Wi-Fi Policy

Jill Potter, Support Services

With Wi-Fi, or Wireless Internet Access for laptops, now being offered at many of our branches, and more to come, it is becoming increasingly important to be aware of the Library’s policies and procedures concerning the Public’s use of the service and the support offered to Patrons by library staff. Above all, the most important thing to remember is that Library Staff is not responsible for the patron’s laptops! With so many different brands, models, operating systems, internet browsers, etc, there is no way to be able to address each and every possible scenario that may come up when trying to access the Wi-Fi. Even the most tech savvy staff person could potentially click on the wrong thing while trying to help configure a wireless setup for a patron and be accused of causing damage to the patron’s laptop. Woodward Park has addressed this issue in the patron information sheet and it states, “You are responsible for understanding how to configure your own equipment. There is no staff available to assist with setting up wireless internet on your computer device or to do any troubleshooting. Please consult your user's manual, or contact your hardware or software provider for any additional assistance. “

Currently, Fowler and Mendota have SJVLS supported Wi-Fi and Woodward, Fig Garden, Auberry, Politi, and Reedley have Wi-Fi compliments of their Friends of the Library groups. With the different Wi-Fi setups, come different instructions for the patrons. The Wi-Fi branches maintained by SJVLS have a consistent set of policies and instructions. These are available for the public as a handout at the branches.

The branches with the Wi-Fi connections paid for by the Friends will be different according to which carrier is used for the service. Each of those branches should have a set of instructions that specifically address how to log on to the wireless network at that location. If assistance is needed in the creation of this set of instructions, please contact Tech Support.

Please read the Wireless Internet Access Policy for Fresno County Public Library here: