State Library Victoria

Social media and online community guidelines

State Library Victoria has a number of online and social media channels and we encourage you to join us to share your stories, knowledge and discoveries with us and other users. Where the specific channel allows it, please feel free to contribute your own historical photos and items to the discussion as well. It is important that our online environments are places where members feel confident in their ability to participate without fear of inappropriate response. To maintain online communities that are safe, respectful and constructive, we have created a set of Community Guidelines that govern all individual behaviour across all of our social media and online communities. Guidelines:
Remain respectful – please be respectful of others and their opinions and refrain from behaviour which is offensive or discriminatory. This includes the use of swear words or other language which is likely to offend and views that are racist, sexist, homophobic, sexually explicit or otherwise objectionable. Don’t get personal – do not harass others or make personal attacks. Be yourself – please post under your own name. Comments from anonymous, misleading or suspicious profile names may be deleted, regardless of topic. Stay on topic – we will gladly address any genuine concerns related to a library-related post, but off-topic, inflammatory, repetitive, offensive, defamatory or inappropriate comments will be deleted. Protect your identity – do not reveal any personal or sensitive information about yourself or others. We may ask to take a conversation offline if it is of a sensitive nature. Observe the law – do not post anything which breaks the law or encourages others to engage in unlawful activity, such as breach of copyright, defamation or contempt of court. Stay safe – do not describe or encourage activities which could endanger the safety or well-being of others. No SPAM – do not post or repost information or links to advertisements, requests or offers, or anything else that could be considered to have a commercial motivation. Observe channel rules – in addition to our own requirements, be sure to observe the policies of the specific social media channels that you are using – including the rules of Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, G+, Instagram, and Youtube. (*Please note that behaviour which is deemed by us to be anti-social or personal will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to delete inappropriate activity and to ban any community member who consistently demonstrates this type of behaviour. The Library reserves the right to re-use your contributions in publications and on our other websites or partner websites such as the National Library's Trove. The Library will not disclose your name or any other personal details as outlined in our Privacy statement. We may respond to comments and reviews at our discretion. If you have a specific question about any item in our collection, please ask a librarian. Disclaimer
While every effort is made to ensure that the content posted by us on our online and social channels is current and accurate, we accept no liability for the accuracy, completeness or currency of that information and disclaim all liability to any person in relation to, or, in the use of, the information or data. Comments and posts made by members of our online communities are the views of those individuals only and do not reflect the views or opinions of the State Library Victoria. Links to external sites are beyond our control. It is the user's responsibility to judge the accuracy and reliability of the information therein. https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/legal