The Springfield-Greene County Library District has updated its conduct policies to better accommodate patrons with service animals and clarify behavior expectations.

Service Animal Definition

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is a dog that has been trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. Examples of service animals include dogs that help blind people navigate, monitor people with epilepsy for seizures, and assist people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The library’s new policy aims to accommodate service animals and their handlers while addressing animals that are not performing important tasks. Executive Director Edward Walton said that the policy was developed with the library’s legal counsel to ensure compliance with federal laws.

Library Policy

The new policy sets clear expectations for people who bring service animals into the library’s branches. Library workers can ask for the removal of handlers or animals from branches when the animal is not well-behaved or is not under the control of its handler.

Elizabeth Orbey, a mother of five children with disabilities, said that the new policy appears to be in line with federal laws regarding service animals. However, she worries that the tone of the policy may intimidate people who are just starting to rely on service animals.

The library has done significant work to improve access in recent years, including hosting sessions with reading therapy dogs and installing an adult changing table at the Hatch Auditorium.

Original reporting: Springfield Daily Citizen — read the source article.