LibraryLaw Blog

Congratulations to vermont libraries on strengthened patron privacy

Congratulations and kudos to the Vermont library folks. The state governor signed a bill on May 13, 2008 that substantially strengthens library user privacy. It changes the law from permissive protection (a library MAY keep records confidential), to a mandatory protection (a library MAY NOT disclose records unless certain conditions are met. 

It seems to assume that FERPA requires disclosure of student library records to parents, though this is not known for sure.  It does allow parents of children under 16 to look at their kids' records, though IMHO it's not clear that this is always in the child's best interest.

But the best part is that it allows a private right of action. That is, a patron whose records have been wrongly disclosed may bring a civil action against the library. 

Abandoned property guide

Libraries, archives, and especially museums are filled with items of uncertain ownership.  Frequently material is given to the institution on loan or deposit, and now the original owners have disappeared.  Without a clear title, the institution may be unwilling to loan or even preserve the items (since this might involve altering an item they don't own).

One possible solution is to get orphan items declared to be "abandoned property" and then claim ownership of them  The Acquisitions and Appraisal Section of the Society of American Archivists has prepared a very useful compilation of state laws relating to abandoned physical property and how museums, libraries, and archives can assert ownership of the physical item.   

State privacy laws and libraries

Paul Neuhaus has been busy updating his great wiki of state laws on the confidentiality of library records.  Thanks, Paul.

Internet Archive officially a library

According to a posting in the Internet Archive forum, the state of California has officially designated the Internet Archive to be a library.  They link to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article for more information.

Perhaps Mary can comment on the process necessary to be designated a library in California.  The action is interesting, regardless.  One of the topics covered in the March 2006 roundtables of the Section 108 Study Group was whether purely virtual libraries should be able to take advantage of the Section 108 exemptions.  (Under current law they most likely would not be eligibile.)  California's action seems to be a recognition that how we define a library is changing.

Beginnings of a library state law wiki - from Paul Neuhaus

Dig in - here's Paul's state laws on library confidentiality. It hasn't been updated in a couple of years, so he's wikifying it for y'all to add to it.

Do Michiganders have a state constitutional right to get library cards outside their jurisdiction?

Update: Be sure to check out Mary Beth Sancomb-Moran (Impromptu Librarian)'s take in No card for you...  Mary Beth does a great read-between-the-lines (actually, just read the lines she selected from the library's Q & A, supplemented by her own reactions). (p.s. if you're reading this, hi Mary Beth!)

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Peter Hirtle sent me this AP story by David Eggert about a Michigan case that will be heard this week by the Michigan Supreme Court.  Do Michiganders have a constitutional right, based on the Michigan constitution (see below), to get a library card in a neighboring community?

Facts: A contract agreement between the city and library expired.  Nonresidents could no longer borrow library materials or have full access to online databases and other programs that were available to township residents.

Lower Courts:  The trial court ruled that the state constitution and statutes did not require the library to allow nonresidents to get cards. The Appellate court agreed, saying that the constitution,when read with consideration of drafters' intent, did not mandate libraries to issue nonresident cards or offer all services to nonresidents.

Some more background here: Michigan Library Association

STATE CONSTITUTION

CONSTITUTION OF MICHIGAN OF 1963

Article VIII Education

§ 9 Public libraries, fines.

The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment and support of public libraries which shall be available to all residents of the state under regulations adopted by the governing bodies thereof. All fines assessed and collected in the several counties, townships and cities for any breach of the penal laws shall be exclusively applied to the support of such public libraries, and county law libraries as provided by law.

Hooray - I figured out how to use tags instead of categories in this blog

As I suspected, it's much easier and more flexible.  So if any of you are looking for new posts based on categories, you may not find them. Use the technorati tags at the bottom of a post instead. If it works like I think it will, I'll probably stop using categories altogether.

Update: It looks as if users who click on a technorati tag below will get everyone in the world's posts with those tags. That's useful, but it would be nice to have an option to limit it to this blog, the way flickr does.  Well, there's always the search button in the blog...

Are spammers using public records requests to get your patrons' email addresses (off their library card registrations)?

I'm starting to hear about this trend. Is it happening to your library?  On the one hand, it sounds so far fetched that anyone would go to the trouble to get patron email addresses by making public records requests to libraries. Further, it seems so obvious that this personal information would/should be exempted, but you'd have to look at the wording of your state law to see if it is.    On the other hand, maybe its cheaper and better information than spammers could buy off other types of marketing lists.  After all, library patrons are, whatever else you can say about them, usually real people.

Library folks in Oregon recently told me that SB 950 is moving (and quite likely to pass) in their state legislature. It would exempt patrons' email addresses from public disclosure under the state public records law.

Law of Libraries and Archives

Just discovered a website on the Law of Libraries and Archives, by Bryan M. Carson. It's an adjunct to his book published in December 2006 by Scarecrow Press, which I just ordered :>

More crazy legislation - library staff as sexual offender check-in officers

One of the craziest library bills of all time was reintroduced in the Florida Legislature yesterday.

S1804    GENERAL BILL by Posey
Sexual Offenders/Public Libraries; prohibits certain specified sexual offenders whose victim was under age of 18 from entering public library without immediately notifying employee of public library of sex offender's presence & intent to use resources of library; prohibits sex offender from entering library until employee acknowledges presence of offender; provides that offender who violates act commits felony of third degree; provides criminal penalties, etc. Amends 947.1405, 948.30.
  EFFECTIVE DATE: 07/01/2007
    02/21/07 SENATE Filed

Minow take:   I worked in public libraries for ten years.  We all want to protect the children, but putting library staff in this role is untenable. As I asked last year, does this mean library staff must then keep an eye on the patron?  Is there funding for extra staff to do this?  What kind of relationship does this really entail, and does it put the library employee at some risk?  Will there be an expectation that the librarian will keep the offender away from the children... and if so, what if she fails?

Giving libraries money for security guards is a much better idea.