Social Media Policy
Purpose
Social Media provide a valuable and timely way for the Smyth County Public Library to disseminate information including promotion of programs and events, readers’ advisory, general library news, projects, and volunteer opportunities. Social Media also serve to inspire dialogue and increase the Library’s connection with the community. Social Media are also used to provide a forum for Library staff and Library users to share opinions and information about Library-related topics and issues.
Definition of Social Media
Social Media for the purposes of this policy are defined as any web application, website, or digital account created and maintained by the Smyth County Public Library to share content or to interact with the public. These include, but are not limited to, the Library website and social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Discord, and X (formerly Twitter).
Usage Rules
Smyth County Public Library welcomes the comments, posts, and messages of the community, and recognizes and respects differences in opinion. All comments, posts, and messages are subject to review, and the Smyth County Public Library reserves the right to remove any comment, post, or message that it deems inappropriate. The Smyth County Public Library is not responsible for or liable for any comment posted by any participant in a Library social media forum who is not a member of the Library’s staff.
Content containing any of the following will be removed immediately from any Smyth County Public Library social media forum:
- Obscene content or hate speech
- Personal attacks, insults, or threatening language
- Private or personal information, including phone numbers and addresses, or requests for personal information
- Potentially slanderous statements
- Falsification of identity
- Plagiarized material
- Comments, links, or information unrelated to the purpose of the forum
- Spam or other commercial, political, or religious messages unrelated to the Library or its social media postings
- Solicitation of funds
- Any images, links, or other content that falls into the above categories.
Users should have no anticipation of privacy in posting on Library-sponsored social media sites; by using such sites, users consent to the Library’s right to access, monitor, and read any posting on the sites. Users should understand that social media messages are permanent, retrievable, and public. Messages can potentially be read by anyone once posted, regardless of status on Friends, Follower, or Subscriber Lists. The Library recommends that users not post their personal information or contact information on social media sites.
The Library reserves the right to reproduce comments, posts, and messages in other public venues; such reproductions may be edited for space or content while retaining the original intent of the post.
The Library reserves the right to ban or block users who have posted in violation of this policy.
In addition, users are expected to comply with the terms and conditions set by third party social media platforms as well as follow appropriate federal and state law.
The Library asks that individual patron complaints be addressed directly to the Library Director or other Library staff member so they can be addressed promptly and specifically. Due to lack of privacy, Social Media are not the appropriate venues for discussing to individual patron issues.
Approval
This policy was approved by the Smyth County Public Library Board of Trustees at its regular meeting on October 21, 2021 and was reviewed and revised on October 23, 2025. This policy will be reviewed in October 2029 or sooner as needed.
