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.
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:
Hello,
When I was a kid, I watched "Candid Camera"[1] from time to time (as it turns out, this was good training for TikTok).
Within the context of recent regional school book challenges, much of the attention has been focused on print collections. However, librarians and school districts have started to look at digital content, too.
The answer is "Yes."
Of course, behind that answer is layer after layer of complexity.
Background: On Jan 1, 2023 we instituted several changes to employee time off accrual policies. We constructed the new vacation accrual policies carefully and gave some of our more senior staff "legacy policies" in order to not decrease any current employee's vacation accrual rate.
Vacation time is weird.
Why is it weird?
Well, first, it's fictional: it's time you get "paid" for, even though you are not at work.[1]
Second, unlike earned wages, vacation time can be magically obliterated, with employers deciding through policy that only a certain amount can be "carried over" or accrued.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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")
I am interested in developing a policy to outline who/how the library may collect donations on behalf of other organizations. We have always had a Lion's Club eyeglass donation box in the library. I inherited this procedure but I cannot find any policy that specifies the parameters of such an agreement. Does the organization we would collect for have to be a 501C3?
[NOTE: For exciting recent commentary and a model policy about fund-raising along with or on behalf of third parties (like Friends), check out this RAQ, addressing libraries assisting Friends groups with fund-raising activities. The following response is limited to the very narrow issue of collecting donations on behalf of
