The facilities usage fee includes a rental charge and other costs associated with additional Library security, A/V technology and assistance, and/or custodial services. Private security is not allowed in Library facilities. It also mandates that all security associated with the event will be provided by the Library. The contract mandates that the group renting a meeting room will abide by the Library’s Rules of Conduct. The same contract is used for every group that rents a Central Library meeting room, although nonprofit groups, government agencies and City of Seattle departments are allowed to rent meeting rooms for non-commercial use at a discounted rate. When an independent group rents a Central Library meeting room for a private event, they sign a contract and pay a facilities usage fee. What Library resources will be used for this event? To learn more about this event, please visit the Brave Books website. We will, however, coordinate with event organizers and other public agencies as needed to ensure the event is managed well. The Seattle Public Library cannot hold this belief only when it is politically convenient – intellectual freedom must be made available to all, consistently, in a free and democratic society.īecause these spaces are made available to the public for private use, the Library does not endorse or sponsor private events or the viewpoints expressed at the events. Just this week, we launched Books Unbanned to ensure teens and young adults across the country have access to materials that are banned elsewhere in communities where governments are overstepping their bounds and keeping their communities from accessing their right to read. We provide collections to explore and public spaces to use that allow members of the public to examine their own beliefs and come to their own conclusions. The Library is not in the role of determining what viewpoints are or are not allowed to be believed and expressed by members of the public. Censoring these viewpoints is counter to Library policy and the associated laws that ensure intellectual freedom for all people. We have heard from some in the community asking why the Library is allowing this booking, citing the author’s views on abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and more. The Library is committed to intellectual freedom, which we believe is essential to a healthy democracy, even when viewpoints expressed do not align with Library values. That would be government censorship and a violation of the First Amendment. We do not choose who gets to use our meeting rooms or what they are allowed to say or believe. Meeting rooms, however, are provided as a public service that is open and available to everyone equally. Library-sponsored programs are created and developed by Library staff, often in collaboration or co-design with community or other partner agencies, and they are intended to reflect community interest, meet community needs, and align with Library values. to 2:30 p.m.īrave Books has held similar events with Cameron at other libraries around the country, and some of these events have generated public confusion about the difference between library-sponsored programs and library meeting room bookings made by groups or individuals. They selected Meeting Room 1 on Level 4 for their event, which is scheduled for Saturday, May 27, from 10:30 a.m. Earlier this week, children’s book publisher Brave Books reached out to The Seattle Public Library requesting to rent a room at the Central Library to hold an event with Kirk Cameron.
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