Board discusses draft 'abuse of service' policy to prevent hotspot monopolization, asks staff for clearer enforcement language

Library staff brought a draft "abuse of service" policy intended to prevent individual households from monopolizing circulating Wi‑Fi hotspots and other shared resources. The director said the library encountered families who checked out multiple hotspots simultaneously in past circulation and that staff are preparing limits to protect equitable access.

"We're hoping to limit to like four uses a year, you know, so that's four weeks a year," the director said as an example of a potential restriction for hotspot loans. Board members pressed for clearer language. One board member said, “Clarity around language like excessive and what do we mean by excessive” is essential if the library is going to enforce a policy.

Staff explained their integrated library system (ILS) cannot automatically block a patron at checkout for repeated checkouts but that the system can run back‑end reports to identify extreme use for follow-up. The director said staff will revise the draft to add guardrails and clearer enforcement procedures and will return with the suggested edits for the next meeting.