Social Media Policy

The Fairview Heights Public Library (Library) maintains various social media
applications and services to engage with the community it serves and to facilitate
an online platform of communication between library staff and library patrons about
library-related issues. The Library’s social media applications and services are not
intended to be traditional public forums for the general exchange of ideas and
viewpoints, but a limited public forum for discussing Library programs, events, and
materials.

By posting any comments, posts or other materials on the Library’s social media
pages, patrons give the Library permission to reproduce, distribute, publish,
display, edit, modify, delete and otherwise use your submissions for any libraryrelated purpose in any form on any media.
The Library recognizes and respects differences in opinion. Posted comments are
the opinion of the author only and publication of a comment does not imply
endorsement or agreement by the Library. All comments, posts, and messages are
subject to review and the Library reserves the right to remove any comment, post
or message that it deems, in its sole discretion, to be:
• Obscene, sexual, or pornographic content and/or language
• Content that promotes discrimination on the basis of race, age, religion,
gender, or other protected class
• Specific and imminent threats to any person
• Personal attacks, insults, or threatening language
• Potentially libelous statements
• Conduct that violates any federal, state, or local law or encourages illegal
activity
• Private and personal information published without consent
• Comments unrelated to the content of the discussion
• Commercial promotion, spam, or links to malware/viruses
• Organized political activity (OR ‘Content that advocates or promotes a
candidate, referendum or campaign’)
• Violations of copyright, trademark right or other intellectual property right of
any third party

By using the Library’s social media application and services, patrons agree to abide
by this policy and all other rules and policies of the Library. Abuse or violations of
this policy may result in the responsible poster being barred from posting any
subsequent messages to the Library’s social media sites without prior notice. All
comments posted to any Library social media application and service are bound by
the social media platform’s terms of use and the Library reserves the right to report
any violation of the platform’s terms of use to the platform.

The Library, its Board of Trustees, employees, agents, and official assume no
responsibility for any damages, direct or indirect, arising from participation in
Library-sponsored social media. Patrons are personally responsible for their
commentary. Patrons should be aware that they maybe be held personally liable for
commentary that is defamatory, obscene, proprietary, or libelous by any offended
party. In addition, patrons agree to indemnify the Library and its Board of Trustees
and employees, from and against all liabilities, judgments, damages and costs
(including attorney’s fees) incurred by any of them which arise out of or are related
to posted content.

Users who enter private or personal information on Library social media sites do so
at their own risk, and the library is not responsible for any damages resulting from
the public display of, or failure to remove, private or personal information. Content
posted on the library’s social media applications and services may be subject to
disclosure under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
This policy and terms used may be amended without further notice.
Adopted: 4/18/2024