Library Cards

Social Media Policy

Through our social media presence, the Potomac Public Library strives to provide a welcoming and inviting online space where patrons can find useful information about library events, materials, services and programs.

Patrons may use the library’s social media sites to connect with library staff, exchange information or pose questions or comments about library-related matters.

Patrons who post on the library’s social media sites should have no expectation of privacy.

By choosing to join, use and/or comment on the library’s social media sites, patrons consent to the library’s right to access, monitor and read any postings.

The library reserves the right to review and delete content deemed inappropriate, irrelevant or inconsistent with our sites’ stated purpose.

Inappropriate content includes, but is not limited to:

• Racist or sexually explicit language or material
• Abusive or harassing comments, threats, insults or language inciting violence
• Publishing others’ private or personal information without their consent
• Commercial promotions, solicitations, spam or organized political activity
• Conducting or encouraging illegal activity or violation of library policies
• Copyrighted, trademarked or plagiarized material
• Photos or images that fall into any of the categories above

The Potomac Public Library is not responsible or liable for content posted by any subscriber or user of its social media sites.

The comments or posts on social media sites do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the library, its officers or staff. Users of these sites should exercise their own judgment about the accuracy of any information presented online.

Materials Selection Policy

The Board of Trustees and staff of the Potomac Public Library believe that it’s libraries’ fundamental mission to support all people in their enjoyment of reading, learning and discovery.

Because the freedoms to read, to listen and view are cornerstones of democracy, it’s in the public interest for libraries such as ours to provide equal access to information and ideas. And libraries do so by building broad collections of materials and resources with diverse viewpoints and forms of expression.

Naturally, some materials and their themes will not appeal to some people. And that’s okay. Community members are free to choose which materials in the library’s collections they want to use as well as those they do not. Parents and guardians bear the responsibility for deciding which materials they want their children to consume.

Although some individuals or groups may find certain books, media or topics objectionable, they do not have the right to ban them or restrict other patrons’ access to those materials.

The Potomac Public Library board and staff endorse the American Library Association’s “Library Bill of Rights,” as well as its “Freedom to Read” and “Freedom to View” statements.

To best serve our community,

• The library endeavors to provide collections and enable access to materials with diverse perspectives that explore differing sides of topics without favoring any one viewpoint, to the extent the library’s budget and space allow.
• Adding items to the library’s collections is not an endorsement of the ideas or content they contain.
• Materials will not be added to or excluded from our collections automatically because an individual or group endorses or disapproves of the content or author.
• Parents or guardians – and not library staff – are responsible for overseeing and controlling their children’s use of library materials.

Our selection criteria

Materials and electronic resources are selected by the library director using professional judgment and criteria such as:

• Artistic merit
• Authors’ or publishers’ recognized authority on issues
• Award winning titles or works generally viewed as “classics”
• Current or historical significance
• Accurate and objective content
• Cultural diversity
• Authors or subjects of local interest
• Patron requests or popular demand
• Price
• Available space