The
library provides meeting space for local organizations
and businesses. The Meeting Room, which can accommodate
up to 90 people, provides kitchen facilities and audio-visual
equipment. The Storytime Room is suitable for
smaller groups up to 35 people and also has audio-visual
equipment. There is no fee for use by non-profit organizations.
There is a fee of $20.00 per hour for use by businesses.
For more information please read our Meeting
Room Policy below. You may apply
for a meeting room online or download
the application and return it to the library. You
may also contact Nancy Marvan in the Library's Administration
office with any question or to directly make a reservation.
Meeting
Room Policy
The meeting rooms of the Hinsdale Public Library
are available primarily to meet the operational needs of the
Library and Library-related organizations like the Hinsdale
Library Foundation and the Friends
of the Library. Activities sponsored or co-sponsored by the
Library or a Library-related organization have priority.
When not being used for the above mentioned activities,
meeting rooms may be booked by not-for-profit organizations
and groups and by businesses subject to the following policies,
procedures, and requirements:
Facilities : Two rooms are available for public meetings,
all located in the Library's lower level. The Meeting Room
seats up to 80 people in a theater arrangement; the Storytime
Room seats up to 35 people in a theater arrangement.
Reservations : All reservation requests must be submitted
in writing on a "Library Meeting Room Reservation
Request" form to the Library
Administration Office at least five days before the proposed
meeting or event. The Reservation Request must be signed
by an active member of the organization who is both a resident
and at least 18 years old. This individual will be the liaison
between the organization and the Library and someone the
library can contact if needed. Requests will be considered
in the order they are received.
The Meeting Room and Storytime Room may be
reserved up to six months in advance. To the extent possible,
staff will accommodate requests for use of a particular room,
but rooms will be assigned or reassigned as needed in accordance
with what is deemed to be in the best interests of the Library.
No organization may meet in the Library regularly more than
two days per month without the approval of the Library Board.
Fees : There is no fee for use by not-for-profit organizations.
Businesses will be charged $20.00 per hour for use of a meeting
room which must be paid at the time of application. Room
use fees will be
returned if the room is unavailable or if the business cancels
the reservation at least one week in advance.
Hours: Meetings shall be held during regular Library hours
and rooms cleared at least 10 minutes
before closing time.
Access to Meetings : All meetings must be open
to the general public except for closed sessions convened
by governmental bodies in compliance with the Illinois Open
Meetings Act. No organization or business may charge admission
to those who attend a meeting or function. An organization
may, however, ask its membership for contributions to help
defray expenses directly related to a particular program
held in the Library, provided such contributions are neither
collected in the Library nor solicited, directly or indirectly,
from the general public as a mandatory price of admission.
Activities held in the Library are subject to the requirements
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) .
Organizations must comply with applicable ADA requirements
when using Library meeting rooms and are responsible for
providing, and if necessary paying for, qualified interpreters
or auxiliary aids requested in order to accommodate any person(s)
in accordance with such requirements.
Information about Meetings and Organizations: Public notice
about scheduled meetings will be posted each month in a designated
area of the Library. The notice will include: the date and
time of the meeting; the meeting room assigned; the name
of the organization or business; the nature and purpose of
the meeting; and the name and phone number of the organization's
Liaison.
Completed " Library Meeting
Room Reservation Request " forms are
public records and will be made available to the public
or press upon written request.
Set-up and Clean-up: Organizations must provide for reasonable
clean-up after a meeting. Library staff will not be made
available to provide support services such as carrying equipment
or materials into or around the Library, operating projectors
and other equipment, and making coffee or photocopies. Organizations
must bring their own supplies and refreshments. Equipment,
supplies, and the personal effects of an organization or
any of its members may not be left or stored in the Library
on a continuing basis.
Library Equipment : The Library provides audio-visual equipment
for use in the meeting rooms. The group must provide a knowledgeable
person to operate any equipment. A group may request, at
least one week in advance, training on how to use the equipment.
Behavior: Organizations that meet
in the Library, as well as the individuals who attend their
meetings, must comply with all policies, rules, and regulations
outlined in the statement of "Policies Governing Behavior
in the Library," copies of which are available at all service
desks as well as from the Library Administration Office.
Food and Other Refreshments: Use of food and other refreshments
at a meeting or function must be approved in advance as part
of the room reservation process. Refreshments may not be
taken from a meeting room.
Alcoholic beverages are not allowed in the Library. Neither
smoking nor other use of tobacco is permitted on Library
premises.
Responsibility: An organization's liaison,
as well as the organization itself, shall be held responsible
for damage to Library property. It is expected that the liaison
will attend each meeting and will assume responsibility for
coordinating an organization's activities and behavior while
it is using the Library. A liaison must attend, and assume
direct responsibility for, any function in which there are
participants under the age of 18.
Sponsorship or Endorsement : Use of Library meeting room
space by an organization does not constitute Library sponsorship
or endorsement of the organization or its activities. Advertisements
or announcements that either directly or indirectly imply
otherwise shall not be permitted .
Prohibited Uses and Activities : Library meeting rooms may
not be used to promote or advertise, directly or indirectly,
a commercial product or service. Activities and materials
that are obscene, defamatory, invade a particular person's
privacy, or directly incite violence are prohibited. Materials
or equipment that, in the judgment of the Library Director,
are potentially dangerous to Library users, staff, or property
may not be brought into any area of the Library.
Solicitations, Sales, and Promotions : Except as provided
for below, organizations may neither solicit nor collect
donations in the Library.
Library-related organizations such as the Friends of the
Library and the Hinsdale Library Foundation may have special
sales or promotions in the Library. Any similar activity
by another organization is prohibited unless specifically
authorized by the Library Board.
Non-Compliance : The Library Director will rescind the meeting
room privileges of any organization that fails to comply
with the policies, procedures, and requirements outlined
above.
Appeal Process : Decisions by the Library Director to reject
an organization's or to rescind an organization's meeting
room privileges, may be appealed. Such an appeal must be
made in writing to the Library Board no more than 14 days
after formal notification of the Library Director's decision
is received. After a written appeal is received, the Board
President will appoint a committee of Library trustees to
review the matter. This committee will make its recommendation
to the Board within 60 days, and the Board will make a determination
about the appeal. Within one week, the appellant will be
notified in writing of the Board's decision.
Public Use of Meeting Rooms for Study and Other Purposes
: Meeting rooms may not be used by individuals for study
or any other purpose. Use of meeting rooms for group study
is prohibited, with the following exception.
At the discretion of the Head
of the Youth and Young Adult Services Department, or the
librarian-in-charge of the department, students in fourth
grade and up who are enrolled in a school located within
the boundaries of District 181 may use the Storytime Room
for group study projects. Such usage is governed by the statement
of "Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines Covering the Use
of the Storytime Room for Group Study Projects," copies of
which are available at the Youth Services Desk.
Situations Not Covered : Any situation not specifically
covered above will be resolved by the Library Director.
