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Policies

Jefferson College Library's Policies

Technology Policy

Computer and Technology Policies

The Jefferson College Library aims to promote access to information for patrons, staff, faculty, and community members. To best accomplish this, the librarians and staff must make the best use of limited time and resources. This means prioritizing the needs of students, faculty, and staff, and defining the boundaries of reasonable expectations for technology assistance. This policy has been created to clarify the parameters of technology instruction/assistance and library device use in addition to the general campus Computer Use Policy and the Privacy/Confidentiality Policy.

  1. Definitions- access

Access is the primary ethical imperative for librarians. Access involves connecting patrons with information in a timely manner, and providing an opportunity for patrons to investigate and understand the information the library makes available.

Definitions- reasonable expectations

Reasonable expectations are presuppositions that library staff will help a patron fulfill his/her/their information needs, while simultaneously allowing the library to maintain normal functioning. Expectations that are unreasonable presuppose large amounts of time, energy, and work invested on the part of library staff, such that they are unable to perform their regular duties, or to assist other patrons. These expectations might include performing tasks that are the responsibility of the patron, a retail employee, or a trained professional external to the library or college (e.g. programming cell-phones, designing flyers, offering medical/legal advice, etc.)

Definitions- technology Instruction

Technology Instruction is defined as in-depth assistance with and education in the use of particular programs, apps, and/or the use of devices. Instruction will be provided in specific instances for students, faculty or staff as it is relevant to campus business/academic pursuits. Reasonable (see above) assistance with programs and devices will be provided by staff so long as it does not interfere with the regular functioning of the library.

  1. Purpose:
  1. To establish a policy concerning library technology, and to provide guidelines for library staff and faculty to assist patrons in their information seeking, while also indicating the extent to which a single patron/community member may expect a librarian to assist, and what expectations may be deemed unreasonable or disruptive to the regular functions of the library.
  2. To allow the library to maintain normal functions, and provide guidance for the assistance of patrons, staff, faculty, and students in due course;
  3. To make certain that Library staff have a reference for specific expectations about time management, and patron assistance with regard to library or personal technology;
  4. To make available to all users of Jefferson College Library the policies regarding library technology and assistance.
  1. Guidelines:

Access to library resources will be prioritized for students, faculty, and staff during regular library hours. This includes both library technology and the time and expertise of library staff. To ensure the equitable delivery of all library resources, the amount of time that staff has to provide instruction on demand is limited. 

  1. “All users must adhere to the Jefferson College Academic Computer Use Policy…. Community members who would like to use a campus computer should contact a staff member. Approval will be based on availability of computers and an agreement to abide by the policies. All lab users under the age of 18 who are not currently enrolled in a Jefferson College credit class must have written parental consent on file in order to use the internet.” See Computer Use Policy – “User Eligibility”
  1. Staff will prioritize technology assistance for tasks related to college courses, faculty and staff research, with the exception of community engagement and outreach through specific facilities and programming through the History Center and FDLP program.
  1. Patrons must not engage in any activity that disrupts the normal operations of the library.  This includes asking for unreasonable assistance with personal devices (e.g. cell phones, tablets, laptops, and other personal devices), or repeatedly requesting library staff to perform basic or rudimentary tasks such as printing documents, saving documents, word processing, sending emails, etc.
  1. Staff members will help access programs and explain basic usage but cannot offer individual instruction except during workshops or Library Use Instruction sessions.  There are a number of informative materials available in the Library, and patrons are encouraged to investigate formal educational programs offered by the college through Continuing Education or other local programs.
  1. Patrons must respect copyright laws and licensing agreements and abide by general rules of acceptable Internet conduct. 
  1. Acts or behavior not in compliance with the Computer Use Policy, Social Media Policy, or Library Technology Policy will result in revocation of the user’s computer privileges.
  1. Procedures:

Patrons are responsible for inputting their own data in all forms, applications, and documents to ensure privacy and academic integrity is maintained. Likewise, patrons must input any data, or follow any procedure on their own devices. Library staff should avoid handling patron devices for liability purposes.  Library staff should avoid performing tasks for patrons such as homework, quizzes, tests, or job applications. Priority for information instruction will be given to students doing research.

  1. Staff should avoid providing specific answers to homework, assistance with tasks in online labs, tests, or quizzes for which students/patrons are expected to work on their own.
  1. Requests for assistance with tasks outside the mission and purview of the library staff will be limited to 5- 10 minutes. Such tasks include: copying, scanning, and printing documents, assistance with consumer technologies (including online finance, email, web design, setting up personal devices including laptops, cell-phones, smartwatches), formatting documents in Microsoft Office/Google Docs, or other word processing program, and projects otherwise unrelated to the mission of Jefferson College Library. Ultimately librarians strive to provide access to information, but must also spend limited time and resources wisely. Determinations on this point are ultimately up to the individual staff member in consultation with librarian(s). 
  1. Library staff should encourage community patrons to respect the overarching priority of the Jefferson College Library, which is to support research and inquiry for students, staff, and faculty.

Technology Guidelines and helpful documents:

Computer Use Policy

https://www.jeffco.edu/computerusepolicy/

Social Media Policy

https://www.jeffco.edu/wp-content/uploads/old_files/files/library/social_media_policy.pdf

Privacy/ Confidentiality Policy

https://www.jeffco.edu/wp-content/uploads/old_files/files/library/Privacy_Confidentiality_Policy.pdf

Chat Policy

https://www.jeffco.edu/wp-content/uploads/old_files/files/library/chat_policy.pdf