Library shortens Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace meeting room ban

Administrators review policy and reject sanctions

DELMAR – At its June 10 meeting, the Bethlehem Public Library Board of Trustees unanimously adopted a revised meeting room policy. He declined to sanction anyone found to have violated the library’s patron conduct policy during a Dec. 5 event and agreed to shorten BNFP’s one-year ban on using meeting rooms.

Revised meeting room policy adopted

The new meeting room policy, which goes into effect July 1, received two rounds of comments from library board members, staff, the public and attorneys. It sets out the terms and conditions that library cardholders, “community organizations” or other entities can use. Library meeting rooms.

Trustee Caroline Brancatella said “community organization” has been expanded to include not only 501(c)(3) entities, but also entities registered with the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Office or legally incorporated as entities under New York State Nonprofit Law. Brancatella said an organization outside of that definition can be sponsored by an organization that is part of it.

BNFP member Leslie Hudson, speaking during the public comment session, said: “the absurd rules you’re trying to come up with, you had to turn yourself into pretzels to find a way to block us and try to make it seem legal. » Hudson left the meeting after speaking and before the Council vote. She called the policy “clearly simply an effort to shut down” the BNFP.

In an interview after the board meeting, Kirkpatrick said the policy “was in no way written to prohibit anyone, and particularly BNFP, from using the meeting rooms.” He said that while the BNFP believes that under the revised policy it cannot book a meeting room itself, that is not true.

“I did my homework and researched registered charities. BNFP is a nonprofit corporation incorporated in New York State,” so it can book rooms under that policy.

Hudson, in an interview, said: “If, through the new policy, we can reserve a room on our own, that’s wonderful. We’re registered as a nonprofit in New York State, so that’s wonderful.

Shortcut BNFP meeting room bar

Kirkpatrick recommended that in light of the new meeting room policy, the one-year ban on the use of BNFP meeting rooms to sell books on library property be shortened to coincide with the policy implementation date is July 1.

Hudson said: “We are very relieved that they have come to this conclusion, but I have not received anything in writing yet, so we are waiting to hear that it is true. » She continued to insist that BNFP did not sell any books. “It’s a shame they did it in the first place, but we’re glad it’s over,” Hudson said.

Under the policy, Kirkpatrick will develop a video training module on the policy that anyone booking a room will have to watch. He said he will inform the BNFP of his decision to shorten the penalty and will explain “very clearly” what the new policy is on meeting rooms.

Hudson said BNFP will continue to host events at the library.

Board drops complaints

By six votes to one, the board also decided not to impose sanctions on BNFP or other participants in the Dec. 5 event for violating the customer conduct policy. According to the resolution, this decision was made because after investigating harassment complaints, it found numerous instances of violations of this policy, but could not identify all of the individuals involved. Therefore, it could not “fairly impose sanctions on all persons who acted in violation of this policy.”

Board Chairman Mark Kissinger explained that some people can be identified because they are known to trustees or staff, but others cannot. “We felt that to do this fairly, you can’t just say we know you and it’s you we’re going to penalize.”

Asked if Peled event attendees would be upset by the resolution, Kissinger replied: “People won’t be happy on either side. “It’s a classic example of a good compromise when everyone is unhappy.” He added: “Clearly there has been bad behavior on both sides. Hopefully people will move on.

Hudson said she was not surprised by the decision and that “if there was an investigation, it was not sincere.”

Kissinger rejected this claim. “The Library went through all the tapes and spent a lot of time investigating. » He did not know how many hours the library staff spent on it, but said it was “a very significant amount” for a high-ranking member of the library staff.

The resolution shows that “the Board is ready to move on and get back to the business of the Library,” Kissinger said. He said the resolution did not involve resolving any threat of legal action by the BNFP. “They have no reason to sue us,” he said.

“There have been a lot of complaints on both sides,” Kissinger said. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they are not entitled to their own set of facts. Many of the facts put forward by the BNFP are simply not accurate, so we are ready to move on.

Hudson said BNFP is also ready to move forward and has no plans to sue the library. “We want to move forward with a fresh start, but we will stick to our principles of telling the truth,” Hudson said.

“Clearly, this is not about peace. This is about rabble-rousing. This is a very misnamed organization,” Kissinger said. “As a board member and a citizen, I think what the BNFP did was not peaceful and was meant to stir up controversy in the community, but under the old policy, there was no way to hold the BNFP accountable. But we want to move forward. That’s our goal.”