Policy Statement:
Social media is rapidly becoming a prominent means by which to communicate, collaborate and disseminate information with library users.
The Northwest Vista College (NVC) library feels that the use of social media for these activities is directly related to two key components of our library’s mission statement:
1) In helping to provide “outstanding service to students, faculty, staff and community members”
2) In providing another format for patrons to access information about the library “that will enhance the curriculum and enrich the interests of the faculty, staff and community members”
This policy will provide patrons and employees of NVC with guidelines for appropriate use of social software and will align with the general policies of the Alamo Colleges as a whole.
Social media Defined:
Social media is changing at a rapid pace. Software available today may not be available tomorrow and there is always the potential for new software to enter the market. The following definition of social media applies to technologies currently being used by the NVC library, as well as those which can be adopted by the library at a later date. Examples include, but are not limited to, Facebook, Blogger, text messaging, LibGuides and flckr.
Social media as defined by the NVC Library is any software or tool provided by the library which allows for open communication between the library, library users and the local community regarding appropriate topics. For a list of appropriate topics please see the “Guidelines for Comments/Posts” section below.
Librarian to Patron Contact:
Please note that some social media software used by the library may require you to provide us with private information such as your name, telephone number, or email address. The NVC library will not disclose your information to any third party or send you any unsolicited information. Communications received from the library will only be as requested by library users.
The library will reply to all communications in a timely manner during normal operating hours. Please note that our hours of operation change during the year. See the library home page at http://www.alamo.edu/nvc/library/ for current hours.
The NVC library supports open communication and the spread of ideas through our social media software. While comments are welcome and differences of opinion are respected we ask that your comments be appropriate, polite, and on-topic.
The NVC library reserves the right to remove any comments, pictures, links, etc. which do not relate to the library, are off-topic or inappropriate.
Appropriate topics include, but are not limited to:
o Library services and policies.
o Questions or comments exchanged between library staff and library users.
o Faculty development opportunities held in the library or on campus.
o Library collections, events and exhibits.
o Announcements for campus wide events.
o Tips and resources for student/faculty research.
o Information regarding changes in hours/services due to holidays etc.
o Any additional library-related items deemed appropriate by the staff of the library.
Inappropriate topics include, but are not limit to:
o Topics not related to the NVC library.
o Posts that violate copyright and/or intellectual property rights.
o Comments with language meant to slander, defame, threaten or intimidate social media users.
o Posts that contain spam or advertising.
o Posts that contain private/confidential information about Northwest Vista College, its faculty/staff, students or patrons.
o Duplicate posts.
o Posts that are worded to give the impression that they are indorsed by the library and library staff.
Archiving Posts
To keep our social media sites clean and up-to-date posts with accompanying comments will be archived on a regular basis.
Children Using Media in the Library:
The NVC library welcomes children who are accompanied by their parents in the library. However, parents need to keep in mind that the materials stored in the library, both in-house and online, are meant to serve college age students. The library supports open access to information and the internet and does not censor or restrict access to information or intentionally bock internet sites.
The library is not responsible for information a child views or listens to from the library’s collection, from the Internet through the library’s computers or through any social media software used by the library.
For more information please see our “Children in the Library” policy.
Disclaimer:
The NVC library accepts no liability for any comments or the content of any links, videos, photos, etc posted on its social media sites by third parties. All third party comments expressed on any social media site used by NVC Library are solely those of the individual poster only. The NVC Library is not liable for the content, credibility, reliability, or accuracy of any links posted on its social media sites by third parties.
Contact Info:
For questions please contact the NVC Library at (210) 486-4513 or by email at nvc-library@alamo.edu