Home → About NC Cardinal → Policies → About Policy and Best-Practice Documents
Last Updated 07/07/2025
NC Cardinal has a core group of official policies, drafted with the help of various committees and working groups, and approved by the NC Cardinal Governance Committee. These policies are applicable to all libraries in the consortium, and establish the foundation of a successful and efficient shared Evergreen Catalog. Local policy established at individual members libraries must comply with these approved policies.
You may access each policy in the Knowledge Books, print PDFs, or access a single printable document that outlines each policy, which you can keep as a handbook.
Protecting user privacy and confidentiality is one of the core values of librarianship. The confidentiality of library records is a core part of library ethics and the NC Cardinal consortium follows the Code of Ethics of the American Library Association and NC General Statutes.
Access this policy in the Knowledge Books
NC Cardinal does not set thresholds for fines and fees. All member libraries may set their fines and fees at the local level. However, NC Cardinal does require that all libraries lending materials through resource sharing honor the fine and fee structure of the circulating library, even when it differs from the owning library's policy. Additional policies are outlined in the official NC Cardinal Fines/Fees policy documents.
Access this policy in the Knowledge Books
Resource Sharing is one of the biggest benefits offered to patrons of NC Cardinal libraries. In order for it to run smoothly and efficiently, all member libraries must abide by specific policies related to the packing and shipping of materials, holds management, and inter-library communication regarding fines, loss, and damages.
Access this policy in the Knowledge Books
All library staff tasked with performing work in Evergreen must have access to a staff login account. These accounts are different from the accounts used to checkout materials and place holds. Each account is assigned to a profile, which grants that user specific permissions within Evergreen. One person at each library is designated as the System Login Access Manager. It is their responsibility to ensure staff login accounts are up to date and that staff abide by NC Cardinal policies regarding their use.
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In an effort to maintain security, staff passwords must meet minimum security requirements, and be updated every 90 days. Accounts with outdated passwords will be locked, requiring that staff update the password after 90 days before accessing the ILS. Strength requirements vary based on permission level:
Circulators/Circulation Leads/Catalogers: Upper case letter, lower case letter, numeric character, and at least 8 characters.
Branch/System Administrators: Upper case letter, lower case letter, numeric character, special character and at least 8 characters
Access this policy in the Knowledge Books
Print a PDF (duplicate of Staff Login Account and Permission Policies Document)
All member libraries must honor the library cards of all other member libraries, allowing patrons access to physical materials at all NC Cardinal Libraries.
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This policy is being re-visited and will be published in PDF format after any updates have been approved.
To ensure the consistent quality and integrity of these shared resources, all member libraries within NC Cardinal must conform to cataloging standards and best practices, overseen by the NC Cardinal Cataloging Committee. Staff who engage in cataloging must pass an assessment to gain the necessary permissions.
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When working with vendors outside the purview of the NC Cardinal relationship with a member library system that connect with Evergreen, libraries must work with NC Cardinal to ensure the products in question are compatible. NC Cardinal staff will maintain responsibility for Evergreen server-side administration of compatible products, while the purchasing library and software vendor will be responsible for supporting the product once installed.
Access this policy in the Knowledge Books