Acceptable Internet Use Policy

Use of the Internet by the public is permitted and encouraged where such use supports the goals and objectives of the Duchess & District Public Library. However, The Duchess & District Public Library has a policy for the use of the Internet whereby the public must ensure that they:

- comply with current legislation
- use the Internet in an acceptable way
- do not create unnecessary risk to the library by their misuse of the Internet

Unacceptable Behaviour

 In particular the following is deemed unacceptable use or behaviour by the public:

- visiting Internet sites that contain obscene, hateful, pornographic or otherwise illegal material
- using the computer to perpetrate any form of fraud, or software, film or music piracy
- using the Internet to send offensive or harassing material to other users
- downloading commercial software or any copyrighted materials belonging to third parties, unless this download is covered or permitted under a commercial agreement or other such license
- hacking into unauthorized areas
- publishing defamatory and/or knowingly false material about our patrons on social networking sites, “blogs” (online journals), “wikis” and any online publishing format
- undertaking deliberate activities that waste staff effort or networked resources
- introducing any form of malicious software into the corporate network

Monitoring

The Duchess & District Public Library accepts that the use of the Internet is a valuable business tool. However, misuse of this facility can have a negative impact upon productivity and the reputation of the library. In addition, all the library’s Internet-related resources are provided for business purposes. Therefore, the library maintains the right to monitor the volume of Internet and network traffic, together with the Internet sites visited. The specific content of any transactions will not be monitored unless there is a suspicion of improper use.

Sanctions

Where it is believed that a patron has failed to comply with this policy, they will face the Library’s disciplinary procedure. If the patron is found to have breached the policy, they will face a disciplinary penalty ranging from a verbal warning to refusal to use of the computer.