Pierce County Library System
Information & Imagination

Pierce County Library, in the role of community information center, accepts and displays various free and unsolicited materials.

Therefore, the library system shall:

1. Make community information of local origin readily available to patrons by displaying this material and by providing a display area within the limitations imposed by available space.
2. Allow space for free periodicals (magazines, newsletters, annual reports, etc.).
3. Allow space, when possible, for multiple copies of pamphlets, flyers, newsletters, etc., to be picked up by patrons.
4. Make materials available expressing varying points of view on controversial subjects.

Certain materials will not be accepted. Examples are:

1. Advertising by commercial, profit-making agencies.
2. Material promoting a certain organization/agency beyond basic information about such organization/agency.
3. Materials known to be illegal.

Procedures:

1. Items posted on our bulletin boards should be timely announcements of community activities, events and services. The nature of the organization sponsoring the event should not be a factor in determining suitability for posting.
2. Multiple copies of flyers and newsletters may be made available to our public in the area of the branch designated for such ephemera.
3. The size, appearance, and quantity of materials donated will be taken into account in determining whether they can be posted or otherwise made available without limiting our ability to meet the needs of other community interest groups and concerned individuals.
4. Materials will be displayed for 30 days or until the date of a specific event.
5. When space is a limiting factor, library-related materials shall be given priority.
6. Unsolicited materials, left in a branch library without staff acknowledgment, will be discarded.
7. Items left for approval will be kept by the library for five (5) days if not approved, during which time they may be picked up. Approved items will be displayed or made available for distribution as appropriate. Items will remain on display at the discretion of the library and subject to limits of space. Approved posters will be stamped with the date posted.

Posting of notices and distribution of material does not imply endorsement by the library. The library assumes no responsibility for the preservation or protection of any item posted or distributed.

Board Policy 3.13
Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Pierce County Rural Library District, June 20, 1991.

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