Community Meeting Space

Community Meeting Space Policy

Purpose

The Mary Vinson Memorial Library’s meeting room, currently the Local History Room, 2nd Floor, is designed as a limited public forum for the welfare of the community and its civic, cultural, and educational groups and organizations. The office spaces on the second floor of the Hancock Branch (HC) provide limited office space for the same reasons. While priority for usage of the meeting room and offices will be for Library, City, County, and Board of Education purposes, the Mary Vinson Memorial Library (MVML) meeting room and Hancock office spaces will be made available in the manner set forth by this policy and in a manner consistent with the mission of Twin Lakes Library | Middle Georgia Regional Library. Original Policy Adoption by Twin Lakes Library Board of Trustees, November 14, 2006. Revised July 09, 2021. Addition of Hancock Branch Office Space for reservation added July 28, 2021.

Who May Use the Community Meeting Room Space(s)

Any club or community group of persons meeting for non-profit purposes may request and be assigned use of the designated meeting room space, Mary Vinson Memorial Library Local History Room, provided the proper request has been made and recorded with the Mary Vinson Memorial Library Branch Manager, acting on behalf of the Twin Lakes Library Board of Trustees. Any individual, club, or community group of persons meeting for non-profit purposes, including for study or need of a temporary space for work, may request and be assigned use of the designated office space(s), Hancock Branch 2nd Floor, provided the proper request has been made and recorded in the same manner as the MVML Local History Room.  A valid, non-delinquent PINES Library Card will be required for all reservations, and current contact information will be requested from the individual making the request with the understanding that any damage caused by the user’s meeting will result in charges being placed on the user’s account.

Eligible groups include:

• Civic organizations

• Social clubs whose intent is educational or cultural in nature

• Academic classes or study groups of a minimum of three people (when reserving the Meeting Room at the MVML)

• Academic classes or study groups of one or more people (when reserving Office Space at the HC)

• Professional or honorary groups

• Organized school or academic groups which have a civic interest or goal

All meetings held in the Local History Room at the MVML are open to the public. The Office Spaces @ Hancock Branch provide a more private meeting space for smaller groups and individuals with the option to leave the door open or close the door when the office space is in use. Library staff reserves the right to enter the meeting room or offices at any time.

Who May Not Use the Library Meeting Room

The meeting room is not an appropriate venue for the following types of meetings:

• Any group meeting for a profitable reason

• Family group meetings for family or personal reasons, such as family reunions, wedding receptions, etc.

• Political campaigns (political forums, however, are allowed)

• Any meeting that would tend to incite or provoke imminent lawless action, be disruptive to other Library functions, or would endanger the safety of Library staff or patrons

• One-on-one meetings of any kind (ie. personal tutoring), with the exception of those events held at the request of the Library, the City, the County, or the Board of Education

  • One-on-One meetings are permitted when reserving office space at the Hancock Branch so long as these meetings do not go against that which is prohibited according to the other parts of this policy or rules of the Library.

• Any group which has violated Library policies related to the meeting room on prior visits

Use of the Meeting Room

Requests for meeting room use may be denied if the hours of use are unsatisfactory with the planned operating hours of the Library or if the noise from the activity planned would disturb the normal operation of the Library.

No admission or attendance charge is to be made unless the Library is serving as a sponsor and funds from the attendance are necessary and announced in advance in order to provide the necessary gratuities or matching funds to produce the program.

Use of the meeting room and office spaces does not imply endorsement, support, or co-sponsorship by the Library for the activities taking place in the meeting room. When the Library does sponsor events, it will be made clear that the Library endorses said event.

All meetings at the Mary Vinson Memorial Library must be open to the public. The door to the Local History Room must remain open during all meetings so that others may feel welcome to attend these meetings or obtain materials kept within. Office Spaces at the Hancock Branch allow for limited privacy and may be used for the purposes of study or work.

The number of attendees shall be limited to the maximum capacity as determined by the Milledgeville Fire Department.
Twin Lakes Library reserves the right to limit the maximum capacity for reasons of public health & safety regarding Covid-19.

Seating is available to no more than sixteen (16) individuals for the Mary Vinson Memorial Library Local History Room.
There are two offices available at the Hancock Branch, one providing seating for no more than six (6) individuals, and a second space providing seating for no more than four (4) individuals. **Please note that the Hancock Branch office spaces are on the second floor of the building with no elevator access.

Outside food and drink are not allowed.

The Mary Vinson Memorial Library Branch Manager is authorized to make decisions regarding the eligibility of groups or individuals to use the Library meeting rooms and office spaces when questions arise. Decisions may be appealed in writing to the local Twin Lakes Library Board of Trustees for review. The decisions of the Twin Lakes Library Board of Trustees shall be final.

Scheduling

• Note: The Local History meeting room space at the MVML is unavailable Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM.
  No reservation requests are accepted during this time. This time is reserved for Local History work.

• Note: The Hancock Branch hosts afterschool programs for teens Monday thru Friday during the school year from 3:00 PM-6:00 PM.
  During this time, programming noise may be intrusive as the office spaces are not soundproof.

The meeting room and office spaces may be reserved up to one (1) month in advance of the scheduled date. Reservation requests must be made at least 24 hours in advance. Same-day reservation requests will not be honored. The Mary Vinson Memorial Library Branch Manager or designated library staff member(s) will be responsible for confirming and scheduling any meeting room request. Bookings are made on a first-come, first-served basis.

Requests for reservations may be made via a web form located on the Twin Lakes Library’s website, in person, or by telephone.

On the day that the room is to be used, the person who made the reservation must be present with their valid, non-delinquent Library card.

The meeting room and offices will close twenty minutes prior to the closing of the Library facility.

Groups/patrons making reservations are expected to be on time (within 15 minutes) to the reserved space. If they are not able to meet the reservation we ask that library staff be notified within 30 minutes of the reservation time to make this space available to others.

Due to unforeseen events, the Library reserves the right to cancel any scheduled meeting. This will not be done lightly but it is inevitable that complications will arise from time to time.