Children in the Library

Children are welcome to be at the library with their parents/guardians. The library cares about children’s well-being and safety, and therefore has developed this policy with these concerns in mind.

  • Parents/guardians are responsible for their children at all times while at the library.
  • Parents/guardians must ensure that their children are behaving in a manner that respects other patrons and library staff members, which includes keeping conversations at a respectful noise level. Should repeated disturbances of other patrons or library staff members occur during the same visit, parents/guardians and their children will be asked to leave the library. They may return at any time, but the same expectations regarding behaviour will be in effect.
  • Library computers provide unfiltered Internet access. If parents/guardians log their children on to the library computers, they assume responsibility for what their children view on these computers.
  • Library collections are designed to support the teaching and research needs of the Acadia University community, and contain a variety of resources. Parents/guardians assume responsibility for the content of the information resources which their children access.
  • Parents/guardians are not to leave their children who are under 12 years old unattended at the library.
  • Library staff members will not assume responsibility for children in the library, and therefore will not supervise them.

If a library staff member discovers that a child has been left unattended:

  • This staff member will escort the child to the Access Services desk.
  • The unattended child will be asked to wait with a designated library staff member at the Access Services desk while another library staff member notifies Safety and Security about the situation. However, children will not be detained at the library should they wish to leave. Library staff members are unable to prevent children from leaving the library on their own or accompanied by other individuals.
  • Safety and Security will attempt to locate the parents/guardians of the child.
  • If Safety and Security cannot locate the child’s parents/guardians, they will notify the police and request their assistance.