Library and Internet Policies
The library's Internet access is intended as an information resource. The library does not provide electronic mail and prohibits the use of Internet chat, news, or discussion groups. When using the Internet, please remember that some material may be outdated, wrong, or biased. It is the duty of the patron to critically evaluate all information found.
Adult library patrons use the Internet at their own discretion. Library staff will assist patrons with Internet use as time permits, but cannot offer personal instruction on computer use. The Crawford County Library System does not protect persons from information found individually offensive. The Library has no control over resources available from outside the library, nor does the Library have complete knowledge of what is on the Internet at any given time. We cannot be responsible for its content. To comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) decision by the Supreme Court on June 23, 2003, the Crawford County Library has installed content filters for all public access computers in the library.
The Internet may contain material that is inappropriate for viewing by children. The library staff is not in a position to monitor and supervise children's use of the Internet. As with other library materials, restriction of a child's access to the Internet is the responsibility of the parent/legal guardian.
Computer users may not install or use any software that is not installed by the library. Attempts to damage computer equipment, or alter computer configuration, are unacceptable use of the library's electronic resources. Displaying, sending, or receiving material inappropriate for viewing in a public place is prohibited by Arkansas State Code 5-68-205. Inappropriate material is defined as pictures or text, which could reasonably be construed as obscene or pornographic, as defined by Arkansas State Code 5-68-302.
The Library will deny computer, or Internet access to library users who misuse or abuse the library's electronic resources, or who are found in violation of this policy. First offense will result in a one month suspension, second offense one year. If Internet searching results in disruption of library services, or if patron behavior when using Internet resources becomes inappropriate for a library setting, the library reserves the right to end the session.
• You may sign up for 1 (one) hour-long session each day.
• Children under the age of 18 must have permission of a parent.
• Children under 10 must be supervised by an adult.
The use of the computer is a privilege. By accepting this document, patrons agree to abide by the statements of this policy.
Library Mission Statement
To bring enlightenment, new knowledge, encouragement and inspiration to every member of the library community by providing access to books, media, and other services for life-long learning and enjoyment.
Make a Donation
The Crawford County Library Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that benefits the Crawford County Library System. To learn more, visit their Facebook page. To give online, simply click DONATE below.
Thank you for your generosity and support!
The Friends of the Crawford County Library System fund is managed by Arkansas Community Foundation.
Your online donation will be received by Arkansas Community Foundation and applied to our fund.
Acknowledgement of your gift for tax purposes will come from Arkansas Community Foundation.
Once processed, your gift cannot be refunded.
*The Crawford County Library Foundation is the new name of the Friends of the Crawford County Library System which is a 501(c)(3) organization, and donations, in cash or in kind, are tax-deductible
CCLS Library System Director
Crawford County Library System Director
Job Description
The Crawford County Library System encompasses 696 square miles with the Arkansas River Valley in the south part of the county and the Ozark Mountains in the North. Van Buren is the largest city and the county seat. The Van Buren Public Library is also the location of the Crawford County Library System Offices. There are four other libraries in the county, one in each school district. These libraries are located in Alma, Cedarville, Mountainburg and Mulberry. Crawford County is essentially a rural county but is located just across the Arkansas River from the metropolitan area of Fort Smith. It is a growing county with business, industry, agriculture and tourism as the main sources of income. There are plans for an Intermodal Port to be located on the Arkansas River south of Van Buren. Interstate 40 and Interstate 49 intersect at Alma for quick access to both Little Rock and the Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan area.
As mentioned above, there are five school districts in the county. Van Buren and Alma have the largest districts in the county. Each school district has been recognized for its unique accomplishments in curriculum and staff creativity. They all have built new buildings in the past few years.
Recreation is very diverse in Crawford County. There is camping, canoeing, kayaking available on the Mulberry River and Lake Fort Smith. Hiking the mountainous areas in the county is prevalent. The Crawford County Fair is held at the Fairgrounds in Mulberry. Both Alma and Van Buren have a performing arts center connected to their schools. The centers have top notch performers scheduled throughout the year. The Center for Arts in Education has remodeled a historic building on Main Street Van Buren which offers space for exhibits, classes and other art activities. Historic Main Street in Van Buren is a draw for tourists with dining of all sorts, shopping, and Scenic Train Excursions leaving for tours to Winslow and Springdale. Each city has festivals and street fairs at different times. Both Alma and Van Buren have a Chamber of Commerce. The Crawford County Speedway located between Cedarville and Van Buren has races during the spring and summer months. Alma Aquatic Park is a busy place during the summer months offering swimming for all ages, slides, a splash pad and other water devices.
Crawford County and the surrounding areas have a lot to offer in making life a pleasant experience.
