My concern is about employee privacy and image use.
This is one of those questions that a thoughtful attorney, wishing to be thorough, could write a book about. However, "Ask the Lawyer" is not a book, so we'll see what I can do in about one thousand words!
To give some useful answers, and also stick within our word limit:
Our local public library has started a collection of donated yearbooks from the high school. They requested to receive or purchase new yearbooks as they were published. As the yearbook contains underage students, information about their sports and clubs, we felt that this was protected personal information and should not be publicly accessible.
I appreciate the care behind this question: when yearbook information is being assembled, not many people are thinking about all the places the publication could potentially go.
For public libraries that must comply with Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), how does FOIL impact our organization's use of social media? What sort of social media records can be FOIL-ed and what are some best practices for using social media in regards to FOIL?
This is a timely question, because New York's Committee on Open Government (the authority on all things FOIL), has recently stated[1] that not only do public libraries have to follow FOIL, but cooperative public library systems have to, as well.
Local police walked through our Library earlier today with no explanation. Later on, we noticed 2 teens on premises, who we assume should have been in school. We thought the police may have been looking for them as truants, but that is not confirmed.
There is no one right answer to this question, but there is a formula for any library to come up with its own, unique answer.
Here is the formula:
[Situation] x [Ethics + Law] / [POLICY/Precedent] = YES or NO
Let me break this approach down. And trust me, I will give a clear reply to the member's question at the end of all this.
Recently a question has come up at our academic library concerning patron privacy and the notification to a patron (usually a student) concerning excessive downloading of content from databases in our collection. Our current practice has been to receive notification from the vendor about perceived illegal downloading.
Questions that combine higher education, data access, and "terms of use" enforcement always give me a moment of sad reflection, as I remember Internet pioneer and activist Aaron Schwartz. It was an alleged overuse of an academic database at MIT in 2012 that lead up to his demise.[1]
We have a school district public library board considering requiring background checks for new employees. They are concerned that they may be legally required to background check all current employees. Would there be any legal reason they would need to do so?
[NOTE: for background to this short answer, please see the much longer "Ask the Lawyer" Background checks and fingerprinting for new employees, that addresses the tightrope walk/legal minefields of employee background checks.]
Our library is considering a name tag policy as part of our focus on patron service. What are the legal "do's" and "don'ts" of an employee name tag policy?
When it comes to the legal considerations of employee name tags, there are quite a few "do's" and just as many "don’ts." I'll set them out below, with the legal rationale behind the guidance.
DO pick a legible font.
Accessibility matters. Consult an ADA guide and pick a font that is easy to read.
We had a patron come in this past week who said that he couldn't see well and also couldn't type or use a mouse, but he needed to certify Unemployment Insurance. He asked the staff member to login with his username and password and do this for him, and the staff member was, understandably, uncomfortable doing it.
At first glance, this question seems simple: what are the possible legal risks to a librarian helping a patron fill out a legal document?
But within this question lies another, slightly more complex issue: when does good customer service become an accommodation for a disability?
Our library offers a variety of business services such as copying, scanning, emailing, and faxing, and we also have staff on hand to assist patrons with these services. We often have patrons request assistance with scanning and emailing or faxing sensitive documents including checks (with banking/routing numbers), driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, or other financial/legal documents.
This question tugged at my heart, because lawyers face issues like this, too.[1]
Maintaining confidentiality while addressing concerns that a person is being victimized creates terrible tension. The need to maintain a trusting relationship, governed by professional ethics, makes the tension all the more acute.
We are a municipal library and the building is owned by the county. The county will be installing security cameras outside the library in multiple locations for safety reasons. These cameras will not be regularly monitored unless there is a reason to consult them. We will not be viewing the footage per a patron’s request.
Many libraries, for a variety of good reasons, have security cameras. Some libraries control those recording systems; others do not. But no matter how they get there, when cameras are in a library, the questions posed by the member are critical.
