Social Media Policy

Social Media Policy

Wheaton Public Library (WPL) participates in various online social media applications as a way for library staff and community members to interact through virtual (internet) communication. WPL regards online social media in the same way as its other information resources in accordance with its mission of serving the community’s needs for educational, cultural, and recreational pursuits.

Social media may be defined, but not limited to networking sites (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), photo/video sharing sites, blogs, self-published online journals, collaborative web-based discussion forums, and forms of online broadcast communications. The following policies specifically apply to social media sites maintained by WPL (example: facebook.com/wheatonlibrary) and are to serve as guidelines for members of the public electing to post content on WPL maintained social media sites.

While WPL recognizes and respects differences in opinion, all content posted to sites maintained by the library are subject to Wheaton Public Library’s Patron Rules of Conduct. All postings which contain any of the following will be removed and the poster will be banned from posting any subsequent messages/comments to WPL maintained social media sites:

• Comments that promote, foster, or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation
• Obscene material
• Inappropriate language
• Harassing or abusive behavior, including
  • Threatening language or language that promotes or invokes violence
  • Online stalking
• Unlawful behavior
  • Examples include potentially libelous statements, use of plagiarized or copy written material, or photos, other images or audio-visual materials that fall into the aforementioned categories
• Selling, soliciting, or mass distribution of materials
• Content not topically related to social media post or library's mission
• Personal or private information published without consent

WPL assumes no liability regarding any event or interaction that takes place by any participant in WPL maintained social media sites and does not endorse or review content outside the sites created and maintained by WPL staff.

Board Approved as Official Policy 12/15/2014

Updated 7/15/2019