CHICAGO – A pair of north suburban library districts have been put on notice about room rental policies that violate the Constitution’s First Amendment. In separate letters to the Northbrook Public Library and the Highland Park Public Library, the ACLU of Illinois warned that policies that charge significant additional fees to use rooms for “safety” or “security” reasons should be rescinded immediately.
The Northbrook Public Library policy came to light after a request to screen the film “Israelism” at the Library in September. After the sponsors announced the film screening and it was published on the library’s calendar of events, Library staff received angry emails denouncing the content of the film and indicating the authors of the emails would be protesting the event. The Northbrook Police Department advised the library staff that it was necessary to retain an outside security firm for the screening.
The library, in turn, informed the individuals who planned to screen the film that they would be required to cover the costs of the outside security firm and additional liability insurance before the screening could take place. The sponsors quickly cancelled the screening.
“In short, due to the angry reaction to the film’s ideas, the library imposed a fee that ultimately prevented the film from being shown,” wrote Rebecca Glenberg, Chief Litigation Counsel for the First Amendment, at the ACLU of Illinois wrote in the letter to the leadership at the Northbrook Public Library system. “The library’s handling of the controversy encourages members of the public who are unhappy about a group’s use of a library to shut down the event by creating a sufficient hue and cry.”
In a separate letter to the Board of Trustees at the Highland Park Public Library, the ACLU of Illinois noted that library system had recently changed its rules regarding the use of its auditorium and largest meeting room, requiring a proof of liability insurance and additional fees for security and related services whenever deemed appropriate by library staff. Although the incident in Northbrook was the apparent cause of the change, the letter notes that the Highland Park Public Library should avoid, not replicate, outcomes like the cancellation of a movie screening due to threatened protests.
“A library cannot be a public space where all points of view are welcomed and presented to the public if people are given a veto over the content to be presented – which is the practical effect of imposing fees for safety or security,” said Glenberg in releasing letters publicly. “At a moment when diverse educational materials are under attack, we need local libraries to be a beacon for the full exchange of ideas in our communities.”