Meeting Room Policy

From the CCPLS Policy Manual…

XII- Meeting Rooms

As a public institution dedicated to free expression and free access to ideas representing all points of view concerning the problems and issues of our times, the Meeting Rooms of the Campbell County Public Library are available on equal terms for the lawful activities of all non-profit, community, educational, recreational, cultural, and civic groups who agree to abide by the regulations stated below.

First priority is given to Library sponsored activities and meetings as well as use by other County Departments or County sponsored meetings. Second priority is given to the groups outlined in the previous paragraph. When the room is not otherwise engaged, special use of the Meeting Rooms may be approved at the discretion of the Director.

The Library has a paramount need to provide a safe, peaceful and respectful environment in which patrons may use Library facilities. The Library has the authority to accept, renew, or reject requests for use of the meeting rooms. The Library reserves the right to reject a reservation request if the anticipated meeting is likely to be unreasonably disruptive to regular library functions, too large for the applicable room capacity, disorderly, dangerous to persons or property, or in any other way inconsistent with or in contravention of any of the terms and conditions of this policy. In determining whether such a likelihood exists, the Library may take into consideration the contents of the application form, the history of the group’s meeting room use in the library or elsewhere, and such other information as they may deem appropriate.

The Library Director has final authority in approval of applications and will make all policy decisions and interpretations.

Hours Available: Interior Rooms

Regular Library Hours (varies by branch)

Hours Available: Rooms with Outside Access

Sunday- Saturday 8am-10pm

Note: If initial access to the room is needed outside of regular library hours, groups must coordinate with Library employees in advance to obtain the necessary key or key code for entry. Examples include: early morning, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday use.

Reservations

Reservations should be made using the online booking system through the Library website. Once a reservation is requested, patrons will be sent an email to confirm the reservation and another email when Library employees have approved the booking. Please call the Library at least two days ahead if it is necessary to cancel. If you are unable to make an online booking, reservations may be made by calling the library.

Frequency of Meetings

In order to make the Meeting Rooms available to as many community groups as possible, and to allow for adequate use of the room for Library programs, the Library reserves the right to limit a group’s use of the room for multiple bookings and/or extended periods of time. No one will be granted permission to schedule the rooms on an ongoing basis except as provided within this document.

 Eligibility for Group Room Use

For Advanced Reserve:

1. An organization or group must be meeting for a non-monetary purpose or for the benefit of a non-profit organization. This excludes business purposes such as private tutoring, private counseling services, home retail sales, group sales, etc. No fee based services are allowed for any reason, as these facilities are provided as a free service to the community.
2. Local businesses, in their role as corporate citizens, may be permitted to use the meeting rooms for employee training purposes or other employee informational sessions.
3. Rooms may be booked up to 3 months in advance.
4. Campbell County and library events take precedent over other usages.
5. Any kind of voter registration, religious, or political event must be open to the public. Rooms may not be used for the purpose of political campaigning.
6. The library reserves the right to limit repeated scheduling.
7. The library reserves the right to assign the appropriate room for size to your group, which may change at any time.
8. No charge may be made for admittance to a meeting. Meeting rooms shall not be used for entrepreneurial or commercial purposes, for solicitation of business, presentations for the purpose of recruiting a sales force, for profit, or for fundraising, other than that which supports CCPLS, unless specifically permitted by the Library Director or Board. No goods or services shall be promoted, sold or exchanged upon the premises or by sample, pictures or description.
9. Groups may not use the library’s logo or imply library sponsorship in any promotional materials. The name of the group/ organization must be displayed prominently on any promotional materials with the library listed only as the meeting location. This includes printed items, such as flyers and online items, such as social media posts and graphics, website calendar entries, and eblasts.

For Spontaneous Use:

1. All of the above conditions apply.
2. If a room is vacant, patrons are welcome to “check out” the room for an hour at a time.
3. If the large community room is vacant, patrons are welcome to occupy that room at their leisure, understanding that both patrons and library employees may come and go from this space freely and that they may be asked to vacate the space for a scheduled event and preparation for a scheduled event.

General Guidelines

• All library policies apply, as well as local, state, and federal laws.
• The library reserves the right to have a library representative attend any meeting held in its facilities (excepting lawful executive sessions of governmental bodies) to ensure no unlawful activities or activities contrary to this policy are occurring on library premises. The library representative may enter the meeting at any time.
• Telephone messages for those attending meetings will be limited to emergencies only.
• Use of tobacco and vaping are not permitted in the Library Meeting Rooms.
• Attendance shall not exceed Fire Code Regulations.
  • • Rustburg Meeting Room: 100
    • Staunton River Meeting Room: 90
    • Patrick Henry Museum: 30
    • Timbrook Meeting Room: 49
• The Library does NOT provide babysitting services. Adults attending meetings should not leave their children unattended in the Library.
• The Meeting Rooms are not available for receptions, parties, showers, weddings, private social gatherings, or for regular religious services for any one organization.
• The Library reserves the right to request advanced copies of displays or literature to be distributed at meetings in the Meeting Rooms. Materials not in keeping with the Meeting Room policy will be prohibited.

• Limited kitchen facilities are available. Light refreshments, excluding alcoholic beverages, may be served. Reservations for use of the kitchen facilities should be made at the same time as that for the Meeting Rooms. The responsible person is expected to provide their own utensils and to leave the kitchen in order at the end of the meeting.
• Library staff cannot be responsible for taking registration fees, selling tickets, providing information about, or answering questions about non-library sponsored events.
• The Meeting Rooms may be booked as a meeting place for individuals gathering to sign a petition; however no petitions may be circulated outside of the Meeting Rooms.
• If the library is closed for inclement weather or any other reason, that supersedes your reservation.
• Any false, misleading, or incomplete statement in the application process shall be grounds to deny the use of the room by the applying group. Failure to fully complete the application form may result in the denial of a reservation request.
• There are no fees charged for use of the meeting rooms; donations are accepted.

Responsibilities and Requirements:

• Those using the Meeting Rooms are welcome to change the seating arrangement but are responsible for restoring the room to its original arrangement.
• A projector may be available for use upon request. During the time the room is reserved, you are responsible for the equipment. The library is not responsible for technology operation.
• When Meeting Rooms are to be used by organizations of students or other young people, a person 18 years old or older must make the reservation and must be present and responsible for the entire meeting.
• The responsible person booking the Meeting Room accepts full responsibility for proper conduct of those attending the meeting and for any damage to library property. The Chairperson or host is responsible for maintaining orderly conditions during the meeting, as well as when entering and leaving.
• The responsible person will be responsible for leaving the rooms in the condition in which they were found, and will be financially responsible for damage that may occur during its use of the rooms. If the Library determines that additional clean-up is needed, charges for janitorial services may be made.
• Neither the name nor the address of the Library may be used as the official address or headquarters of an organization.

Revised, reviewed and/or updated by the Campbell County Library Board of Trustees

June 2023