Friends Donations Collected Through Library Programs

Question

A community member hosts a “free with donation” yoga class at our library, and attendees are encouraged to make a donation each class. These donations are collected by the yoga instructor who hands them to the circulation assistant and identifies it as a donation to the Friends of the Library organization.

Answer

This sounds like a lovely service to both the library and community, so I am going to make this answer as positive as possible.

First, it is clear from the question that the instructor (a “community member”) is not a library employee. So, they are either doing this as a volunteer or as an independent contractor.

Witnessing a Document

Question

A patron came in and asked me to “witness a signature.” He was signing some bank document, but it didn’t need to be notarized, just witnessed. I realized he wasn’t signing his name, and when I asked him about it, he said that it was his aunt’s name and he had a Power of Attorney - he showed me those documents, so I ended up signing as a witness. But I felt uncomfortable about it.

Answer

I have good news: the attorney you married really knows her stuff!

Of course, that means I also have bad news: the document you witnessed is probably invalid!

Insurance for Friends of the Library Groups

Question

Is it required or advised that the Friends group (ours is a separate non-profit) have their own insurance? Monetary restrictions have resulted in our FOL group dropping their annual insurance as they understood it was not "required."

Answer

There is a large array of insurance coverage a not-for-profit organization might be required to have, and another, equally large array of coverage this is "optional" but may be advised as wise.

Most of the "required" coverages are due to having employees.

SAM Coverage for Libraries

Question

We are a small, rural, association library that serves a population of under 4,500. We recently received an Abuse or Molestation Exclusion from our general liability/property insurance company.

Answer

Before answering this question, I have to point to the extraordinary care the member has put into formulating it.

Prior to considering insurance coverage as a question of budget, this member library has:

Accessibility Devices for In-Library Use

Question

We have a large facility. Sometimes patrons have to walk far to get to various programs and spaces. We have had a few patrons in the recent couple of months ask if we have a wheelchair or walker they could use to help them get around. We consulted with our insurance provider about this and he basically said to ask a lawyer.

Answer

This is such a beautiful idea! In my experience, there are three things that often impede beautiful ideas:

  1. Insurance concerns;
  2. Legal concerns; and
  3. People who worry that there might be insurance or legal concerns.

This question shows how to protect an idea from these impediments:

Professional Insurance Coverage for Book Challenge Lawsuits

Question

Is there professional insurance for librarians? Given the book-banning lawsuits, do librarians and library workers need additional insurance to cover possible lawsuits? Other states have passed laws fining library workers $10,000. Besides the library's D and O insurance, do librarians and library workers need additional insurance coverage?

Answer

There are many types of insurance, and many types of "exclusions" to risks covered by insurance.

Because of this, there is no one answer to this question.  A library can have "general commercial liability" and "D&O", and "E&O", and "professional liability" coverage...and could still not have coverage for a claim related to library content.

Use of Meeting Rooms Outside Library Hours

Question

We are revising our Meeting Room Policy. Currently we have a group of seniors who meet at our library for [really healthy] exercise in the morning before the library is open. They have been doing this for about [many] years.

Answer

There are three things that are potential obstacles to this request:

1.  Safety (and its flip side: Liability)

2.  Security (and its flip side: Loss)

3.  Charitable Status (and its obscure tax-concept flip side: "Inurements")

Liability Waivers for Library Fitness Programs

Question

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.

Answer

I have a lot of fun-loving clients.  Here are some examples of activities I've created liability waivers for: