CDA library trustees adopt ethics, conduct policy

Coeur d'Alene Public Library trustees recently approved a policy on conduct and ethics for themselves.

Many library boards have a policy that addresses ethics among members, but Coeur d'Alene Public Library did not until now. Trustees earlier decided they should have one.

Library Director Michael Priest and trustees Ann Smart and Fay Sweney reviewed policies of other libraries and worked on a draft during an October workshop. The board reviewed the draft and made some changes.

Some points of the policy include:

• Trustees shall uphold the mission of the library to provide access to everyone to information, ideas, programs, facilities and resources without bias or discrimination.

• Trustees shall receive comments and concerns expressed by members of the public and shall allow library staff ample opportunity to address such comments and concerns before acting on them at a meeting of the board.

• Trustees shall refer inquiries from the press to the board chair or library director or their respective designees to provide a consistent response.

• Trustees must distinguish clearly between their personal philosophies, opinions and positions and those of the library, acknowledging and supporting the formal position of the board, even if they disagree.

The board also approved a minor change to its behavior policy to allow for miniature horses to be in the library.

It agreed to update the line regarding service animals "to provide better clarity for library patrons and staff."

The policy previously restricted pets in the library "except for service animals as defined by the American with Disabilities Act."

The pet restriction now says, "with the exception of trained service animals (dogs and miniature horses) as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

Priest said the issue came up because a patron had been in contact with him and city attorney Randy Adams about entering the library with his miniature horse service animal.

"The trustees agreed that people with disabilities should be encouraged to use the library and that the facility could most likely accommodate a trained miniature horse," according to minutes of the meeting.

Trustees continued to consider whether to offer the public Zoom access to their meetings.

Nearly all the other city committees, commissions and boards have moved away from it as an option, Priest wrote.

Trustees wanted to know if there were other ways the public could view meetings remotely.

The item was tabled for the January meeting.