Retiring Guy's Digest: Not Having Your Meeting Room Policy in Compliance with the Law Could Be Expensive

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Not Having Your Meeting Room Policy in Compliance with the Law Could Be Expensive

Seaside Library changing policy following lawsuit. (Seaside Signal, 7/18/2012)

Excerpt: [with emphasis added] Religious ceremonies may soon be held at the Seaside Public Library following a ruling by a federal court judge over the library’s policy prohibiting use of the library room’s for religious meetings.

U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman ordered the Seaside Library to pay $10,500 to the Florida-based nonprofit Library Counsel as well as court and attorney fees following his June 6 decision over a lawsuit filed in February by the Florida-based non-profit Liberty ~~Council~~ Counsel.

Among other activities, the Liberty Counsel takes a watchdog interest in publicly funded libraries that prohibit the use of their meeting rooms for religious meetings. (As does the Alliance Defending Freedom, formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund.)

Some other examples:

August 30, 2005. Liberty Counsel filed suit against the Newton Falls Library Board of Trustees after its application to use the Newton Falls Public Library Meeting Room was denied when library officials deemed the subject of traditional marriage to be "controversial."

June 16, 2005 . Liberty Counsel filed suit against the Rampart Library District Board of Trustees after its application to use the Woodland Park Library Community Room was denied.

April 10, 2000. Christopher A. PFEIFER, Plaintiff,v.CITY OF WEST ALLIS, Defendant. United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin. Plaintiff Christopher A. Pfeifer brings this action under 42 U.S.C. � 1983 to challenge the refusal of defendant City of West Allis to permit him to use a meeting room in the public library ("Library") to present a program on creationism.

Wisconsin Public Library Policy Resources

In the March 2011 issue of Trustee Tale, Winnefox Library System Assistant Director Mark Arend provides specific examples of "reasonable time, place, and manner regulations" regarding meeting room use.