About The Library
Overview
Library Board
Library Policies
Library Internet Policy
Overview
With more than 36,000 volumes, magazines and DVD offerings, the Haliburton County Public Library provides public library services through eight active branch locations within the County of Haliburton. On this website, you can browse and search our collection (as well as those of most public libraries in Ontario).
InterLibrary Loan service provides access to the materials held in these libraries and through the InfoNet system, materials can be loaned from virtually any library in Ontario, Canada or around the world.
County residents can register for services at any branch of the system at no charge and can borrow from any branch with equal ease; a small non-resident fee is available for periods of three months to one year for others. This information is available at any branch as well.
The County Library Administrative Centre is open Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 705-457-2241 for complete local information.
P.O. Box 119,
739 Mountain Street,
Haliburton, Ontario
Library Board
Chair: Cheryl Murdoch
The Haliburton County Library Board was established in 1965 and provides public library services to the residents of the County of Haliburton through the Haliburton County Public library under the terms of the Public Libraries Act (1984). The Board is appointed by the County of Haliburton under terms outlined in the Act; funding is provided by the County of Haliburton and the Province of Ontario.
Click here for minutes of the latest Board meetings.
The Board has accepted the Statement of Intellectual Freedom of the Canadian Library Association; it forms part of the Materials Selection Policy currently in place. Copies of these documents are available from the Chief Executive Officer of the Board.
Board Members:
Chair: Ms. Cheryl Murdoch
Vice-Chair: Mr. Tom Gardner
Members: Warden Dave Burton (705) 448 2981
Mrs. Janet Harnden (705) 448 2396
Mrs. Rozanne Hynard (705) 286 1071
Mr. James Mackie (613) 339 1714
Ms. Nancy McLuskey (705) 754 1590
Secretary: Bessie Sullivan, CEO/County Librarian
Library Policies
Mission Statement
Goals
Statement of Intellectual Freedom
Materials Selection
Requests For Reconsideration
Mission Statement
The Haliburton County Public Library aims to serve and enrich the entire community through the use of well-supported and promoted services in a safe and accessible environment.
The Goals of the Haliburton County Library Board shall be:
To provide the best possible library service to all residents of the
County of Haliburton in the most cost-efficient and cost-effective
manner possible with maximum use being made of the collection by the
greatest number of residents;
To develop a library collection that will appeal to the greatest
possible sectors of the County, allowing for widest possible coverage of
views and opinion, bearing in mind a need for balanced collections and
for a clear representation of all sides of any issue without regard for
the unpopularity or the unorthodox nature of the material; and,
To ensure that library materials, information and programmes are
available to all individuals in the County through maximum co-operation
with provincial and national organizations.
Statement of Intellectual Freedom:
The following official statement was approved by the Canadian Library
Association (CLA) and forms part of the Board's Materials Selection
Policy:
"All persons in Canada have the fundamental right, as embodied in the
nation's Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to
have access to all expressions of knowledge, creativity and intellectual
activity, and to express their thought publicly. This right to
intellectual freedom is essential to the health and development of
Canadian society.
Libraries have a basic responsibility for the development and
maintenance of intellectual freedom. It is the responsibility of libraries
to guarantee and facilitate access to all expressions of knowledge and
intellectual activity including those which some elements of society might
consider to be unconventional, unpopular or unacceptable. To this end,
libraries shall acquire and make available the widest variety of
materials.
It is the responsibility of libraries to guarantee the right of free
expression by making available all of the library's public facilities and
services to all individuals and groups who need them.
Libraries should resist all efforts to limit the exercise of these
responsibilities while recognizing the right of criticism by individuals
and groups.
Both employees and employers in libraries have a duty, in addition to
their institutional responsibilities, to uphold these
principles."
Materials Selection:
In keeping with the goals of the Haliburton County Library Board, it is
the purpose of this policy to ensure a high level of quality of the
processes that govern selection, preservation and organization of library
materials to make them readily available to all the residents of the
County of Haliburton.
Responsibility for Selection
Ultimate responsibility for the selection and discard of material rests with the County Librarian
who operates within the framework of policies established by the Board.
Local staff and patrons are encouraged to recommend books for purchase.
Any such suggestions are always welcome and will be given serious
consideration.
Criteria for Selection
Material selection will be carried
out in the most professional manner possible. Reviews and other
selection aids may be utilized in the final selection process as well as
an evaluation of usefulness to the intended user, literary or artistic
merit, authenticity, current or projected demand, relationship to the
overall collection, suitability to the needs of the community and
availability of funds.
Additional criteria for the selection of audio-visual materials may
include: content, performer, techniques and availability.
Special consideration will be given to the selection of Canadian
materials.
Materials primarily prepared for classroom use, highly specialized
text books, research and scholarly titles, expensive legal and/or
medical works as well as proselytizing materials will not normally be
acquired but will be made available through InterLibrary Loan as
available elsewhere.
Gifts & Donations
The Haliburton County Library Board
will accept gifts to include books, pamphlets, magazines films,
cassettes and other materials which become the property of the Board to
be added to the collection or disposed of as the County Librarian
decides.
No donations will be accepted unless free from precondition and they
will be integrated into the total collection. All materials that are
presented as gifts will be catalogued so as to be beneficial to the
InterLibrary Loan process and the benefit of all residents of the
County.
Weeding
Materials which no longer meet the needs of the
County Library due to physical condition, duplication, a lack of
community interest or with obsolete content may be offered for public
sale before being discarded.
Requests For Reconsideration
If an individual objects very strongly to a
particular item in the collection, a complaint may be made using the
Request for Reconsideration form. No complaints will be investigated
unless this form is completed in full. This form is also available from local
staff or by contacting the Director.
The completed form must be returned directly to the County
Librarian who will personally re-evaluate the title and report the
results directly to the individual making the complaint. A full report
will be made to the Haliburton County Library Board to whom final a
appeal may be made but only after all other processes have been
followed.
Library Internet Policies
Internet access service may be provided to registered patrons of the Haliburton County Public Library as part of its Mission Statement. The service is intended primarily to be an information resource which compliments the library's traditional resources by providing users with access to a wealth of resources outside the library.
The Internet functions as an unregistered, global environment and therefore provides access to a wide variety of resources over which the Board and/or the library have no control. The Library and/or Board is not responsible for the content of any or all resources which may be accessed through this service.
The Internet provides access to some information that may be considered to be offensive, controversial or inappropriate for children. Parents or guardians are expected to monitor and supervise their children's use of the Library's Internet resources.
The Library and/or Board may or may not provide a mix of filtered and unfiltered access stations in all locations. Filtered work stations include commercial filtering software designed to block sites that may contain pornographic or graphic images of a sexual or non-sexual nature. The Library and/or Board assume no responsibility should a filter be less than 100% effective. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to monitor a child's access to such material.
As a registered patron of the library system, users of the Library's Internet services are expected to accept and adhere to the code of conduct that follows. Completion of the appropriate Registration Card indicates acceptance of this code and violation may result in the loss of all library privileges.
All users agree
to the library or others,
to not attempt to damage or alter software or hardware for their own individual purposes or to hinder access to any aspect of the service
To ensure access to the Internet and efficient use of resources, the Library reserves the right to modify guidelines in support of these goals when and where appropriate.
APPROVED by the Haliburton County Library Board, December 1,1999
