NYLA’s COI policy may serve as a general guideline when developing your own COI policy, as required by the Nonprofit Revitalization Act of 2013. You must not rely on this as a alternative to legal advice from your attorney. If you have questions specific to the operation of your library or how the Act applies to your organization, you should consult your attorney or professional legal services provider.
NYLA’s Conflict of Interest Policy (PDF)
Additionally, it is advisable for all libraries to adopt a Whistle Blower Policy.
NYLA’s Whistle Blower policy may serve as a general guideline when developing your own Whistle Blower policy, as required by the Nonprofit Revitalization Act of 2013. You must not rely on this as a alternative to legal advice from your attorney. If you have questions specific to the operation of your library or how the Act applies to your organization, you should consult your attorney or professional legal services provider.
NYLA’s Whistle Blower Policy (PDF)
It is NYLA’s position that these policies meet all the requirements for COI and Whistle Blower policies under the NPRA.
Some background from the NYS Division of Library Development’s website:
“The State of New York enacted §715-a and §715-b of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law (NPCL) as part of the Non-profit Revitalization Act of 2013 (Chapter 549 of the Laws of 2013). The Act applies to corporations subject to the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law, including those incorporated with the Department of State or formed as education corporations by Regents Charter or by Special Legislative Act, and as such, library and library system boards of trustees are now required to adopt a “conflict of interest” policy and, in some instances, a “whistleblower” policy. These requirements became effective on July 1, 2014.
The “conflict of interest” policy requirement applies to:
- association libraries,
- public libraries,
- public library systems, and
- reference and research library resources systems.
The “whistleblower” policy requirement applies only to those above libraries and systems that meet BOTH of the following requirements:
- have twenty or more employees, AND
- in the prior fiscal year had annual revenue in excess of one million dollars.”