CATS

CATS, a department of the Monroe County Public Library, acts as steward for the City of Bloomington’s five PEG access channels. The CATS Community Network provides a diverse array of access television services with support from the Monroe County Public Library, the City of Bloomington, Monroe County and the Town of Ellettsville, as well as local video service providers. The five channels serviced by the library are…

• The Library Channel
• The Public Channel
• The Bloomington City Government Channel
• The Monroe County Government Channel
• SCOLA International News

The rules and regulations set forth below have been adopted to assure compliance with current federal, state and municipal laws and regulations governing the availability and use of Community Access Television Services (CATS). The policies and regulations set forth herein supersede any and all others previously issued:

1. The Monroe County Public Library operates CATS as a service to the community and in fulfillment of library goals. Any resident of Monroe County may use the facilities of CATS. All rules and regulations outlined below apply equally to all access channels unless specifically stated otherwise.

2. The Monroe County Public Library and CATS will allow great latitude with respect to freedom of speech. However, all programming shall be non-commercial and consistent with legal constraints and community standards. No part of any program shall contain: any solicitation for funds or other property of value, or obscene or defamatory material.

3. The community access channels are operated by the library as a dedicated constitutional forum. Programs are not rejected because either they or their spokespersons are controversial. CATS does not attempt to verify the accuracy or lack of bias in the programming it carries, nor does CATS attempt to achieve a balance in regards to any issue, faith or ideology. The producer of each program is exercising her/his first amendment right to free speech and is solely responsible for the program's content. Reference to Section 611 (E) and Section 639 of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 & 1992.

4. The producer of an access program is the person who signs the application for use of the access facilities as outlined below. The producer of each access program is solely responsible for its content. The producer must obtain all talent releases, copyright authorizations and other necessary licenses or approvals. By signing the application the producer accepts all responsibility and any associated liability for the content of the program. Programs that do not have a signed release will not be shown.

5. Upon the filing of an appropriate request, the community access equipment and channel will be available to any Monroe County resident, group or organization. Programming produced outside of Monroe County will require a written request from a local resident or organization for cablecast on CATS. All requests are reviewed on a first-come, first-served, non-discriminatory basis. All access use is subject to the availability of time, staff and facilities.

6. All candidates for political office may sponsor candidate forums, providing written notification of all candidates thirty days prior to the forum. Any appearances by political candidates in other CATS programming are acceptable providing they are not advocating their candidacy or criticizing the opposing candidate or party. (The Communications Act of 1934, specifically the "equal time ruling", does not apply to access television).

7. Use of the access facilities: studio, equipment, personnel and other technical resources must be for the sole purpose and/or intent of producing programming for CATS.

8. Use of the access facilities must be requested through the program proposal form provided by CATS. A signed proposal must be on file prior to scheduling use of the facilities.

9. Applications on behalf of a minor must be signed by a parent or a legally appointed adult guardian who will accept responsibility for any liability resulting from the use of the facilities by the minor.

10. No private information concerning volunteers or producers will be given out over the telephone. However, all program proposal forms are kept in a file at CATS and are made available for public review, once the program has been telecast, during regular operating hours.

1. All access producers shall adhere carefully to all applicable federal, state and local regulations concerning limits of public speech and television programming content.

2. Advertising or material designed to promote the sale of commercial products or services is expressly prohibited. Political advertising or commercials produced by or on behalf of a legally qualified candidate for public office is similarly prohibited.

3. Producers who want to create programs which are produced for commercial venture or profit shall be prohibited from using the access facilities.

4. Underwriting of programming is allowed but recognition is limited to a text message stating the name of the individual or company. The use of logos, slides, phone numbers and video clips of business locations are strictly prohibited. Reference to FCC regulation 76.221 sections A & E.

5. No program shall be transmitted over the community access channels which contains any material which would subject the producer or the supplier thereof to prosecution under any applicable local, state or federal law for the production or presentation of obscene material, libel, slander, invasion of privacy or copyright or trademark infringement . Neither CATS nor the MCPL will attempt to make a determination as to the constitutional legality of any content presented for telecast. A cable operator may refuse to transmit any public access program that the operator reasonably believes contains obscenity. (47 C.F.R. (76.702). (Determinations of obscenity, libel, slander, etc., are legal questions which can be determined only after due process by a judge and/or jury).

6. No program shall be transmitted over the community access channels which contains a lottery or information promoting any device, scheme, plan, promotion, contest or other program and/or presentation which involves directly or indirectly the elements of a prize, chance and/or consideration of money or a thing of value. Reference Section 76.213 of the rules of the FCC.

7. The producer of an access program agrees to indemnify and hold the MCPL and CATS harmless from all liability for damages, costs and losses resulting from, arising out of, or in any way connected with the use of the cable channels by the producer, its officers, agents, or employees.

8. CATS reserves the right to refuse facility use to anyone reasonably suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or any disabling drug and therefore not legally responsible for his or her own actions. CATS also reserves the right to refuse facility use to anyone who is disruptive, rude with staff or patrons, abuses the equipment or fails to return equipment on time. Any use which is disruptive to MCPL patrons, CATS patrons, MCPL operations or CATS operations may be refused or revoked.

9. CATS will revoke the access privileges of any individual or group misrepresenting themselves as under the employ of CATS, the MCPL or any other community channel designation under the control of the MCPL.

10. The MCPL , CATS and cable operator shall not be liable for any loss of transmission time or transmission of programming due to equipment failure or for any other reason beyond the control of the parties.

