Web Guidelines
The Sonoma County Library website provides an online source of reference information for staff and patrons of the library. Its primary mission is to gather together the online reference resources most often needed by librarians and other public service staff in their task of providing access to timely and accurate information for our patrons.
The website brings together resources that reflect the needs of patrons of the Sonoma County Library system; it is not intended to be a comprehensive organization of available resources, nor is it intended to provide the kinds of information available at commercial websites.
The secondary mission of the website is to anticipate the unmediated use of the web by our patrons and to assist them in their efforts to find information online by bringing together the best or most authoritative sites that provide the kinds of information we normally assist patrons in finding.
The Library does not provide the web pages as an advertising or promotion service for local organizations; rather it serves as a source of information for patrons. If it is more useful and expedient to provide some types of information only in the catalog, or only in paper form it will do so. The Library has no obligation to advertise or promote local businesses, agencies, services or organizations.
The SCL website endeavors to identify useful or interesting resources. However, the Library can provide no warranty as to the accuracy, value or appropriateness of information found on any particular website. Online resources may change or disappear at any time and the Library cannot be responsible for these factors outside of its control.
Decisions to include specific online resources are made using the following criteria. The selected resource or page:
- provides information about the Library and its services;
- provides an online equivalent to standard types of reference materials;
- provides government information from the federal, state or local governments;
- provides resources that support the K-12 curriculum;
- provides access to the kinds of information chosen for acquisition in the print collection development policy for the Sonoma County Library;
- assists the general public in participating in our political process, having equal access to the information resources of our society and our government, and to the traditional routes of self-education and exploration that have always been fostered by public libraries;
- provides information specifically of interest to residents in the service area of the library.
Other policies and procedures