Purpose 

This “Policy & Protocol” will be used by the Ainsworth Memorial Library to address photographing, recording and/or broadcasting/streaming images on library property. 

Policy 

As a public library, Ainsworth Memorial Library is obligated to ensure information access, patron privacy, and library service.  

To help fulfill those obligations, it is the policy of Ainsworth Memorial Library to honor state and federal law and policy with respect to photographing, recording, broadcasting, and streaming images of the premises, patrons, and employees while on library property (for the sake of clarity, all such activity is referred to in this document as “Recording”).  

The Library will allow all Recording consistent with its policies, ethics, orderly  operations, and mission. The Library reserves the right at all times to refuse any Recording that will negatively impact safety, patron privacy, employee work conditions, and/or routine library operations. 

In order to provide all library users with the safest and most pleasant library experience, those wishing to record at Ainsworth Memorial Library MUST:

  • Not photograph or record without consent from the photographed/audio-videographed person(s) or their parent or guardian, if a minor.
  • Not be disruptive to other library users or staff performing their duties.
  • Not photograph or record library materials in violation of copyright laws.
  • NEVER photograph or record in the following areas: Restrooms, the storage/furnace room, and staff work areas where patron and staff records/information may be in use or on display.

NOTE: Per the Open Meetings Law, Recording is allowed at all meetings of the Library’s Board  of Trustees, except for executive sessions. Reasonable restrictions for safety and smooth operations apply. 

Ainsworth Memorial Library staff may engage in Recording programs and events and reserves the right to utilize them for its own publicity and promotional purposes online and in print. Library staff will notify members of the public when Recording is taking place, and any patrons and/or their child(ren) who do not want to be photographed or recorded will be accommodated. To ensure the privacy of all individuals, including minors, library-generated images or audio-videos will NOT be identified using their last names or other personal information without consent from the photographed/audio-videographed person(s) or their parent or guardian, if a minor.

Protocol 

Whenever possible, individuals or media outlets who wish to engage in Recording should contact the Director to arrange, at least two business days in advance, how such Recording can be done without risking a breach of the library’s ethics, its obligation to safeguard patron privacy, and to ensure a respectful environment for library employees. This may be done by calling 315-387-3732 or emailing jgodfrey@ncls.org. When contacting the Library with this need, please be ready to discuss what content is needed, and how to adapt that need to the library’s ethical and operational priorities, if necessary.

Individuals or media outlets who wish to engage in Recording on a more immediate basis, please contact the Director, or their designee working at the time, as soon as possible. This may be done by calling 315-387-3732 or emailing jgodfrey@ncls.org. Just like recording with more notice, those with urgent requests should be ready to discuss what access will meet your needs, and to adapt your needs to the library’s ethical and operational priorities, including not being able to grant a same-day request. 

For individuals or media outlets who wish to engage in Recording without notifying the library in advance, please know that any Recording activity that risks negatively impacting safety, patron privacy, employee work conditions, and/or routine library operations, or a violation of our Acceptable Patron Behavior Policy, will result in a requirement to cease Recording or to adjust where/how Recording is conducted. 

As with any other ongoing potential violation of Library policy, any individual or media outlet who, after being asked to stop engaging in Recording, does not cease Recording, will be instructed to leave Library property, pending further action under any applicable policy. 

Recording with Permission in the Library (Non-commercial) 

Requests to Record in the Library for non-commercial purposes, including but not limited to journalism from credentialed journalists, will be confirmed with this permission whenever time allows: 

Thank you for working with the Library to explore recording/streaming/broadcasting in our space (“Recording”). As you know, any Recording in the Library must be conducted safely, without risking a breach of the library’s ethics, with attention to its obligation to safeguard  patron privacy, and in a way that respects our employees and doesn’t disrupt routine operations.  To ensure these safeguards, we met on [DATE], and agreed that you could record in [AREA] during the hours of [TIMESPAN]. You confirmed that the end project will be a non-commercial  recording (commercial recordings are subject to additional requirements, including insurance). Thank you so much for your cooperation. 

Recording with Permission in the Library (Commercial) 

Requests to Record in the Library for commercial purposes (movies, advertisements,  documentaries, modeling sessions, etc.), especially if a film crew and/or multiple people will be present, will be confirmed by a contract, based on the project, and may include insurance requirements and indemnification.  

Library is a Limited Public Forum  

The Library recognizes and honors that as a public entity, the public has a right to access information about the Library. To that end, the Library’s policies and board materials are on our website, and the public may attend our meetings as required by law.

Further, the Library recognizes and honors that not all journalists are credentialed by formal media outlets, and the public has the right to know about the operations of the Library. 

However, as it is a limited public forum whose primary purpose is library service, the Library’s board of trustees also has the right to set the hours and conditions needed to operate the library, and this includes barring any activity that would impact safety, patron privacy, employee work conditions, and/or routine library operations, or a violation of a library policy.  

Video Surveillance of the Library

Ainsworth Memorial Library strives to maintain a safe and secure environment for its staff and patrons. In pursuit of this objective, selected areas of the library premises are equipped with video cameras that are recording at all times. The Library’s video security system shall be used only for the protection and safety of patrons, employees, assets and property. When an incident occurs on Library premises video image recordings may be used to identify the person or persons responsible for Library policy violations, criminal activity, or actions considered disruptive to normal Library operations. Images may be shared with other Library staff to identify person(s) suspended from Library property and to maintain a safe and secure environment. While it is recognized that video surveillance will not prevent all incidents, its potential deterrent effect, and resource as a means of identifying and prosecuting offenders is considered worthwhile.

Approved and adopted by the Board of Trustees on May 12, 2022; reviewed July 11, 2023.