General Job Description
This is highly responsible administrative work involving the direction of a broad range of public library functions.
Work involves responsibility for the management of the public library collection(s) and for the provision of library services to patrons and community organizations in Crawford County, Arkansas. Duties include supervising the Van Buren Library staff, the branch library directors, policy recommendation, departmental planning, and direction and administration of library activities. The position is also invested with making the most difficult library technical decisions. Maintaining a balanced budget is essential. The work requires that the employee have thorough knowledge, skill, and ability in every phase of the public library field.
Supervision Received
Works under the administrative direction of the Crawford County Library Board.
Examples Of Duties
- Drafts and recommends policy to the Library Board and plans for the implementation of public library goals and objectives.
- Evaluates and administers library programs such as circulation, reference, reader's advisory services, children's services, community services, and public information.
- Directs the development and maintenance of a public library collection of books, periodicals, records, films, tapes and a variety of other library materials.
- Directs the development, repair and maintenance of the Library buildings.
- Provides staff support to the Library Board of Directors by assisting with meetings, preparing reports, and implementing policy decided by the Board.
- Prepares an annual departmental budget proposal and presents and defends budget requests before the Library Board and Quorum Court
- Works with the County Judge and County Clerk to maintain fiscal records and operate following local and state procedures.
- Directs and controls the expenditure of departmental fund allocations within the constraints of approved budgets.
- Confers with State agencies, other public libraries, corporations, and community groups in the development of library programs for the County and assists in coordinating interlibrary program efforts.
- Provides reference and reader's advisory services on a regular schedule to library patrons as supervisor of that department.
- Prepares various kinds of statistical reports on finances or library holdings.
- Confers with county and city officials and the general public to provide information and to resolve problems and complaints.
- Directs the training of library staff in technical and administrative library skills.
- Directs and participates in personnel actions such as hiring, termination, assignment, evaluation, and labor relations.
- Represents the library on regional and state committees and serves as the county authority on library issues. Performs related work as required.
- Advises Friends of the Library groups within the county system.
Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities
- Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of public library functions.
- Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of public administration as applied to a public library.
- Thorough ability in oral and written communications.
- Thorough ability to administer the activities of a public library and to supervise the work of others.
- Thorough ability to make decisions in an environment of limited resources and competing claims.
- Thorough ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with superiors, subordinates, associates, officials of other agencies, and the general public.
Qualifications
A Master's Degree in Library Science from an ALA accredited college or university is required. Five years of progressively responsible library administration experience including at least three years in a supervisory capacity is preferred. Experience in a multi-library system is also preferred.
Special Requirements
- Proficient in basic computer skills including: word processing, spreadsheet, presentation software, collaborative platforms (Google, Zoom, etc.), and general office software programs.
- Willingness to speak to media, government officials, and public groups.
Benefits
- Insurance: paid for employee (Family Insurance available at employee’s cost)
- Retirement: CCLS employees are members of the APERS (Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System
- Holidays: 18 paid holidays
- Sick leave: 8 hours per month (can accrue up to 90 days)
- Paid Vacation – 1 week after first year, 2 weeks beginning the 3rd year, 3 weeks beginning the 6th year, 4 weeks beginning the 16th year.
Send application and resume to:
Tammi Hamby, Chair
Crawford County Library Board
1409 Main Street
Van Buren, Arkansas 72956
Application for Employment
Mulberry Branch Director
The branch director will serve as administrator of the Mulberry Library as an integral part of the Crawford County Library System, balancing branch with county needs. The director will initiate programs and services, hire personnel, administer branch funds, keep statistics, work with the county director and other branch libraries as needed. Please Mulberry Director job description below.
Substitute Library Assistant
The Crawford County Library System sometimes needs a trained person who can be available to provide services to the public, and sometimes staff, on an irregular basis. Substitute Library Assistants (Subs) will be customer-service oriented, flexible and dependable. They will be scheduled to work between 0-29 hours per week, with a minimum of 4 hours and a maximum 79 hours per month, depending on the needs of the library. Please see complete job duties and requirements below.
Cedarville Programming Services-Library Assistant
Cedarville Library is a small branch that requires a wide scope of job duties for all its employees. The Library Programmer will create energetic, fun, and educational programs for all ages in addition to library duties. Our goal is to serve the patrons who enter our doors, treat them with respect, and encourage them to love reading and lifelong learning.
