Maine Library Commission Unveils Draft Rule that Could Restrict Libraries’ Access to State Support

Maine Library Commission unveils draft rule that could restrict libraries’ access to state support

Proposed rule requires libraries to have strategic plans, mandates trustee training and bars trustees from serving as library directors.

Library Commission draft rule could restrict access to state support

Photo by Joyce Kryszak.AUGUSTA — The Maine Library Commission reviewed a draft rule Monday that would impose new requirements on the state’s libraries, including annual training for library trustees. The commission considered a different proposal late last year that would have required all libraries to have paid directors or risk losing access to interlibrary loan services and other state support. It abandoned the plan after strong pushback from…

COLEMAN: The Library Board Refuses to Hear Delegations on New Access Policy. That's a Problem

I cannot believe I have to write this column again: public delegations are foundational to local democracy and must be permitted except in the most exceptional of circumstances. What makes this repeat of the same basic argument even more frustrating is that it is the Hamilton Public Library (HPL) Board of Directors which is refusing to hear public delegations. The very purpose of a library is to equip the citizenry with the literacy skills and k…