Meeting Room Policy

SOUTHBURY PUBLIC LIBRARY 

Use of the Southbury Public Library Meeting Rooms 

Purpose

The Southbury Public Library is a town-owned facility. The library has meeting rooms primarily for library-sponsored activities. The library sponsors or co-sponsors many educational, cultural, civic and recreational programs. When the rooms are not needed for library activities, non-profit and/or community organizations that serve an educational, cultural, or civic role and are based in Southbury and/or serving the Southbury community may request use of the meeting rooms. These groups’ activities are not sponsored nor endorsed by the Southbury Public Library or Town of Southbury.  No commercial, private, or personal use of the meeting rooms is permitted. Meetings held at the Southbury Public Library must be open to all persons.

Reservation Policies

Priority use of all meeting rooms are library sponsored activities. The library reserves the right to deny a request for use of the rooms, and can cancel a reservation that has been made or preempt non-library use at the discretion of the Head Librarian. Notice of cancellation of a meeting room reservation will be given as far in advance as possible.

A written application to use a room must be submitted in advance. Applications will not be accepted more than two months in advance. Applications require approval by the Head Librarian. An adult must contract for use of the room by children’s groups and adequate adult supervision must be provided. No fee is charged for use of the meeting rooms; neither may any fee be charged attendees by the applicant.

In all advertising and press releases, it must be made clear that the sponsoring group should be contacted directly for information regarding the meeting and a contact name and telephone number must be provided. The sponsoring group is required to include in all advertising, social media, and news outlets the name of the sponsoring group and the following statement: “This program is not sponsored or endorsed by the Southbury Public Library.” in text size comparable to the rest of the advertisement.

 Any violation of this section of this policy will preclude any future use of the meeting room until further notice.

The library reserves the right to limit the times a single group may reserve a meeting room during the calendar year.

The Library’s Meeting Rooms shall be available during regular library hours only. Meetings will not go beyond 15 minutes before closing and all attendees must be out of the library by closing time.

Room Usage General Guidelines

• Admission may not be charged.
• Items may be sold only with the permission of the Head Librarian.
• In accordance with Connecticut State Law, smoking is prohibited.
• All applications must name an authorized person responsible for housekeeping, security of the room and use of the AV equipment.
• The audio-visual equipment may be used by the authorized person with assistance from library staff.
• The library will not be responsible for any outside materials or any other items owned by an individual or group used in the meeting rooms.

Kingsley Room and Brown Room Usage

• The rooms shall be left in a clean and orderly condition.  The authorized person will be responsible for damage to library equipment or premises. Such damage shall be reported promptly to the Head Librarian. Any professional repairs or cleaning costs will be borne by the authorized person.
• The Kingsley kitchen may be used for water and refrigeration purposes only. The kitchen must be left in a clean and orderly condition. Extra chairs and tables are in storage closets.
• The authorized person is responsible for setting up the Kingsley room and upon leaving, the furniture must be left as found.
• In case of emergency, attendees must exit the library immediately.

Supervision and Responsibility for Order

The authorized person using the Meeting Room is responsible for supervising the meeting and ensuring attendees adhere to the Library’s Behavior Policy. Meetings that interfere with normal Library use will not be permitted.

Failure to comply with Meeting Room Policy and Behavior Policy will result in cancellation of the meeting and/or a denial of future requests for use of the room.

This policy is subject to continuous review by the Library Board of Directors.

Approved by Library Board of Directors July 2005; revised June 3, 2015

Revised and approved by Southbury Public Library Board of Directors – June 8, 2022

The occupancy limits for the Kingsley Room are the following:

• With the divider open, using the full room:
  • Chairs only: 175 persons
  • Table and chairs: 82 persons
• With the divider in place:
  • Chairs only: 92 persons
  • Tables and chairs: 43 persons

The occupancy limits for the Brown Room are the following:

• Chairs only: 64
• Tables & Chairs: 35

Important Note: If the stage area in the Kingsley Room is used for tables or display, the occupancy limit must be reduced by 240 sq., ft, or 34 persons with  chairs only and 16 persons with tables and chairs.