ANIMALS IN THE LIBRARY
SERVICE ANIMALS:
The Burnet County Library System recognizes that some of our library users may have disabilities that require the assistance of a service animal. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service animals are defined as:
A dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with disabilities. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability.
This does not include emotional support, therapy, or companion animals. These terms describe animals that provide comfort, but have not been trained to do a specific job and are not covered under ADA. These animals are considered pets. If it is not immediately apparent what service an animal provides, staff members may ask two questions:
1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
2) What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
Access will be granted to disabled individuals and their service animals to all areas where members of the public are permitted.
Library users with service animals, and service animals in training, are responsible for the care and supervision of their animals, including cleaning up after them, and must keep them under control:
The service animal must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, or other forms of control (e.g. voice control, signals, or other effective means) if the use of a harness, leash, or tether would interfere with the service animal’s safe, effective performance of work or tasks.
In accordance with ADA, a library user with a disability may be asked to remove their service animal from the premises if:
1) The animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it;
2) The animal is not housebroken.
If a service animal is wandering unleashed (not performing a task), barking excessively, displaying disruptive or aggressive behavior, the handler will be asked to remove the animal from the library.
In such cases, the disabled individual will be given the opportunity to receive services and participate in programs without the presence of the service animal.
PETS:
Pets are not allowed in the library.
EXCEPTIONS:
Exceptions to this policy are animals that are in the library as part of a library sponsored program or event.
This policy is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities ACT, Titles II & III, and the Texas Human Resources Code, Title 8. Portions of this texts are directly from the following sources:
For more information on the ADA and service animals, visit:
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.pdf
https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
For the Texas Human Resources Code, Title 8, visit: