Marketing Library Budget Vote

Question

We are a free association library. More than 90% of our funding comes from a tax levy voted on by local residents when they vote on our local school district budget.

We are considering strategies for reminding library patrons to go out and vote. We do not have a friends group.

We know that the library cannot say “vote yes.” But we are unsure of where the line is.

Answer

To answer this question, we need to leave the hard, unyielding pavement of a clear prohibition (We know that the library cannot say “vote yes.”) and hang out in the weeds.

Which weeds?

Let’s go with:

Hiring a Lobbyist for Libraries

Question

Politics are impacting libraries more than ever, and our library organization is considering hiring a lobbyist to represent our interests in Albany.  We know that as a non-profit we can't engage in "political activity", but can we hire a lobbyist?  And if we can, what do we need to be thinking about, legally?

Answer

This answer applies to an association library, a cooperative library system, or regional library council (e.g. the Western New York Library Resources Council or the Northern New York Library Network).

It can also apply to a chartered museum or historical society.