ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS TAB: Governance DOCUMENT NUMBER: ARM 10-50-30 SECTION: Library Board of Directors SUBJECT: ROLES SUMMARY This regulation lists Roles adopted by the Library Board. Library programs for services and collections are based on these Roles. Effective Date: Reaffirmed: April 15, 1992 October 22, 2020 October 13, 2022 The Board of Directors of the Johnson County Library adopted the following non-prioritized Roles for the Library, with accompanying descriptive components, on April 15, 1992: Information for Life 1. The Library provides access to information and materials in a variety of formats on a broad range of topics of interest to users of all ages to assist in the problem-solving and decision-making required by the wide variety of life-roles they fill, both in conducting their daily lives and activities and in seeking to improve themselves. 2. The Library provides information and materials presenting all points of view and reflecting the world community's diversity of culture and the local community's needs. This is necessary for a free, concerned people living in a diverse, democratic society. 3. The Library provides programs and other activities to assist users of all ages in accessing the broad range of this information and these materials in a manner appropriate to their needs, and in acquiring information literacy. Physical and bibliographic access to greater depth of knowledge and information than available on-site is provided through electronic means and interlibrary loan. Business, Management, and Career Information 1. The Library provides business, management, and career information, with an emphasis on the current, to individuals, profit and non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies, recognizing the cultural, educational, and economic diversity of these users. 2. The Library provides this information in its broadest range of formats and provides physical and bibliographic access to materials not available in the Library through technology, referral, and interlibrary loan. User education is an important component of the Role. 3. The Library promotes this service and consults with the business and management community to ensure that users are provided with the materials most relevant to their needs and that the Library is an inclusive, active contributor to the economic development of the district and region. Local Information 1. The Library serves as a clearinghouse for current information on community organizations, issues, and services for individuals, profit and non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies. The Library assists in placing the current local community life in its broader geographic, cultural, and historical context. 2. The Library provides this information and these materials cognizant of the fact that the Library serves the members of a culturally diverse democratic society, and as such is obliged to represent the range of points of view and needs of the whole community, even if they are unorthodox or unpopular. 3. The Library provides access to materials and information produced by governments and governmental agencies with which district citizens must interact in their personal and career lives. 4. The Library cooperates with other agencies and governments in pursuit of this Role and promotes these services to users. Resource for Students and Learners 1. The Library provides a broad range of information and materials, selected in the context of all Roles, that can be accessed by students and self-directed learners of all ages. The Library does not support specific curricula of educational institutions and organizations but will examine student needs as it selects materials in other Roles and be aware of courses of study and assignments for which students are likely to come to the library. 2. The Library provides to users of all ages access to information and materials in a variety of formats encompassing the breadth of knowledge, providing background for understanding ourselves, the locale, nation, world, and universe we inhabit, and the diversity of people with which we interact. Physical and bibliographic access to greater depth of knowledge and information than available on-site is provided through electronic means and interlibrary loan. 3. The Library recognizes the purpose and methods of students and self-directed learners and seeks to meet their needs in approaching information and materials for the purpose of learning. 4. The Library provides bibliographic and physical access to non-curriculum specific materials students and learners require, using such methods as informational programs, interlibrary loan, a range of bibliographic resources, and online information. 5. The Library provides, in cooperation with other agencies, support of the GED program, adult literacy programs, and English-as-a-second-language programs. Reading and Media Use for Leisure 1. The Library provides current, high-demand, high-interest materials for all ages in a variety of formats. 2. The Library actively promotes and encourages use of both current and non-current materials, by all ages and reading abilities, as leisure-time activities. The Library recognizes the special needs of young readers and works to encourage these persons to a lifetime of reading. 3. The Library provides broad access to materials for leisure, including booklists and bibliographies, programs, interlibrary loan, and ease of bibliographic and physical access to materials among its facilities. The Library seeks to make available a wide diversity of points of view, themes, opinions, and expression, reflecting the diversity of the community and world we inhabit, and the diversity of reader tastes and interests. October 13, 2022 ARM 10-50-30 End