11. Any person, group or organization who abuses or has abused the privilege of access by violating any of the provisions of this part may be denied use of the access facilities. Violations of access policy will result in revocation of access privileges for a period of time to be determined by CATS Director in conjunction with MCPL Administration.

12. Because revocation of access privileges is such a significant loss of the right to free speech, any decision by CATS and the library administration may be appealed by writing the MCPL Board of Trustees for review. Their decision will be final.

13. The MCPL reserves the right to interpret any and all guidelines in accordance with existing library policies and procedures. The library also reserves the right to suspend any and all guidelines for library programming.

14. In the event that CATS or the MCPL incurs any attorney fees or court costs in pursuing any of the remedies available to them, they shall be entitled to recover the same from the producer or any other party liable as a result of the use of the MCPL facilities, channels or staff.

CATS has Master Controllers (station operators), Production Assistants (field staff), and full-time Managers. Positions open periodically throughout the year. All openings are posted on the third floor of the Monroe County Public Library. Feel free to check the Library bulletin board for openings.

As paid staff take care of the daily operations of CATS, we encourage volunteers to produce their own programming. Volunteers are encouraged to take our free classes on camera operation and editing.

You may mail, fax, email, or bring in your announcement for the community calendar. If you submit your announcement by fax or mail, please call CATS to confirm the announcement was received. (See the Community Calendar)


You may make a videotaped Public Service Announcement by contacting CATS. CATS will also accept pre-recorded Public Service Announcements to play throughout the cablecast day. For more information on Public Service Announcements, call CATS at 349-3111 or email us.

We encourage residents without access to cable or internet to simply stop by CATS to use our viewing rooms. These rooms are reserved on a first-come first-served basis, and are exclusively for the purpose of viewing CATS programming.

The first step to making a program on CATS is to fill out a program proposal. Fill out the proposal with information about the program you would like to make and return it to CATS. Proposals are reviewed every week. Once it is approved, CATS trains you to use our camcorders and/or editing equipment and then you're on your way to making your own show!

Yes. We have camcorders and editing equipment for public use. We provide all equipment and training necessary to produce a television program.

If you have your own equipment and have a completed program, you can turn your program in to CATS to play. Bring the tape to CATS and fill out a Donation form. This provides CATS with all the necessary information to properly review and catalog your program. If you have your own camcorder, but not editing equipment, you may use our editing equipment to edit your program. Again, the first step to using our equipment is a program proposal. After your proposal is approved, you will be trained by CATS on our editing equipment. Once your program is done, you fill out a form and turn it in to CATS.

No. Playing your program on The Public Channel is the singular requirement for using our equipment.

Your program should play within three weeks of the date you turn it in. There are several steps between turning your program over to CATS and it actually being played, but we strive to get it on ASAP.

While the independent producer retains the intellectual property rights and full legal responsibility for the telecast of their program, CATS retains copyright to the finished product.  This allows CATS the unrestricted ability to duplicate the program, play the program on both cable and internet, as well as retaining the material in our historic archive of local programming.

You must contact CATS to find out if your proposal has been approved. Call CATS at 349-3111 or email us.

There is another form titled "Request for CATS Coverage". This form is available at the CATS front desk. CATS requires at least three weeks notice for any event, and cannot guarantee coverage until one week prior due to contractual obligations (governmental coverage). If CATS staff do record an event, it is featured on The Library Channel.

Less than three hours is helpful for programming purposes, but there is no length requirement.

Yes, though you may not sell any program made with CATS equipment. There are no restrictions on entering your program in competitions. Good luck!

CATS provides copies of each program in the collection on DVD. The service charge is $5 per DVD, and CATS accepts most credit and debit cards. In lieu of the $5 charge, CATS will accept a blank mini-DV tape in exchange for a DVD. For further information on dubs, see Dub Requests. There are several tapes in our collection that are copyrighted and cannot be copied.

There are several ways to see a program in our collection. You may watch the program in one of our viewing room, you may request it for playback, or you may get a copy of the program.

Yes, you may donate a tape to CATS to play on the Public Channel. If the program is one you produced, you simply bring the program to CATS, fill out a form, and turn it in. If the program is copyrighted, you must have copyright clearance from the copyright holder before CATS can show the program.

Once you have a few (3-4) programs completed, you will be eligible to have a regular weekly timeslot. Before then, we will play your individual program at various times of day, striving to show it when you want it played.

While the independent producer retains the intellectual property rights and full legal responsibility for the telecast of their program, CATS retains copyright to the finished product.  This allows CATS the unrestricted ability to duplicate the program, play the program on both cable and internet, as well as retaining the material in our historic archive of local programming.

Yes. Almost all programs in the CATS collection are available for duplication. If you have special concerns, please contact CATS staff.

The Public Channel schedule is available on our website. You can also contact CATS to find out the times your program will be played.

Forever. Once you submit your program to CATS, we will keep it as part of a permanent collection of all of the programs ever produced through, or donated to, CATS.

There are several ways you can submit information to the Community Calendar. You may bring your information to CATS, you may fax it, or you may e-mail it. See our pages about the Community Calendar for more information.

No. Since our tapes are one-of-a-kind masters, the tapes never leave the CATS archive. If you are interested in watching our programs at home you can either request a playback of that program or have a copy made of it.

No. We will play programs of any length, but suggest they be a minimum of thirty seconds and no longer than 3 hours. If you would like to play something that is over three hours in length, please contact CATS.