Recently Asked Questions

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.

According to the rule, state and local entities must follow the technical standard outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 level AA. However, this rule allows for five exceptions: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/section-35.201.

I understand the updated regulation does not override the existing obligations under Title II to make reasonable modifications on an individual basis, but it is unclear if Title II applies to born-digital archival collections, or if these collections fall under the exceptions linked above.

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.

1. Is the signature to allow for “parent permission” to access the library? Are public libraries legally obligated to obtain parent permission before a child of a certain age accesses library materials or services? I’m assuming that the library would not be liable if, for example, staff allowed an 11-year-old without a library card to read any book they liked within the walls of the library. Does this apply to a child of any age? (I realize unaccompanied minors will eventually come into play). So, by extension, is granting an 11-year-old a library card without parent consent legally permissible?

2. Is the signature an acknowledgement of responsibility for the library materials on behalf of the child? Many library card applications prompt for this specifically, but according to NYS law, is a parent/guardian responsible for library materials checked out to a minor in their care regardless? (If a 15-year-old minor lost library materials or incurred fines or fees, would their parents still be legally responsible even without giving permission for the card?)

3. COPPA and the collection of PII (for online library card signup). Though not required as a non-profit, our library chooses to comply with this policy, requiring parent/guardian consent of online card signup for children 12 and under. Does this mean that a child aged 11 could still, within legal boundaries, apply for a library card in person without collecting consent?

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?

Our library is supported by a school district tax levy. The levy provides the bulk of our annual budget. Out of the blue, the district has told us that rather than turning over the full amount of the levy (which it has done for years), the district will now pay over the money “as it is collected.” This could create a cash flow problem, since our remaining funds are budgeted for a construction project.

Is this “pay as you collect” approach legal? If it is legal, are there any options?

Our library is trying to set some parameters around what we require from a patron in order to check out library materials to them. For adults and teens, this is straightforward: we require they have their library card or a form of identification. We are struggling to find a procedure that works for children when they visit the library without a library card, accompanied by someone who is not their parent or legal guardian. This includes kids who visit the library on field trips or with their daycare, or who come with a friend or extended family member.

We want to have a procedure that balances the rights of minors to read freely, with protection for our library against claims that we have checked out materials to children that the parent/guardian believes to be inappropriate.

Some details about our library's policies:
1. We are a public library and do not restrict borrowing privileges by age group. A card holder is permitted to check out anything in the library, regardless of their age.
2. When a child (birth - age 11) gets a library card, their parent or legal guardian must fill out and sign an application that states: “My child has permission to have a library card. I understand that all library collections, including adult material and internet access, are available to children. I accept responsibility for my child's use of the library and any loss incurred.” This application is retained until the cardholder becomes an adult.[1]

We are not primarily concerned with the financial contract between the library and the parent/guardian, but with the potential fallout if a parent were to become angry that their child was permitted to check something out without their library card. If the card is present — say Dad gave it to Grandma when she offered to bring the kids to the library — we feel somewhat assured by having the parent's signature from the original card application. When the card is NOT present, though, we worry that we're opening ourselves up to problems.

We do have a compassionate/creative internal library card that we occasionally use to check out items to folks when our library's policies (e.g. Requiring a card/ID be present) are interfering with the library's ability to fulfill its mission (e.g. Teen has a book report that's due tomorrow and they didn't bring their wallet). We're concerned that if we used that mechanism to check something out to a younger child whose parent is not with them, we could be accused of using our Public Library Agenda to thwart parents' rights. 

Are we overthinking this?