Public Libraries

We got a series of questions from a public library system about New York State Retirement. Buckle up, this is a LOT.

I wanted to host a fanfiction writing contest for my teen department, as we have a lot of teens who enjoy writing fanfiction about their favorite characters and fandom. However, I know fanfiction is always a little tricky.

The idea was to set rules and guidelines, such as:

The member posing the question is 100% right: the copyright considerations of fanfiction are “tricky.”

Our trustee petitions to run for board seats are due 30 days before our election. That date happens to fall on a Sunday. What is the best practice for dates that fall on a Sunday? What is the best practice for dates that fall on a Saturday? Our petitions are due at the school, the school is closed on Saturday and Sunday.

WARNING! This answer applies only to school district public libraries.[1]

In addition: Caveat…[2] this answer will apply differently to different school district public libraries.

I’m assuming the age requirement for youth cards varies widely even among NYS libraries, but what are the key determining legal factors which inform how libraries settle on an age range for this policy? I can think of three factors, and libraries likely conflate all of them together.

When advising on a policy or set of terms for a library or library system to adopt for children’s library cards, I ask for the following information:

The board of trustees of a public school district library owns the library building. A private club occupies the entire second floor. The private club has traditionally not paid any rent or utilities, nor has it contributed to the upkeep of the building in any way.

What an interesting set-up! If I started a private club,[1] I would totally want it over a library. Or a museum. Either way, very cool.

Our library is trying to set some parameters around what we require from a patron in order to check out library materials to them. For adults and teens, this is straightforward: we require they have their library card or a form of identification.

First, I'll answer the easy question: No, you are not overthinking this.

For children fortunate enough to be brought to the public library at a young age, the experience is life-altering. They grow as readers and thinkers. They see themselves as part of a community that shares resources. They start to absorb the values of privacy and information access.

Could you please provide the effective date of 8 CRR-NY 90.2?

Are all public libraries required to publish their budgets online on their websites?

For readers that don’t see Education Department regulations as subtitles to the movie of your life,[1] these questions pertain to the state regulations governing public libraries, which have changed significantly in recent years.

For context, here is the full legal citation hierarchy we are in:

If a prospective employer specifically asks about a candidate’s physical capacity to do a job and they say they can do all of the tasks required, and then notify us afterwards that they need accommodations for things they said they could do without them, are we:

a) by law required to provide them 

OR

A minefield, indeed.[1]

The first issue in this question is the premise: “If a prospective employer specifically asks about a candidate’s physical capacity to do a job and they say they can do all of the tasks required…”

I read the response to the question of whether certain types of libraries must abide by the minimum wage in New York (https://wnylrc.org/raq/minimum-wage-public-library-employees).

Before I answer, let’s confirm: sometimes, base pay (hourly wage or salary) is the only compensation an employee gets, while sometimes, compensation is base pay plus a robust combination of benefits.

A school district public library would like to open up a line of credit so it can get a credit card. Is there a legal reason why this type of library - or, for that matter, any public library (association, school district, municipal, or Indian/Tribal) can only get a debit card and not a credit card? It is understood that best practice would involve a strong policy regarding its use.

A line of credit and a credit card are like a paint roller and a paint brush—they might perform the same basic function, but they work differently.

A line of credit or “revolving credit” gives a person or entity the ability to borrow money, without the borrowed money being tied to a particular purchase.