Recently Asked Questions (RAQs)

Please provide a long, detailed, and deeply footnoted resource on the difference between lobbying, political activity, and telling people how to vote on a ballot measure such as a library budget proposition.

Can a public library or library system use taxpayer revenue to engage in advocacy, hire a lobbyist, or pay dues to an organization doing advocacy/lobbying?

[We got a question from a library system...]

It recently came to our attention that a civil service department overseeing hiring for a public library was not allowing a job candidate’s experience at an Empire State Library Network (ESLN) council to count as valid library experience at a “library of recognized standing.”

The department stated that they do not consider working at an ESLN council—or any other library system—to be equivalent to experience in an actual library setting, and therefore would not count it toward the candidate’s qualifications.

This raises concerns. Many of us working in library systems view our roles as part of the broader library sector. Systems typically require significant library experience to qualify for these positions, and we often serve as a resource for our member libraries because of that expertise. It’s generally understood that this experience is transferable across library types.

How should job candidates respond when faced with situations like this? Many applicants may need to include their years of system-level work in order to meeting job requirements. Do you have some guidance or strategies for navigating this issue? Thank you!