Public Libraries

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."

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.

What would it look like if a Public Library hired a part-time social worker to help patrons deal with some of their everyday life issues that may come up while visiting the library? I see the potential benefits but can imagine a lot of complications.

The New York State Education Department’s Office of the Professions, which oversees the licensure of social workers, describes social work this way:[1]

Our library gets taxpayer funding from its own line on a school district tax bill. We know this "259" funding is a recurring tax that can only be changed with approval of the voters. That said, this year the total amount remitted by the school district was reduced due to "corrections" made after the tax bills went out.

The short answer is yes, it's true. A school district tax levy, even if it’s a separate line on a school district bill in support of a library, can be reduced if a taxpayer challenges their assessment after the tax bills go out, and yes, since 2022, a library may have to refund overpayments.

I have always been under the impression that it is illegal for public libraries to fundraise on their own, aside from 2 book sales per year. If a school district public library no longer has a Friends Group, can it host fundraisers? For example, could the library itself host a bingo night and raise money? Can a school district public library send out a fundraising letter?

There are a lot of questions packed into this submission!

Let's take them one at a time.

First question: "I have always been under the impression that it is illegal for public libraries to fundraise on their own, aside from 2 book sales per year." [1]

The [NAME REDACTED] Public Library has a materials selection policy in place. When recently updating the policy, trustees had questions about the "responsibility" section which states:

What an insightful question.

Here is my answer: no, "delegate" is not quite the right word in this context.  A more suitable phrase could be:

"Per library policy, the Director, or an employee designated by the Director, has authority and responsibility for the selection of library resources."

Here is why:

A local artist has asked for us to become a fiscal sponsor (act as a “pass-through” organization). Is this something a public library can do?

A "pass-through" is when a 501(c)(3) organization agrees to let a non-501(c)(3) use its tax status to accept grant money.  It’s a not uncommon arrangement; in fact, some 501(c)(3)’s are actually set up to do it so smaller and less established organizations can benefit from grant money.

[This question is a quasi-fictional mash-up of some questions we got from some town libraries and a cooperative library system.]

First: I'd like to thank the libraries and the library system who brought up this issue.  The questions raised in this submission only materialized because they were committed to careful reading of the law and to doing the right thing.

Second: before answering, I have to set out two caveats.

A school district public library is considering installing closed-circuit cameras and thinking of enabling sound recordings, too. Is it legal to record sound, thinking it is a violation of patron privacy? Can board members review the tapes?

The answer to these highly specific questions will assume readers have reviewed the ALA's excellent general guidance at https://www.ala.org/advocacy/privacy/guidelines/videosurveillance and the "Ask the Lawyer" guidance here: https://wnylrc.org/raq/patron-pr

The library is chartered as a school district public library and thus exempt from NYS sales tax. Due to a mold issue we ended up having our HVAC contractor rent two humidifiers for us, the contractor made the arrangements and we paid for the rental via the contractor. The contractor told the renting business that we were tax exempt. The renting business refuses to remove the sales tax.

Short answer: You can't find anything to verify that claim because what is claimed is wrong.

Long answer:  The rental business may be wrong, but I can't blame them the way I can blame someone for parking in a "No Parking" zone.[1]

Does a contractor have to comply with FOIL request if they are contracted to a county government?

New York's Freedom of Information Law, or “FOIL”, applies to government agencies (including public libraries) but cannot be used to compel private companies (or individuals) to allow inspection or copying or records.