Meeting Room Policy
Wauconda Area Public Library District
Approved by the Board of Library Trustees originally on November 10, 2003
Revised by the Board of Library Trustees February 11, 2013
Revised by the Board of Library Trustees January 8, 2018
Revised by the Board of Library Trustees February 24, 2020
Revised by the Board of Library Trustees February 13, 2023
Revised by the Board of Library Trustees October 9, 2023
1.0 The Wauconda Area Public Library District herein thereafter referred to as (“Library”) provides meeting rooms to support the Library’s mission of providing and promoting a variety of library resources and services in response to the informational, educational, cultural, and recreational needs of the Wauconda Area Library district residents. Library meeting rooms are available for the operational needs of the Library first, then to provide accommodations for educational, informational, cultural, and civic functions within the Library District. Meeting rooms are only available to Library cardholders 18 years of age or older with a Library card in good standing. The person submitting the application shall be the contact person, unless specified otherwise, and must be present during the scheduled meeting. Persons booking the room must represent one of the following:
- Not-for-profit groups or individuals whose membership/residence is located within the Library district boundaries.
- Government bodies located within Library district boundaries.
2.0 Permission to use a meeting room does not constitute an endorsement of a group’s policies or beliefs. Advertisements for meetings held in the Library do not imply Library sponsorship. All press releases, promotional materials and other forms of publicity produced by the booking organization must contain the following statement:
“The Wauconda Area Public Library District provides Library Meeting Room space as a community service. The Library neither sponsors nor endorses this event nor the presenting individual(s) or organization(s).”
Failure to include this statement may result in cancellation of the reservation.
3.0 No organization may use the Library as its official address except the Wauconda Area Library Foundation. The Library is not responsible for items owned by community groups and left in the Library, nor can the Library provide storage for the property of organizations that meet here.
4.0 Meetings must be made open to the public. Individuals, groups or organizations using a meeting room assume full responsibility for paying for and providing special accommodations that are requested by participants in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
5.0 The meeting rooms may not be used for uses, events or activities which are contrary to the Library’s mission. Examples of uses and/or activities meeting rooms may not be used for include but are not limited to:
- Events, uses or other activities which, by their nature, may be disruptive to normal Library operations unless approved by the Library in advance of the reservation.
- Programs or events (including, but not limited to, workshops and seminars) involving the sale, advertising, solicitation, or promotion of commercial products or services presented by members of law firms, financial advisors, real-estate agencies, health care providers, or other commercial groups, individuals, or organizations are prohibited.
- Educational programs presented by credentialed professionals are permitted only when officially sponsored as a Library program. Applications to present an educational program may be made to Library programmers for consideration. Applications to present programs do not constitute a binding agreement to conduct a program at the Library.
- Civic organizations may be eligible to use meeting space for subjects of community, civic, cultural, governmental, or education interest; however, political rallies or electioneering are prohibited.
- Partisan or individual candidates’ political meetings or events organized for the purpose of endorsing or urging action such as voting for or against any candidate, position, question or referendum.
- Fundraising for any group or cause other than the Library.
- Religious or philosophical/motivational groups that wish to hold worship services, promotional services, ceremonies, prayers or events intended to recruit new members.
- Meetings for family, personal, or strictly social reasons, such as family reunions, weddings, receptions, birthday parties, recitals, etc.
- Any activity that is in violation of local, state, or federal ordinances or laws, including copyright and public performance laws.
6.0 The meeting rooms are available Monday - Friday during regular Library hours, and reservations must be made in advance. Applications for use of the meeting rooms are taken on a first-come, first-served basis, upon receipt of a completed Meeting Room Application. The group’s authorized representative reserving the room must be at least 18 years of age. The Library should be notified if a cancellation becomes necessary.
7.0 Failure to cancel sooner than 24 hours before the meeting is scheduled may result in future applications being denied. The only person authorized to cancel a meeting is the signer of the application or the contact specified on the application.
8.0 Applications must be submitted online at least seven days prior to the meeting date in order to allow sufficient time to process the application and notify the contact person. They will be accepted no earlier than three months before the desired meeting date. For example, for a meeting to be held on April 10, the earliest date an application may be submitted is January 10. The meeting rooms are not available for monthly reoccurring meetings. Groups are limited to one meeting room reservation per month.
9.0 Library personnel will set up and take down the room.
10.0 The meeting rooms must be left in the condition in which they were found before the meeting. If damage or mess results from the use of a Library meeting room, a fee may be assessed. The minimum fee for this will be $25.00, but the fee may be higher, based on the cost of repairing the damage or cleaning up the room.
11.0 The Library is unable to supply laptop computers or tablets for non-Library sponsored events.
12.0 No group may reassign the use of the room.
13.0 No behavior is allowed in the meeting rooms that may result in the damaging of any of the carpeting, furniture, walls, or fixtures. If such damage occurs, the organization using the room will be held responsible. The potential for any such damage may be considered grounds for denial of the organization’s application. Meetings that would cause disturbance or otherwise interfere with normal Library activities and work in any way will not be permitted.
14.0 The Library reserves the right to cancel the reservations for any meeting at any time. The Library will make an effort to provide notice of such cancellation as far in advance of the scheduled use of the room as is reasonably practicable.
15.0 The use of a meeting room is subject to the Library's sole and exclusive discretion. Accordingly, the Library reserves the right to deny the use of any meeting room to any group or individual for any reason or no reason at all.
16.0 If an organization is denied the use of a meeting room by the administration office, it can appeal to the Library Board of Trustees at the next regularly scheduled monthly meeting.