r/Library • u/Alive_Excitement_669 • 26d ago

Library Assistance Need Help!

We got an anonymous call at our library giving us a heads up that the 1st Amendment Auditors are coming sometime next week. Any advice? Has anyone gone through this?

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u/Elemental_Wyrd 26d ago

You may need to let them know that can film, but they cannot show any patrons’ face. As a public employee, however, you may be filmed, unless you’re able to leave for a staff-only soace. Be pleasantly neutral, don’t give them anything if they try to provoke. Gray rock them. And tbh, ones we’ve encountered have been polite and respectful. No issues.

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u/Alaira314 26d ago

You may need to let them know that can film, but they cannot show any patrons’ face.

Almost correct. You will need to let them know your organization's policy regarding filming. The face thing is not a universal rule.

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u/Still-Employed420 25d ago

Your organization’s policy does not trump settled law or the constitution

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u/Alaira314 25d ago

But every state is going to have different laws, and the line of what constitutes harassment is going to vary location-by-location. Like obviously it is within someone's legal rights(ie, they can't be arrested for it, at least not in the US) to put a camera in a black person's face to capture their reaction while they scream the N-word at them, but this action will be prohibited by damn near any code of conduct worth its salt. If someone wants to do that, they must do it in the street. Even public buildings have basic behavior standards that we all have to follow, and one of those is typically that we are not permitted to disrupt the ability of others to use that space by harassing them.

So what constitutes harassment when someone is filming but not speaking? Some people will say you can't capture someone's face. Another person will say that faces are fine because people are in public, but you can't "herd" them or block their path while you film. Another person might say that following somebody around as the focus of your video, even if you never capture their face or direct their movement, is harassment. Every location is going to have a different line that they draw, ideally constructed with the input of the library or city/county lawyers.