Or: Is All This Legal?
You don’t have to be an attorney to be a library director, but you do need to understand the basics of many state and federal laws that affect your library. You should also know about any local ordinances that might pertain to your library.
Legal requirements that may most seriously affect the library are in its fiscal management, personnel, policy, buildings, and political dealings. Be careful when making decisions in these areas. If an action the library is about to take seems controversial, it should send up a warning flag. You should consider whether your action might have legal ramifications.
State Library Laws
Be sure to check current statutes for the most up-to-date information. Information presented here is of a general nature. In specific situations, the library’s legal counsel should be consulted.
The sections of Idaho Code that deal with city and district libraries are found in Title 33: Education.
- The laws governing city libraries are found in Idaho Code §§ 33-2601 through 33-2611, 33-2620, 33-2702(6), and 33-2741
- District library law is found in I.C. §§ 33-2701 through 33-2729, 33-2741, and 33-2620.
- Laws pertaining to school-community libraries are found in I.C. §§ 33-2737 through 33-2741 and 33-2620. There are three school-community libraries in Idaho.
These laws cover annual reports, the responsibilities of trustees and librarians, the appointment or election of trustees, donations to libraries, the establishment of new libraries, the consolidation of existing libraries, and the annexation of unserved territory.
In some cases, library law refers to other sections of Idaho Code, including election laws, public meeting law, the public records act, and laws relating to units of local government.
Public Library District Trustee Elections
District libraries are required to hold trustee elections on the third Tuesday in May of every odd-numbered year.
The board of a district library may appoint one of its trustees to act as the district’s clerk, with the responsibility of coordinating the election with the county clerk. These duties include distributing and collecting nominating petitions; verifying qualifications of the nominee(s); acting as liaison with the county clerk; and issuing certificates of election.
The Elections Division of the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office publishes general election information on its website.
State Laws for Both District and City Libraries
Be sure to check current statutes for the most up-to-date information. The information presented here is general in nature. In specific situations, the library’s legal counsel should be consulted.
Bidding Requirements
Idaho Code contains other sections that pertain to municipal or taxing district boards. Competitive bidding laws are located in I.C. §§ 67-2801 through 67-2809. In addition, I.C. § 59-1026 defines penalties for “Willful and Knowing Avoidance of Competitive Bidding and Procurement Statutes.” I.C. §§ 67-2348 and 67-2349 emphasize the preference for Idaho contractors and Idaho suppliers.
Open Meeting Law
Open and honest government is fundamental to a free society. The Idaho Legislature formalized our state’s commitment to open government by enacting the Idaho Open Meetings Law in 1974. The Open Meeting Law, I.C. Chapter 2, Title 74, codifies a simple but fundamental Idaho value: The public’s business should be done in public. The Idaho Office of the Attorney General publishes an Open Meeting Law Manual, which explains the law in question/answer format and includes the appropriate legal citations for each answer.
Open Meeting Law topics include:
- The definition and requirements for Open Public Meetings;
- The requirement that both meeting notice and agenda notice must be posted for each of the library board’s public meetings;
- The circumstances under which a published agenda may be amended;
- The requirement that all public meetings must be held in places that do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, age, or national origin;
- The requirement that all public library boards provide written minutes of all meetings and that these minutes be made available to the public within a reasonable amount of time;
- The requirement that the library board’s meetings must be open to the public except in executive session to:
- Consider hiring, evaluating, or disciplining a specific employee;
- Conduct labor negotiations (involving a labor union);
- Consider records that are exempt from disclosure (see the Public Records Act, I.C. Chapter 1, Title 74, for exempt records);
- Consider purchasing property;
- Negotiate trade or commerce;
- Consider its attorney’s advice on pending or possible lawsuits.
- The requirement that no final action or decisions may be made in an executive session and that all voting must be conducted in public sessions;
- The requirement that members of the library’s board who knowingly conduct or participate in a meeting in violation of this law will be subject to a monetary fine and that any actions taken in such a meeting shall be null and void;
- The provisions for “curing” an open meeting violation, I.C. § 74-208.
Idaho Tort Claims Act
The Tort Claims Act, I.C. Chapter 9, Title 6, contains the laws that govern board and employee liability and protection. These laws define when governmental entities, including public libraries, may be held liable for damages as a result of their actions and gives them authority to purchase necessary liability insurance and to pay for the premium through a separate tax levy. Note: City library buildings are usually covered by the city’s insurance. When in doubt, check with your city clerk.
Public Records Act
Another law that pertains to both district and city libraries is Idaho’s Public Records Act, I.C. Chapter 1, Title 74. This law makes the administrative records of the library, such as board minutes and policies, available to the public. But it also safeguards the privacy of library circulation records. This means that your library cannot let any person, including representatives of law enforcement agencies, examine these records without proper authorization. See I.C. § 74-108(4). When in doubt, the
library director should contact the library’s attorney or risk management provider.
Ethics in Government
I.C. Chapter 4, Title 74, Ethics in Government, includes several sections that deal with ethical behavior.
Bribery and Corruption
I.C. Chapter 13, Title 18, includes laws pertaining to using political position for personal gain, self-interested contracts, and nepotism.
Federal Laws
Federal laws that apply to your library are generally concerned with the areas of personnel, especially in the areas of hiring and firing. More information on these laws is available in the Human Resources section of this Survival Guide.
When to Call an Attorney
In case of legal disputes, you and your board should not represent the library. You need to have an attorney’s advice.
If you are a city library director, you should get to know the city attorney and understand what legal counsel will be able to do for you.
If you are the director of a district library, your library may already have an attorney. This information will be included in your library’s Transition Notebook. If your library does not already have an attorney, you need to ask your board to choose an attorney and pay for an initial consultation. (Sometimes, initial consultations are free of charge. This is up to the attorney.) At that time, you can ask the attorney to serve as the library’s legal counsel on an “as needed” basis. During this consultation you may wish to tell the
attorney about library issues that might be controversial and share a bit about your understanding of district library law.
Even when you are working with an attorney, it is important to have a basic understanding of the law. Library law is rarely disputed in court, so when you first approach an attorney you may find you know more about it than the attorney does. You may also know a great deal more about what your library wants or needs in any given legal situation. What an attorney will bring you will be a wider perspective of how library laws fit into the general framework of law. Thus, working with an attorney should be seen as a partnership, in which both of you bring important perspectives to the solution of a problem.
There are some attorneys in Idaho who specialize in working with public libraries. A district library may wish to contact one of those attorneys instead of a local one.
Your library’s risk management provider may also be able to help. Contact information for your risk management provider should be in your library’s Transition Notebook.
Help from the Idaho Commission for Libraries
The Idaho Commission for Libraries publishes a compilation of Idaho’s library laws as needed. The online edition of Idaho Library Laws is updated after each legislative session. This publication contains all new additions to library laws and many other laws pertinent to libraries.
The best way to understand laws is to read them. Don’t tackle them all at once, but read Idaho Library Laws section by section, as time permits. Start with the specific law for your library.
If you find something you don’t understand, contact ICfL Public Library Consultant Clay Ritter at 208-639-4177 or clay.ritter@libraries.idaho.gov. Clay can help you understand the laws and how those laws affect your library. At the same time, remember that ICfL staff members are not attorneys. While we can give you some general advice, our advice in serious legal situations will always be to consult with your library’s legal counsel.