Director Briefing - July 17, 2023

Budget Q&A with Ron and Kelly

Tonight at 5 PM, Kelly and I will discuss library budgets and answer questions from attendees. If you'd like to attend, you may register here.

Freedom of Information Law and Open Meetings Law Virtual Training Recordings

The Freedom of Information Law and Open Meetings Law Virtual Trainings recently presented by the New York State Committee on Open Government and hosted by the NYS Library have been captioned and can now be viewed on the NYSED Vimeo page at the links below.

• Freedom of Information Law Virtual Training
• Open Meetings Law Virtual Training

Lessons Learned from Recent Comptroller Audits

Over the weekend, the New York State Comptroller's office released the following audits. While the audits are from other areas of government, the findings are all things that could be found in library audits. No need to read the full audits (unless you find them as interesting as I do), but make sure your library has the items mentioned in the parenthesis.

• Village of Ocean Beach – Credit Card Usage (Make sure you're in line with your credit card policy)
• Barker Central School District – Payroll (Monitor payroll, use timesheets, and have an overtime policy)
• Town of Jay – Records and Reports (Board should be reviewing monthly financial reports, maintain accurate and timely accounting records, and close completed projects)
• Sewanhaka Central High School District – Business Office Information Technology Systems (Develop a written IT contingency plan, this also goes along with having appropriate purchasing plans for computers)
• Addison Central School District – Procurement of Professional Services (Follow your procurement policy, it's mandated by law)
• Town of Middleburgh – Claims Audit Process (Another procurement policy one, Board should be reviewing all claims before payment, and document justification for emergency purchases if different from procurement policy)
• Privacy and Security of Student Data (Keep PII safeguarded through procedure, policy, and practice)

Question of the Week: FOIL Policy

Question: Do all libraries need a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) Policy?

Answer: Yes, all libraries should have a policy outlining their requirements and responses under the Freedom of Information Law. The FOIL website has Model Rules for Agencies and information for Subject Matter Lists.

For association libraries…

Although association libraries do not fall under the provisions of this law, they are wise to consider such a policy since they are generally supported by public funds and are often subject to public scrutiny. Your community expects transparency.

Trustee Handbook, pg. 11.

If helpful, here are the Word documents of the System's FOIL Policy and 2023 Subject Matter List.

• Freedom of Information Law Policy.docx
• FOIL Subject Matter List.docx