Can you help me with some references to public libraries accepting corporate donations and guidelines for acknowledging the donations?
Here in Sacramento, CA, the Sacramento Public Library accepted computers for a branch library from the local professional basketball NBA teams. In turn, the library allowed what amounts to excessive brazen advertisement in the building for the teams. (I won't go into it at length here, but it really is.) SPL administrators dismiss concerns and focus on the usefulness of the computers, but admit they have no guidelines.
Isn't there some discussion somewhere about corporate intrusion into public libraries? The Internet is replete with ways to raise money for libraries, including from corporations, but I can't find any reference to policies and guidelines for accepting corporate largesse.
I would very much appreciate any help you can provide.
ALA mentions benefits to companies , including preferred booth space, use of ALA Corporate Member logo on promotional materials, and lists of ALA subscribers.
The Public Library Association has Policy Considerations for Public Libraries Accepting Donations that mention influence of businesses on decision making, but not specifically advertising. Possibly a keyword search in the California Code search page might work , but the answer lists give only the section numbers – no titles or thumbnail subjects. It would be a tedious job to display every single one, to be sure.
The US Code search DOES give short titles. The search : advertis* and 'public buildings' gets 55 hits, and some seem to be about advertising in Federal facilities. advertis* and libraries gets 21 hits, including one regarding the no advertisements in the Library of Congress. "Reproduction, Compilation and Distribution of News Transmissions; Miscellaneous Amendments" Federal Register, 1 July 2004, (7507 words) spells out Library of Congress policy in contracts. [Section] 701.5 -- Policy on authorized use of the Library name, seal, or logo, section e Prohibitions and Enforcement. (1): "Whoever, except as permitted by laws of the U.S., or with the written permission of the Librarian of Congress or his designee, falsely advertises or otherwise represents by any device whatsoever that his or its business, product, or service has been in any way endorsed, authorized, or approved by the Library of Congress shall be subject to criminal penalties pursuant to law."
Finding actual library policies may be possible, but very time consuming. For example, in www.lapl.org, you can toggle the search box from Catalog to "LAPL Web site", and try searches like "donations policies", "commercial advertising", etc. The librarian who asked this question tried this out and reported that the search "Donor recognition policy" in google.com "...led me to many institutions, some of them libraries that have written policies for donor recognition. Some policies were very detailed, down to the size of the plaque to be put up..."
Another librarian found the following related links:
Public Libraries Corner: Commercial Partnerships in the Public Library
CORPORATE INROADS & LIBRARIANSHIP
Sponsorship and fund-raising in public libraries: American and British perceptions
Selecting sponsors - Special Libraries Assn. sponsorship - includes related article on support guidelines Information Outlook, Jan, 1997 by Donna Scheeder
Public Libraries and Corporate Sponsorships: Mixed Marriages with Mixed Results, by Michael Harkovitch. See Harkovitch's resume. I do not find reference to this paper in Academic Search (Ebsco), Lexis Academic / magazines and journals, or Business Source Premier. He does have a website, however.
Jim Miller
University of Maryland
jmiller2 {at sign} umd.edu