3.40 - The Unattended Child

The mission of the Royal Oak Public Library is to be an informational, intellectual, cultural and recreational resource for all people; to inspire the spirit, educate the mind, and be a center of community pride.

Background
The Royal Oak Public Library encourages children and their families to use the library facility together. All children are welcome and the library offers many programs for children with the goal of encouraging the lifelong appreciation of books and other resources.
 
Policy
Caregivers (parents, guardians or assigned adult caregivers) are responsible for the welfare and the behavior of children using the library. Though staff will always respond with care and concern, the library is not responsible for safety, comfort and behavior of unattended children.  

No child under the age of 11 shall be left unattended without the supervision of their caregivers.  
  • Children under the age of 6 must be in the direct sight or presence of their caregiver;
  • Children ages 6 through 8 must have a caregiver on the same level of the library; 
  • Children ages 9 and 10 must have a caregiver in the library building. 
Scheduled library programs will specify when an adult must be with the child in the program.  Adults bringing children to library programs must remain in the library building while the program is in progress and be ready to meet their child when the program is over.

Library staff may not transport or otherwise accompany any unattended child outside of the building.
    
Protocol
When a child is discovered to be unattended, library staff on duty are instructed to:
  • Attempt to locate the caregiver in the library and explain the Unattended Child Policy.
  • Attempt to contact a caregiver to retrieve the child.
  • Call the Royal Oak Police to take charge of the child if a caregiver cannot be located within 30 minutes. 
  • Assist any unattended child in contacting their caregivers 15 minutes before closing time. 
  • Notify Royal Oak Police that a child is unattended at closing. Two library employees must remain until the police have retrieved the child. 
  • Document the above with an Incident Report.
Adopted October 24, 2006; Reaffirmed 05/27/08; reaffirmed 05/24/2011; revised May 27, 2014; revised May 24, 2016.