Does Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act apply to born-digital archival collections?

Question

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.

Answer

Thank you for such a thoughtful (and complex) question.

To answer it, I am going to respond in the form of a dialogue between a lawyer and librarian that will allow other Ask the Lawyer readers at public institutions to assess if their born-digital archives must comply, too.

Retention Period for Employee Records

Question

How long should the library retain employee records, payroll records, sales and purchase records, mortgage and loan documents, and other records?

Answer

Several considerations impact the answer to this question:

For a public library, the bare minimum record retention periods are found in a document called "the LGS-1."[1]  The LGS-1 has rules for retention covering everything from your library's charter, to how long you hold onto circulation records.

NYS Documentation in the Public Domain

Question

I am of the understanding that NYS departments documentation falls under public domain. Can you provide any insight into this? Thank you!

Answer

I can most certainly provide some insight on this topic. But first, some terminology...

For readers who don't know, the "public domain" is the "place" distinct works of authorship (poems, paintings, books, etc.) go to when they are no longer protected by copyright. When a work is "in" the "public domain" it means it can be used without fear of copyright infringement.

Reviewing Deed of Gift and Loan Forms

Question

"Ask the Lawyer" got a question from a member: "Can you review our deed of gift and loan forms?"  We helped them out on a confidential basis, but we're using their question to inspire this guidance on implementing or updating a suite of policies for accepting and managing gifts into your collections.

Answer

The State of New York has very strong feelings about collecting cultural assets and information.  So strong, that such collections are governed by a host of laws, regulations, and policy.

Undocumented and unclaimed items in collections

Question

We have a couple of questions relating to Section 233-A of NYS Education Law, the "Museum Property Law". The law as written seems to only address totally undocumented objects and recent loans, but it also seems to have clear implications for the many partially documented objects and very old loans we have to deal with.

Answer

[NOTE:  For some initial background on New York's law governing museums and loaned/donated items, see Special collections not recorded on institution's ledgers]

Enforcing Code of Conduct

Question

The New York Archives Conference recently posted a formal Code of Conduct (https://www.nyarchivists.org/nyac/code). While discussing our procedures for implementing this code, we began to wonder about the legal implications for enforcement.

Answer

Before I dive into this meaty and spectacular[1] question, here is a necessary disclaimer: this answer does not apply to chartered libraries.

Who does it apply to?  The following: