Recently Asked Questions

My Director has asked me to ask you the following question. In normal circumstances the library would host the meetings of local organizations that do not have a building of their own. The library hosts the meetings of organizations like "Concerned Citizens", "Race Unity Circle", the "Bahá'í society", etc. All nonprofits that do not have large budgets and utilize the library for their meetings. Is the library legally allowed to use the library's Zoom subscription to host meetings for these groups as an Outreach Program? In the same way the librarian would be there to book the meeting, set up tables/chairs, and greet the group, the Zoom meeting would be booked, the link distributed to members, and the librarian there to open the meeting up at the specified time. I would be interested if your answer is different depending on whether the library is in an emergency closure situation or not.

Our library is arranging more online programming in response to COVID-19 closures and reductions.  What should we be thinking about in making these arrangements?

We are seeking guidance as a result of the following:

We have been informed (by the Health Department and via news media) an individual who now has been confirmed to have COVID-19 attended a program at one of our libraries. I have been asked the following questions:

1. To what extent is it the responsibility of the library to notify participants who attended the library program the person now diagnosed with COVID-19 attended?
If the library bears no responsibility, would you recommend the library, as a courtesy, notify attendees? What of others who may have been in the library at the time of the program - in many cases, the names of these individuals are not known...are we placing the library in a liability situation if we notify some, but not others? If you suggest a courtesy call, can you please provide suggested language?

2. CPLR 4509 speaks to the confidentiality of library records. We have always employed that this further applies to the identification of anyone using the library, those participating in programs, etc. -- meaning that NO information can be provided to anyone without a proper subpoena. Given that this is a situation related to the health and well-being of our community should (they have not, but this is a question that has been asked) the Health Department request the names of program participants does CPLR apply? If so, can you recommend a response to such a question.

Thank you for your assistance.

I need clarification about the IRS regulations on 501c3 organizations. A local political group asked to use our meeting room space for a 'meet the candidates' event, a library trustee thinks this is not compliant with the "The Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations" https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/the-restriction-of-political-campaign-intervention-by-section-501c3-tax-exempt-organizations

I think our meeting room policy is very out of date and restricting access to the room based on content of the meeting violates 1st amendment rights, as outlined by ALA: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/meetingrooms

No staff are involved in this event, we have not helped plan it and it was made clear on all the publicity the political group put out that the library is only the venue, we are not hosting, this is not a library program.

Thank you!