Recently Asked Questions

A town municipal public library has been told by the town that the library cannot have a donate to the library button on the library's website. The library hosts its own website, and the donations would go into a library checking account.

The town feels that the library will be seen as fundraising. Is there a comptroller's opinion or NYS Law that states municipal town libraries (or school district or special district) libraries cannot ask for donations on its website?

Thanks

My hometown library has implemented a fitness waiver for their movement and exercise activity programs. I am wondering if this is a good idea for my library. We provide some exercise classes including chair yoga, Zumba, nature walks, and are looking into another movement class activity. For reference, please copy and paste the form used by my hometown library [redacted for anonymity] into your browser or refer to the attached screenshot. Are we within our legal/ethical practices to implement such a waiver? Will we need to consult an attorney to draw up the waiver for a fee, or can we borrow the language used by [redacted for anonymity]? Thank you.

A municipal public library has accepted a gift of real property and is selling the property.

How much autonomy does the Library have in accepting and selling this property? The sponsoring municipality feels that perhaps it is their responsibility to handle the sale according to their regular procedures, including a permissive referendum (as required by law).

Finally, who controls the proceeds from the sale?

Are public or private libraries obligated to give paid time off for eligible employees to get the vaccine during work time? A staffer is planning to go upstate for it on a work day and the question came up if they have to use sick time or just "get the day" to take care of this. Thank you!

I work with a number of municipal public libraries - some are village, others are town. Some libraries use their municipality's employee handbooks, payroll, services like snow blowing and building maintenance, and have the municipalities cut the checks.

It would be helpful to have a clear understanding that the libraries are not a department of the municipality and that the board of trustees is in charge of the library, hiring staff, evaluating staff, approving expenses, and have complete control of the budget.

It would also be helpful if there was a sample MOU that spells out the division of responsibilities clearly.