Liability

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).

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")

An academic librarian relayed this question from a researcher/author:

First, some validation: the faculty member is wise to be considering this issue, since publishing contracts[1] almost always put the responsibility and liability for photo clearances on the author.

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.

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

Should libraries that have Notaries Public on staff have notary liability insurance for those library staff? Or would that be covered by the library's general liability insurance? We don't want our staff who are providing Notary Public services to be putting themselves at risk.

These are very important questions.

Just in case any reader needs a refresher, a "notary public" in New York performs critical services: administering oaths and affirmations, taking affidavits and depositions, certifying acknowledgements or proof of critical documents (such as real property deeds, mortgages, and powers of attorney), and certifying copies of official documents.

A director of a library resources council asks…

This is the right question at the right time.  As we wrap up 2022, remote work, work travel, work-from-home, work abroad...all these are evolving in a tangle of legal considerations.

Our library offers a variety of business services such as copying, scanning, emailing, and faxing, and we also have staff on hand to assist patrons with these services.

This question tugged at my heart, because lawyers face issues like this, too.[1]

Maintaining confidentiality while addressing concerns that a person is being victimized creates terrible tension.  The need to maintain a trusting relationship, governed by professional ethics, makes the tension all the more acute.

A public library is looking at the possibility of taking over the running of a medical loan closet that has been previously run by a church.

The library would find a space through a partner, so it would not be on library property.

Before I answer, let's talk about why a person or business might create an LLC ("limited liability company").

A primary function of an “LLC”[1] is to do exactly what the member has proposed—to create a separate entity designed to hold the liability associated with a particular venture.

We have a patron who insists that it is their right to go barefoot into any public area. Okay, but, being a public (Association) library, aren't we still liable even if that person injures themselves on the property even if they 'say' they wouldn't sue us? Is there a law that defends their position and if so, how do we defend ourselves from litigation? Should we have them sign a waiver?

To answer this question, I had to switch things up, and pretend that one day, there I am, sitting in my office,[1] when a barefoot person walks up to my door and asks “I want enjoy my library privileges while barefoot, and they won’t let me.  Can they do that, or can you help me sue?”