Wireless Printing
Print directly from your laptop, tablet, or mobile device using wireless printing! Choose your library below and follow the instructions to upload your file OR forward the document to one of the listed email addresses. To pick up your print, visit or call the library. Cost of printing and copies is $0.25 per page. The first twenty-five pages per day shall be free for the following with a Crawford County Library System library card: school work, resumes, and tax forms (excluding tax instruction manuals). To protect your privacy, print jobs will be deleted 24 hours after they are uploaded.
https://www.printeron.net/ccls/alma-public-library
or forward email to 401892412@printspots.com
https://www.printeron.net/ccls/cedarville-public-library
or forward email to 894498735@printspots.com
https://www.printeron.net/ccls/mountainburg-public-library
or forward email to 328448484@printspots.com
Ralph D. Graf Library of Mulberry
https://www.printeron.net/ccls/ralph-d-graf-lib-of-mulberry
or forward email to 536107791@printspots.com
https://www.printeron.net/ccls/van-buren-public-library
or forward email to 072021948@printspots.com
How to get a library card
Residents
The following categories of patrons shall be issued resident cards free of charge:
·Permanent residents of Crawford County.
·Property owners in Crawford County.
·Persons employed in Crawford County.
·Students enrolled in schools in Crawford County.
Non-Residents
Patrons who are not eligible for a resident card may use materials in the libraries without cost.
They may use the home loan service upon payment of an annual non-resident fee. The fee for a non-resident card in Crawford County will be $10.00 annually.
Any library in the Crawford County Library System may issue a resident card to a patron who qualifies for a resident library card at another library in the system.
Cards issued at one of the libraries in the Crawford County Library System shall be honored by any other library in the system.
Registration
Applicants will provide the following information:
·Name, mailing address, telephone number, and work phone, if applicable.
·Date of Birth.
·Signature.
·Email address if applicable.
·Responsible party's written name and signature for children under age 18 to check out items or use the Internet and computers.
·Whether or not the applicant wishes to register to vote.
·Two forms of ID. One form must be a photo ID, such as a driver’s license or other government-issued identification
AND
One of the following forms of ID showing current address:
·Utility bill.
·Printed check.
·Tax receipt.
·Mail delivered to current address.
·Other items which provide satisfactory proof of current address.
When an applicant has successfully registered for a card, they may check out 3 items at that time. When those items are returned, normal check-out rules apply.
CCLS Board Members
Keith Pigg, Mulberry kpiggcrawfordcountylib@gmail.com
Colleen Hoelscher, Mountainburg colleencclibrary@gmail.com
Tammara Hamby, Van Buren tammihambycclibrary@gmail.com
Amanda Stevens, Cedarville astevens@crawfordcountylib.org
Kaelin Schaper, Alma schaper@crawfordcountylib.org
History of the Crawford County Library System
On July 1, 1999, the five libraries in Crawford County, which had been part of the Ozarks Regional Library System, opened their doors for the first time as the Crawford County Library System (CCLS). This change occurred at a time when several other regional systems were reorganizing.
At that time, CCLS had approximately 60,000 books and other materials housed in the five libraries in Alma, Cedarville, Mountainburg, Mulberry, and Van Buren. There were eight employees, plus a new director tasked with organizing the new county system.
The Mountainburg Library was remodeling a building they had leased from the United States Forestry Service so they could move out of the City Complex Building. That move was completed in October 1999, and in 2018 the town opened its new library at 225 Highway 71 NW.
The Alma Library was in the process of purchasing the old hardware store at 624 Fayetteville Avenue, moving there in April 2000. In 2006, an adjacent storefront was purchased to grow the library even more.
A new library opened at 220 North Main Street in Mulberry in 2006 and expanded in 2018, doubling in size. Two new libraries made their debut in 2011, one in Van Buren at 1409 Main Street, and another at 737 Pirates Way in Cedarville.
In 2019, CCLS celebrated its twentieth anniversary. At that time, the libraries housed 197,000 books and other materials, and employed twenty-eight people. The growth continues today.
Today our services include:
• Public computers, including laptops
• Databases: research/learning, genealogy, newspapers, topics provided by the Arkansas State Library and IMLS
• Study rooms
• Public Wi-Fi
• eBooks and e-audio books that can be downloaded via our webpage, www.crawfordcountylib.org
• Interlibrary loan services, a program that shares books and materials from participating libraries across the U.S.
• Wireless printing
• Storytime for preschool children
• Storytime presented by our staff at outside locations such as daycares, schools, and adult living facilities
• Summer reading programs with parties and prizes
• Teen programs
• Adult programs that include everything from greeting card making to book clubs
• Art camps in partnership with the Center for Art in Education
• STEM and STEAM Programs
• Music programs
• Magic shows
• Science programs
• Exercise programs
• Health seminars
CCLS provides these services through a 1.4 mill property tax that was passed in 1998 and has not been increased since. In December 2019, the CCLS began asking patrons for input into the libraries, asking which services are most important to them, and what services could be added to improve their lives. That data will help the System plan its future as it continues serving the needs of Crawford County, promoting a love of reading, and strengthening our diverse communities.