1. Education & Literacy: All residents are literate, and their educational and personal goals are supported.

Education and literacy are foundational purposes of public libraries, and HPL excels at accomplishing these core activities. HPL’s storytime, homework help centers, and adult reader programs are all highly regarded. These programs provide essential support to various age groups and foster reading skills and learning from an early age through adulthood.

This plan articulates HPL’s vision for the future and how we will deploy our resources to achieve our vision over the next five years. It aims to sustain the Library’s existing strengths while fostering thoughtful innovation for the future. Having this plan will align our team and external stakeholders so we can more efficiently deploy our limited resources.

Below is the strategy’s framework and how the various components will work together to help us achieve our vision:

Personal interviews were conducted with government leaders, Library Commission members, Friends of the Hayward Public Library leadership, the Library’s leadership team, and other Library partners.

Library Director's Foreword

Five years ago, on a beautiful September day, and to the pounding of taiko drums, our 21st Century Library & Community Learning Center opened its doors. The building was not even complete, but we had the essentials - books, computers, water, and restrooms - so what was holding us back? Nothing! Hayward was delighted and, thus, started a 5-year love affair between our community and the gorgeous Downtown Library, as it is popularly and affectionately called.

Children and Teens at Hayward Public Library

We are committed to providing inviting spaces for children and teens. Children and teens have designated areas at our libraries for individual and group activities that meet their unique needs.

Children's areas are designed and reserved for the use of those under 18 and their caregivers. Teen areas may only be used by customers 13-17 years old or those still in high school. Anyone over 18 may only visit these spaces to use the collection, seek assistance from library staff, or attend a program with staff's approval.

Hayward Public Library offers free and open access to the Internet in accordance with its mission of providing public access to information of all types in a wide range of formats. All Library patrons accessing the internet in the Library are expected to use this resource consistent with the educational, informational, and recreational purposes for which it is provided. Library patrons are also expected to abide by the Library’s Patron Code of Conduct and the Computer Use Policy.

Hayward Public Library designates spaces and processes for the display and/or distribution of community information on library property subject to the restrictions specified in this policy as follows:

The Library designates spaces for the display and/or distribution of community information from the following groups:

Introduction

The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is to provide the community and library staff documentation which informs and supports the development of the library collection. This document will provide guidance to Hayward Public Library staff and inform the public of the principles upon which the library makes decisions regarding the development and maintenance of the collection. While this policy will not replace the judgment of librarians, it serves to assist them in making decisions when choosing from available materials.

The Hayward Public Library (Library) makes every effort to protect the confidentiality and privacy of its library users.