illegal purposes and other uses.

Alice Greenburg, library director, said the policy has worked well so far and that there was no reason to change it. It was approved unanimously.

The board also welcomed a new member. Diana Laviolette joined the board at the beginning of the meeting and said she was eager to learn about the board and help the library.

The board created a by-laws committee to review the library's existing by-laws and possibly create new ones or alter existing by-laws.

"We have by-laws but they're several years old so I thought it would be a good idea to look at them," said Wes Wilson, board president, who presented the idea to the board.

The board is also considering hiring Criss and Hutcheson Construction to remodel the library's windows before the winter comes. Laviolette suggested using community service volunteers to perform other small tasks around the library as well, including some small paint jobs.

"There are a lot of people who do community service," Laviolette said, mentioning that several students who often perform the tasks can have backgrounds in construction projects.

The board discussed hiring Scott Hoff to be the attorney for the public library. Wilson said Hoff was the attorney for the County Commissioners and he would be delighted to work for the library as well.

The board will discuss its annual budget during their next monthly meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 24.