|
Meeting Room Policy
A public library meeting room policy manages how shared community spaces in the library are used and helps ensure that access is fair, lawful, and aligns with the library’s mission. The policy helps the library maintain a safe, orderly environment that supports educational, cultural, and civic engagement.
Meeting room policies also play an important legal and ethical role. When a library allows the public to reserve and use its meeting rooms, those spaces become a designated (or limited) public forum, requiring viewpoint‑neutral access under the First Amendment. Policies should also comply with the Library Bill of Rights and ADA accessibility requirements. Together, these guidelines ensure that meeting rooms remain inclusive, well‑managed public resources that reflect the library’s commitment to intellectual freedom and community service.
A note on “viewpoint-neutrality”
The library may place reasonable “time, manner, and place” restrictions for public use of meeting room spaces to ensure that use is aligned with the library’s mission. These restrictions may address the library’s need to make the space equally available and not disrupt the normal operation of the library. However, such restrictions must be viewpoint-neutral in that they may not restrict the expression of specific ideas or beliefs. An individual or group should not be denied use of the library’s meeting room because their event might be unpopular or controversial.
Examples of allowable restrictions include:
- Allowing reservations only during the library’s hours of operation
- Limiting the number of reservations allowed for a group or individual, if the limits are designed to make the space equally available to others
- Limiting commercial activities, partisan political activities, or private parties
- Prohibiting activities that would affect the ability of others to use the library, including events that are excessively noisy, disruptive, intended to harass other library users, or otherwise violate the library’s behavior policies
|
|
Self-Audit
Ensure that your meeting room policy addresses the following legal considerations:
- Support of the library’s mission to foster civic engagement, educational opportunities, cultural enrichment, and community collaboration
- The requirement for viewpoint‑neutral access, ensuring the meeting room is available to individuals and groups regardless of the content of the meeting or the affiliations and beliefs of those reserving the space
- A disclaimer that use of the library space does not indicate sponsorship or endorsement by the library board, staff, or municipality for the ideas and information shared in the meeting nor an endorsement of the individual or group making the reservation
- Alignment with the Library Bill of Rights and ALA’s interpretations regarding meeting room access, intellectual freedom, and equitable use
- The need to adhere to ADA accessibility and nondiscrimination requirements, and the applicability of the library’s patron behavior expectations within meeting room spaces
Your policy may also need to address logistical considerations such as:
- A clear delineation between rooms reservable by the public and those for library use only
- Information on who may make a reservation, which should be based on viewpoint-neutral criteria approved by the library board
- Any fees associated with room use, equipment use, after‑hours staffing (if allowed), or other special accommodations, including information on when charges for cleaning, damage, or excessive staff setup/cleanup may be applied
- Any limitations on the number/frequency of room reservations allowed for the same group/individual, including how far in advance bookings can be made
- The ability for library administration to amend or cancel a reservation if it does not meet the requirements and an appeal process for denied or canceled reservations
- Allowing library‑sponsored or library‑led programs to take precedence over public reservations, and providing considerations for how scheduling conflicts are resolved
- Consequences, if any, for cancellations, late arrivals, or no‑shows
- Any restrictions on food and drink, including alcohol, in the meeting room
- Whether or in what circumstances meeting room users may sell services or products
- Whether non-public events (e.g. baby showers, birthday parties, etc.) are allowed
- The requirement for groups or individuals reserving a library space to not indicate or imply in their marketing materials that their event is sponsored by the library
Related Procedures
In addition to the board-approved meeting room policy, you may wish to document internal procedures to help library staff understand how to apply the policy or provide tips/scripts for talking to patrons about meeting room use. Many of these procedures will include more detailed information aligned with the logistical considerations listed above and documented in your specific policy.
Relevant procedures may also be shared on the library’s website or with the public if needed. Your procedures will be reflective of your library’s specific needs, and not all libraries need all of the items listed here.
Useful procedures related to meeting room use may include:
- A description of the room(s) available for public reservation, including capacity, furnishings, and technology and equipment provided
- Guidelines for the use of each reservable room or space, including room setup and the expectation for the user to return the room and its furnishings/equipment to their original condition after use
- Meeting room reservation or scheduling procedures, including how to handle cancellations and document last-minute cancellations and no-shows
- Explanation of the difference between library events and public events, including: guidelines on whether or how library staff may assist the organizers of public events; whether public events are listed in the library’s calendar; a disclaimer to be included in the publication of non-library-sponsored events
- Tips for staff when addressing prohibited activities or behaviors during public meetings or events
- Tips for staff when addressing inquiries from members of the public about why certain content is allowed in the meeting room
- Guidelines for writing incident reports to document incidents, damages, or policy violations
Sample Policies
We’ve collected some sample meeting room policies for you to review as you work on your policy. Visit the Public Library Policy Resources WISELearn Group for more discussion or consider uploading your library’s policy for discussion or as another example for the library community to learn from.
Related Policies
The following topics may be related to your meeting room policy, but may be presented as separate policies depending on your library’s needs:
- Patron conduct and behavior policy
- Study room policy
- Unattended children policy
- Safety and security policy
- Intellectual freedom policy
- Library Bill of Rights endorsement
- Equal access policy / nondiscrimination policy
- ADA accessibility statement
What’s next?
In June, our Policy of the Month club will focus on social media. Visit the Public Library Policy WISELearn group to share your policies for discussion!
Join Policy of the Month Club
Were you forwarded this email and want to receive regular updates from Policy of the Month Club? Click here to subscribe.
Questions or suggestions?
Reach out to any member of the Policy of the Month team:
|
|
|
|
|
