OCEAN CITY – Officials with the Worcester County Library are looking to establish a policy on petitions.
On Tuesday, the Worcester County Library Board of Trustees continued a discussion on adopting a policy that could ban petitioning within library buildings.
Library Director Jennifer Ranck said efforts to establish a petition policy began earlier this fall. After reviewing policies from different library systems, she presented the board this week with an approach implemented by Montgomery County Public Libraries.
“I put it right here and thought you could review it and see if you want to go with this,” she said. “I think this will help us to have some guidance we can give to staff.”
In Montgomery County, petitioning, solicitation, canvassing and distribution of literature are not allowed inside library buildings, but are permitted on library grounds, including parking lots and sidewalks, according to the system’s website. However, rare exceptions can be made for specific library or county projects only with the approval of the library director.
“I think it expresses everything we are concerned about,” board member Leslie Mulligan said.
Ranck told the board this week she liked the library’s policy, as it was simple and easy to follow. However, she said she was concerned about limiting the distribution of literature.
“On occasions we have organizations come out and set up a table …,” she said. “They are there in case anybody has any questions. So I don’t want to prevent that information from going out. I don’t think that’s the point of the policy.”
Board members pointed out that organizations seeking to use the library could seek permission from the library director. Ranck, however, noted her decisions would have to be applied equally.
“It’s almost easier when I say no to everybody or yes to everyone,” she said. “I want to make sure we are being fair.”
Ranck said she would seek input from legal counsel and revisit the issue at next month’s board meeting.
“I’ll ask our attorney about the distribution of literature to make sure that’s something we can apply fairly,” she said.
