[Publib] staff children in library

[Wynita Worley]

Oh boy is this a big issue. The situation depends on the conduct of the
employee and the children. Last year my library created a policy on this to
accommodate a single mother who worked for us. Needless to say, she didn't
follow the policy, her children distracted her from her job and annoyed
other staff members, and the employee finally quit. I know the previous
director and I were relieved. These two girls in question were not bad or
mean children ( I think they were 3rd and 5th graders), they were simply
undisciplined. When they were here, they would not sit still and were
literally running all over the library (or skating in those roller shoes).
We tried distracting them with movies when our community room was not used,
but they still wouldn't stay put. They would be at the desk hanging onto
their mother or following our teenage pages around while they were working
or approaching other staff members to say they were bored. When they weren't
doing that, their mother was constantly leaving the desk to check on them or
catering to their needs. 

 

However, I will say that we still have another employee who brings her son
to work sometimes until her husband can pick him up. He is absolutely the
quietest, most well-behaved nine-year-old I have met and we don't mind him
being here. He and his mother follow the policy as follows:

 

"An employee's school-age children may be at the library while the parent is
working. However, during scheduled work time the employee's first priority
must be his/her job. Children must stay in library's public areas and must
abide by rules governing all other customers. They should be "invisible" to
other customers, meaning that no one would recognize that they are an
employee's children. Employees may not bring a preschool child, or any older
child with the needs normally associated with a preschooler, to the library
with the intent that the employee will  mind the child during work time."

 

 

 

Wynita Worley

Public Services Librarian

Grant County Public Library 

201 Barnes Rd.

Williamstown, KY 41097

w.worley at fuse.net

859-824-2080

 

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