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The Dorset Village Library Community
The Dorset Library is committed to serving the needs of Dorset residents for a variety of library materials including both fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats. It is supported by the Town of Dorset and the generous contributions of patrons. The Library always welcomes suggestions for specific purchases or a specific topic or fiction genre.

Each month the Library displays the work of a local artist. This helps both the library and the artist as the artist generously donates a portion of his/her sales to the library. Local artisit, Taimi Passaro, painted the wonderful watercolor of the library used on our website.

The Dorset Library also enriches the lives of all children who attend the Dorset School by making bulk loans of books, audios, puppets, explorer packs and videos to the school.

Becoming a Member of the Dorset Library
Dorset Residents, Other Vermont Residents and Summer Visitors

All permanent residents of Dorset may become members of the Dorset Library by filling out an application at the Library. This includes persons who winter elsewhere and own houses in Dorset. Children, six years of age and older, may have their own library membership. Applicants must give a street address, a mailing address AND A COMPUTER ADDRESS IF POSSIBLE.

The Dorset Community welcomes the use of the Library by all other Vermont residents. We permit those people to have one membership per family.

Borrowing Limits
Dorset residents may borrow a combination of the following up to a total of ten items:

  • New Fiction and/or New Audio Books 2
  • Fiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Audio Books and/or Music CDs 3 - 4
  • 5 DVDs per family
  • Magazines 3
  • Puzzles

Vermont Residents may borrow a combination of the following up to a total of six items:

  • New Fiction and/or New Audio Books 2
  • Fiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Audio Books and/or Music CDs 2 - 3
  • Magazines 3
  • Puzzles

Dorset Summer Rental Visitors may borrow a combination of the following up to a total of six items:

  • New Fiction and/or New Audio Books 2
  • Fiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Audio Books and/or Music CDs 2 - 3
  • DVDs 3 per family
  • Magazines 3
  • Puzzles

Weekend Visitors are welcome to visit our library to read and relax and to use the Internet. Those with laptop computers may access WIFI inside the building and even on the bench outside near the front windows. Our Book Sale room is usually open in case you need additional reading materials.

Library Funding
The Dorset Community has been very fortunate to have strong community support, without which it would not be able to offer so many wonderful materials. In addition, the Dorset Library is funded by a $10,000 appropriation from the Town of Dorset. It receives no other State or Federal funding.

Volunteering
The Library is always happy to have people volunteer if they are able to give the Library at least two afternoons a month. We always need help with shelving books, preparing books for circulation, straightening the shelves, etc. Students in fifth grade and above are welcome to volunteer if they are willing to commit to one afternoon a week for four weeks.

Internet Policy
Dorset Library Internet Policy
A policy is needed to set the rules for use of the Internet in the Dorset Library.

The Dorset Library offers library members access to the Internet as part of its mission to provide services and materials in a variety of formats to meet the informational, educational and recreational needs of the community. The Library considers its endorsement of the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read documents to apply as well to access to and use of electronic information.

The Internet is a vast network of educational, recreational and commercial information. The Library cannot control the informationn on the Internet. It does not warrant information found there to be accurate, authoritative, factual, timely or useful. Some material may be found to be offensive to some library users. If any patron believes that information on the Internet is inaccurate or offensive, the patron should contact the original producer or distributor of the information.

The Dorset Library will provide access to the World Wide Web but does not include e-mail accounts, file transfers (FTP) to the hard drive, access to chat rooms or games, access to Usenet newsgroups or saving “bookmarks”. The Library staff will help users log onto the Internet but we do not have the staff to provide individual instruction in the use of this service. Classes will be scheduled to instruct patrons in the use of the Internet, if demand warrants. We do have several books available on using the Internet, which you may read at your leisure.

It is the library’s policy that parents or legal guardians are responsible for deciding what library materials and resources are appropriate for their minor children. Children also have the responsibility of using library resources properly. Parents are advised to monitor their children’s use of this valuable resource. Parents should fill out a form at the desk giving permission for their children to have access to the Internet. Any parent who wishes to disallow the use of the Internet may do so by having their children’s library records marked accordingly. Children under the age of 13 must have a parent or legal guardian with them when they are accessing the Internet. Parents may only regulate what their children have access to, they may not restrict what other people’s children access. LIBRARY STAFF WILL NOT MONITOR CHILDREN’S USE.

All users of electronic resources are expected to use these resources in a responsible and ethical manner. Patrons may not use terminals for illegal or criminal purposes, unauthorized use of computer accounts or access codes, to download software, to violate another user’s privacy, or in any manner be disruptive to other library patrons. Users may not change the setup or configuration of the computer.

The Dorset Library reserves the right to enforce a time limit of thirty (30) minutes per session. Printing will be limited to that which can be completed within the allotted time and may be stopped at the end of that time. Printing is 15 cents a page.

Rules for using the Internet
Respect the Privacy of others. Do not look to see what another patron is accessing unless invited to share the other person’s Internet time.

1. You should ask before using a computer.

2. You must sign-up at the desk to use the Internet computer.

3. Be on time. If you are late, you will forfeit that unused portion of your time.

4. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you will lose all your reserved time.

5. Because space is limited and to limit noise around the Internet computer, only two persons may be at the computer at one time.

6. Printing may be done at the cost of 15 cents a page.

7. Dorset Library reserves the right to restrict or terminate the use of the Internet or library computers if patrons are being disruptive. It is prohibited to use the Internet or the library’s computer for any purpose, which violates local, state or federal laws.

8. DO KNOW that software downloaded from the Internet may contain a virus and use virus-checking software on your home computers.


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