You have requested my expedited input regarding the potential impact on ESLN member organizations of the 33 executive orders issued in the first week of the second term of President Donald Trump, which began January 20, 2025.

The nine regional “reference and research library resources” systems comprising the Empire State Library Network serve:

In April 2024, the Federal Register published the US Department of Justice’s final rule on Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The rule includes specific requirements for state and local governments to ensure that web content and mobile applications are accessible to people with disabilities. My question is related to the applicability of Title II to the online collections of public academic libraries, and more specifically, to born-digital archival collections, i.e., archival collections consisting of materials originating in a computer environment.

I’m assuming the age requirement for youth cards varies widely even among NYS libraries, but what are the key determining legal factors which inform how libraries settle on an age range for this policy? I can think of three factors, and libraries likely conflate all of them together. I’d like to extrapolate the real legal concerns so that I can more clearly determine our own library’s circulation policies regarding permission for youth cards.

The board of trustees of a public school district library owns the library building. A private club occupies the entire second floor. The private club has traditionally not paid any rent or utilities, nor has it contributed to the upkeep of the building in any way.

The library, through a public vote of the school district, covers all of the costs of the building. Could the library be in danger of mismanagement of funds or losing its charter?