Emergency – 406
Approved by the Board of Trustees 1/22/2026
St. Joseph Public Library
Weather or Emergency Closure of Library Branches Policy
Policy
The St. Joseph Public Library (SJPL) provides as many hours of public service as possible in all of its branches and strives to create an environment which protects the safety and welfare of library patrons and staff as well as library property. The decision to close will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, other local institutions’ decisions, especially as it relates to inclement weather.
Procedure
The decision to alter the schedule of SJPL’s normal hours of operation due to bad weather will be made by the library director. When the director is absent or unavailable, branch managers on duty will consult with one another and are authorized to make a decision or take action to close the system. If no branch managers are available, chain of command protocol and communication between branches will be used to determine alteration of the schedule. Closing for inclement weather is a system-wide decision.
In any other emergency situation, closure of one or more branch is also at the discretion of the director. The manager of the branch in question will make the decision to close if the director is unavailable or the situation warrants immediate action. If the branch manager is unavailable, chain of command protocol will be used to make a decision and take action.
An incident report should be submitted by the decision maker to the director, or by the director, for recordkeeping after the emergency has subsided. In the case of a weather closure no incident report is required.
The library director is responsible for notifying all staff by pre-established means after a decision to alter the schedule of one or more branch’s normal hours of operation has been made.
The library director, or other designated staff, will notify local media of a closure and update SJPL’s website and social media accounts.
*Previously approved 11/26/2019