MEETING ROOM USE POLICY

General Meeting Room Use

Reservations

1. User agrees to indemnify and hold the City of Provo, Provo City Library at Academy Square, its Board of Directors, administration, employees, agents and volunteers harmless from any and all loss, injury or damage to the Premises caused by User, its guests or invitees, or to the personal property or persons of User, its guests and invitees on the Premises during User's use of the Premises, unless the loss or injury is solely caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the City of Provo, its officers, employees, or representatives.
2. Library use will receive priority scheduling at all times. The Director reserves the right to reschedule or cancel non-library reservations due to Library needs.
3. Free or discounted use of meeting rooms is available only to Federal or State Registered Non-Profit Organizations with no commercial affiliations.
4. Library meeting rooms may not be scheduled by minors.
5. All rental spaces may be scheduled up to one year in advance.
6. All rental space reservation requests will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and may be made in person, by phone, mail, or e-mail through the Library Scheduling Office.
7. Payment of rental fees for meeting room reservations, security deposits for Ballroom or Attic reservations, and completed forms/contracts are due at time of booking. Rental fees for Ballroom or Attic reservations are due 30 days prior to the scheduled event. Courtesy holds for Ballroom or Attic reservations expire one business day after being placed.
8. Provo City residents will receive a 15% discount on room rental fees.
9. For repeat meeting room use, reservation and waiver forms must be updated at least annually or as often as the information changes.
10. All required forms must be completed at the time of reservation by an individual who will be held responsible for reasonable care of the room, furnishings, and library equipment.
11. The Library will refund 100% of any applicable Security/Cleaning Deposit within 90 calendar days or more advanced written cancellation notice. No refund of the Security/Cleaning Deposit will be given for cancellations made with 89 calendar days or less of written notice.
    

    No written notification		Received before 90 calendar days		Received after 90 calendar days
    Deposit	Rental	Deposit	Rental	Deposit	Rental
    0%	0%	100%	100%	0%	100%

12. Failure to give notice of cancellation may result in revocation of future meeting room scheduling privileges.
13. All, partial, or no refund of any applicable Security/Cleaning Deposit may be made after the Ballroom or Attic use at the Library Scheduler’s discretion, contingent upon the cleanliness of the room and condition of the room furnishings and library equipment. Upon inspection of the meeting space Library event staff may determine that a mess is excessive and/or will cause damage if left unattended to and require you to do further cleaning in order to receive a complete refund of the security deposit.
14. At the Library scheduling staff’s discretion, additional liability insurance may be required. Additional costs for the liability insurance are the sole responsibility of the meeting room user and must be paid at least 30 days in advance.
15. Reservation requests for Library equipment should be made at the time of the meeting room reservation. Equipment reservations are available upon a first come, first serve basis. All associated deposits must be paid and forms completed prior to use.
16. Use of the third-floor kitchen and its facilities for preparation and storage is reserved solely for use with ballroom rental. Users of other meeting spaces will have access to the kitchen only to retrieve ice and water. In the event the ballroom has not been rented, Library events staff may grant meeting room users full use of kitchen facilities.
17. Any user defaulting on a Library account, such as charges for bad checks, meeting room damage or equipment damage will be turned over to a collection agency. The Library will not accept new bookings and will cancel existing room bookings for individuals or groups that have invoices outstanding of 45 days or more.
18. The Library Director reserves the right to revoke facility use privileges of any individual and/or group that does not comply with the policy and guidelines as stated herein or violates the terms and conditions of the meeting room use agreement.
19. Activities shall not disrupt, nor impede public access to library services or materials.
20. Music and sound volumes for all events and meetings must be limited to a reasonable level that does not disrupt any other event or library service. An appropriate volume level will be determined by the Library Events staff.
21. Use may not be limited on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, disability, or legally protected status.
22. Free Use and/or Rental Agreement and any other required forms must be completed as well as deposit and rental fees paid in full prior to any use.
23. Designated room capacity and other matters of safety shall be observed in all meetings.
24. The name, Provo City Library at Academy Square, in any form, must not be used in any way other than to specify the location of the activity. It is understood that the ideas and opinions either expressed or presented by groups or individuals using the Library facilities may or may not be those of the Provo City Library.
25. Decorations, if any, must be pre-approved by the Library Event Coordinator. Nothing may be fastened or affixed to the library walls, floors, building, or property, except to surfaces designated for temporary display. All types of tapes and adherents are not permitted. Open flame is strictly prohibited; lit candles are not permissible regardless of enclosure. Glitter, colored powders, vapor, fog, smoke, fireworks, “cold spark” or any other type of pyrotechnics are all expressly prohibited. Failure to comply with these policies will result in penalties up to the entire amount of any applicable security deposit and/or further legal actions if necessary.
26. Existing artwork must not be moved, adjusted, or altered. If necessary, special requests can be made in advance to Library Staff for minor adjustments to exhibit rental spaces.
27. All of user’s items, equipment, and decorations must be contained within the rented space. No items may be stored or displayed in hallways except one 72-inch by 18-inch table (provided by the Library) for sign in or literature; and one vertical sign/banner that does not exceed 78-inches in height and 33-inches in width. The table and sign must be placed immediately outside of the rented space’s entrance and cannot obstruct or impede any walkway. Signs with images or text deemed offensive or obscene by Library administration must be removed at Library staff’s request.
28. Users may not engage or solicit regular library visitors in an attempt to redirect them to their event.
29. The Library shall not provide storage for property of groups and organizations meeting in the Library.
30. Food cannot be cooked onsite. All cooking devices electrical, combustible fuel, or otherwise are expressly prohibited with the sole exception of standard chaffing fuel used in a standard chaffing dish. Some electric warming devices may be permitted after approval from Library Events staff or a Library Administrator. Food and drink shall not be taken from the meeting rooms where they are served.
31. Alcohol is prohibited on all Library premises. In accordance with the Utah Clean Air Act, smoking is prohibited in all Library buildings.
32. All events must conclude leaving sufficient time to clean up and vacate all spaces no later than the scheduled departure time, unless approved in advance in writing by the Library Director. All spaces include the rented space, all interior spaces, hallways, and parking garage structure. Events extending past scheduled time will be subject to an additional late-night fee up to the entire amount of the security deposit and may have scheduling privileges suspended or revoked.
33. Any application for room use that causes concern for the health, safety and well-being of the Provo City Library staff, patrons, buildings, or premises in any way may be denied by the Director. Illegal activities are prohibited on Library premises.
34. Library Grounds (i.e. the lawns and parking areas) are not available for use by any group except for the Library (i.e. non-profit, commercial, and private).

