Social Media Policy
Definition of Social Media
Social media refers to any commercial digital platform, such as Facebook or Instagram, on which the Harrison Public Library maintains an account and participates as a user, and any website or application that the Library may manage, for the purpose of communication, outreach, and engagement with the public.
Purpose of Social Media
The Harrison Public Library uses social media to:
- Encourage the exchange of ideas and foster a welcoming, informed, and broad public forum in line with the Library’s mission.
- Share timely information about library programs, services, resources, and news;
- Engage the Harrison community in conversations around literacy, learning, and public enrichment;
- Strengthen public trust through consistent updates about library services and community-focused projects; and
Community Participation and Comment Guidelines
The Library encourages respectful and constructive dialogue on its social media channels. While comments and engagement are welcome, all posts are subject to moderation. The Library reserves the right to remove any comment or content that violates this policy.
Safety; Public Comments and Posts
Social media participants of all ages should be aware of recommended practices for personal safety in the virtual world. Parents and guardians are responsible for their children’s use while at the Library of social media and its devices and services. The Library does not act in place of a parent or guardian and is not responsible for enforcing any restrictions upon minors that a parent or guardian may place upon them.
Comments, posts, and messages from the community are welcome on Library social media accounts and services. We do not discriminate against any viewpoint, but the Library reserves its right, in its sole discretion, to monitor all user-generated content and to remove posts or comments that are unlawful or violate Library policies.
Please be aware of the following when engaging with the Library using social media:
- Comments need to be related to the posted topic. The Library reserves the right to remove content that is off-topic, regardless of the viewpoints expressed in it.
- Gratuitous links to sites and repeat submissions of the same (or very similar) contributions that constitute spam or trolling may result in the content being removed.
- Please safeguard personal information and DO NOT post any email address, home address, phone number or other personal information.
- Third-party sites have their own privacy policies that may apply to you.
The following types of content may be removed without notice:
- Profanity, obscenity, or hate speech
- Personal attacks, harassment, or threatening language
- Private or personally identifiable information (e.g., phone numbers, addresses)
- Content that impersonates another person or misrepresents identity
- Comments or links irrelevant to the topic or purpose of the post
- Spam, repetitive posts, or commercial promotions
- Political endorsements or campaigning
The Library is not responsible for content posted by non-staff users on its social media channels. The Library does not review for their truth statements that are made in posts and comments by others, and the Library does not have or assume any obligation to review non-staff users’ posts and comments under copyright or other law. The presence of a post or comment on the Library’s social media channels is not an endorsement of such content, or of the person responsible for it.
Disclaimer; Indemnification and Hold Harmless
By participating in the Library’s social media services, each user agrees to abide by the Library’s policies and all applicable federal, state and local laws. By participating in these services, each user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Library and its officers, agents and employees from and against all liabilities, judgments, damages, and costs, including, but not limited to, attorney’s fees, that arise out of or are related to the social media activity.
The Library is not responsible for and does not endorse content on social media services other than the official “pages” and “posts” created by the Library and its staff. Any views expressed by a user of the Library’s social media services are those of the individual author and do not represent the official views of the Library. To the extent practicable, the foregoing disclaimer, and related Library policies, will be posted on every social media service on which the Library maintains an account or active presence.
Adopted 7/1/13; Revised 12/1/2025