Use Policy

As a public library, the Thomas Memorial Library's primary responsibility is to serve the general public. During prescribed hours, the Thomas Memorial Library will be open, and its books and services will be available to the public. People of all ages are welcome in the library for any period of time provided they follow the library's rules of conduct. Use of the library shall not be denied to any person for racial, religious, economic, or political reasons. However, use of the library may be denied to any person who, in the judgment of the Library Director and Trustees, habitually fails to return books on time, or to pay fines due, damages books or library property, or causes undue disturbance to other patrons. Requests for services by groups or individuals that interfere with or curtail service to the general public will be deemed excessive and may be limited at the discretion of library staff.

Use of the Library by Minors

The Thomas Memorial Library, in accordance with the Library Bill of Rights, does not restrict the access of minors to any library materials. The responsibility for the safety and behavior of children visiting the library rests with the parent, guardian, or assigned chaperone, not with the library staff. Children under the age of six must be accompanied by an adult at all times. In the interest of safety, parents or guardians must pick up children under the age of sixteen by the close of the library's business day. Children left on library property at closing will be brought to the attention of the Cape Elizabeth Police Department.

Use of the Library By Groups

In fulfillment of its mission, the Thomas Memorial Library welcomes the opportunity to educate the public on better use of the library facility. Toward this end, the Thomas Memorial Library will seek to accommodate visits by organized groups (e.g., schools, clubs, organizations). However, due to limited staff availability, the library requires groups to schedule in advance appropriate times for visits. In order to avoid excessive service demands, individual group members may not register as patrons or check out materials during group visits.

Rules of Conduct

The library will attempt to ensure an atmosphere conducive to patron usage by establishing rules of conduct. Library users are asked to behave in accordance with the following rules.

While in the library, no person shall:

  1. Smoke, or drink alcoholic beverages; other drink or food will be permitted only in authorized areas.
  2. Damage, deface, or misuse library materials or facilities.
  3. Improperly remove library materials or equipment.
  4. Engage in loud or boisterous conduct, or physical intimacy.
  5. Bring animals into the library, except those required for personal assistance or which are part of library programming.
  6. Engage in conduct that interferes with use or enjoyment of the library by others.
  7. Engage in conduct that disrupts library programs.
  8. Be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or engage in any substance abuse.
  9. Use any library materials or facility for purposes other than those for which such materials or facilities are intended.
  10. Engage in abusive language or abusive behavior toward other patrons or library staff.
  11. Violate any state or local law or ordinance while in the library or on library grounds.
  12. Solicit for any reason except as permitted by the Board of Trustees.

Those failing to adhere to these rules will be required to leave the library.

Public Access Computers

To ensure the maximum accessibility of limited resources, the public may sign up to use the computers one (1) time per day per person. The following rules govern the use of computers at the Thomas Memorial Library:

  1. Patrons must sign up with the librarian at the reference desks.
  2. Patrons wishing to use the Internet only will be assigned to whichever workstation is available.
  3. Patrons are allowed 30 minutes to work at a computer. If no one else is waiting, a patron may continue to work for one (1) additional 30 minute time period, after which time he or she will be asked either to stop, or to switch to another computer.
  4. No more than two people can use a workstation at one time.
  5. Any behavior or use of the computers that disturbs others will not be tolerated. This includes: loud voices or laughter, looking over another’s shoulder, inappropriate language, loud music from a web site, or any other behavior that is offensive to other library users.
  6. Federal and State communication laws must be observed.
  7. Users may not write to the hard drive or in any other way change the system configurations. The Library's software may not be copied for personal use; doing so is a violation of copyright laws and the Library's licensing agreement with the software suppliers.
  8. Users may print only one (1) copy of any item, and then use the photocopier to make duplicates at ten (10) cents per copy.
  9. Library computer privileges will be suspended as a result of any inappropriate use of the library’s computers.

It is not the purview of the library staff to provide extensive training on the computer; manuals are available for patron use.