Questions which are not covered in this policy should be addressed to the Library Scheduling Coordinator at 801-852-7691

Free Meeting Room Use

Category 1

Free use is limited to these groups:

• Federal or State Registered Non-Profit Organizations and their certified charters
• Open governmental meetings
• Community special interest groups (registered as nonprofit)
• Candidates campaigning for an office representing Provo and its citizens

Free Use Meeting Guidelines

1. Free Use Scheduling is available only to Federal or State registered Non-Profit Organizations with no commercial affiliations. Free Use Scheduling is not available for the Ballroom or Attic.
2. Meetings and activities must be free and open to the public with no commercial or business intent. All groups affiliated with a commercial entity of any type fall under rental use.
3. Groups engaging in any type of monetary transaction while on library premises including, but not limited to, solicitation of funds for membership, fees, charity, raffles, auctions, admission, sales or accepting donations of any kind fall under the rental categories.
4. Groups qualifying for Free Use may reserve one free Library meeting room time block. Neither the Ballroom, the Attic, nor after hours’ time blocks are available for Free Use.
5. The Library limits the free use reservation to 80 free use time blocks per month, with up to 40 of those in the Prime-Time blocks.
6. The Provo City Library Free Use and/or Rental Waiver and any other required forms must be signed prior to any use.
7. Any group arriving 15 minutes or more before, or leaving 15 minutes or more after scheduled times may incur a pro-rated charge according to the Category 2 fee schedule. Chronic offences of this type may result in revocation of future meeting room scheduling privileges.
8. Failure to give notice of cancellation may result in revocation of future meeting room scheduling privileges.

Meeting Room, Ballroom, and Attic Rental

Categories 2, 3

Rental use is available to:

Category 2

• Category 1 groups that have used their free use allotment
• Weekday Ballroom or Attic use by Category 1 groups
• Non-profit organizations and their certified charters engaging in any type of monetary transactions
• Community special-interest groups engaging in any type of monetary transactions
• Closed governmental meetings
• Candidates campaigning for an office not representing Provo or its citizens 

Category 3

• Private non-commercial use
• Commercial use
• Commercial use that is free and open to the public

Rental Guidelines

1. All groups affiliated with a commercial entity of any type fall under rental use.
2. All required Meeting Room fees and any applicable Security and/or Cleaning Deposit must be paid within 24 hours of a reservation request to confirm a reservation time and date.
3. The Rental Agreement and any other required forms must be completed, and any applicable Security and/or Cleaning Deposit and rental fees paid in full prior to any use.
4. Provo City residents will receive a 15% discount on room rental fees.
   REFUND SCHEDULE
   

   No written notification		Received before 90 calendar days		Received after 90 calendar days
   Deposit	Rental	Deposit	Rental	Deposit	Rental
   0%	0%	100%	100%	0%	100%

5. The Library will refund 100% of any applicable Security and/or Cleaning Deposit within 90 calendar days or more advanced written cancellation notice. No refund of the Security and/or Cleaning Deposit will be given for cancellations made with 89 calendar days or less of written notice.
6. Failure to give notice of cancellation may result in revocation of future meeting room scheduling privileges.
7. Any group arriving 15 minutes or more before, or leaving 15 minutes or more after scheduled times may incur a pro-rated addition to their charges according to the rental fee schedule. Chronic offences of this type may result in revocation of future meeting room scheduling privileges.

   
   Board of Directors
   Provo City Library
   Approved November 12, 2014
   Revised & Approved January 9, 2019
   Revised & Approved July 10, 2019
   Revised & Approved September 11, 2024