Regular Review and Evaluation

Your library may have a long list of policies, some of which may be long overdue for review. Where to begin? Start by considering which policies, if any, address an urgent, or time-sensitive, issue in your library. Then, consider what policies are most important to your library’s operations and staff.

Urgent policy changes:

Urgent means that there is an immediate, time-sensitive issue that needs to be addressed through policy as soon as possible. Perhaps there is a recent change to the law, to your agreement with the city or county, or to city/county policies that needs to be reflected in a library policy. The board may prioritize policies when there is a time-sensitive issue to be addressed, even if that policy has been recently reviewed.

Important policy changes:

Important means that the policy may not be urgent but that it has a profound impact on library services. For example:

If your library has switched to a new catalog system, you may need to update your circulation policies and procedures to match your new everyday practices.

Something New?

If your library is adding a brand new service or physical space within the library, such as a new meeting room or a makerspace, you may need to consider whether the library’s current policies cover use of that new service or space, whether those policies need to be updated to include the new service or space, or whether you need a brand new policy to address unique considerations pertaining to the new service or space.